?Chapter 283:


    Huey was a few secondste, so Bailee walked off with Ruby, holding each other’s arms. During her illness over the past few years, Ruby had slimmed down considerably, which made it easier to find fitting clothes. Within an hour of shopping, she found a suitable outfit.


    She had been looking forward to visiting the Dawson Mansion happily, but running into Winona and her son had dampened her spirits. On the way back, Ruby sighed and said, “Bailee, you’re not a kid anymore. I don’t want to meddle in your business, but please be careful and avoid any heartaches, okay?”


    “I know. We’ve been arguing for the past couple of days. I guess I’m still upset,” Bailee exined, feeling the need to defend Huey.


    “As long as you’re clear on what needs to be done, everything will be fine. Just make sure your mood doesn’t spoil tonight’s dinner,” Ruby patted Bailee’s hand, lost in thought. They might have fought, but Huey’s behavior… it was quite disrespectful.


    In the Dawson Mansion, Ste had instructed the servants to prepare dinner in advance, and they were all bustling with their tasks. “Make yourself at home. Your daughter will be the hostess here soon, so there’s no need to be formal,” Ste said.


    Noticing Ruby’s uneasy demeanor on the sofa, Ste instructed the servants to bring coffee and desserts. Ruby tried her best to control her nervousness, but she couldn’tpletely hide it. She talked with Ste, and with Eileen easing the tension asionally, Ruby soon felt more rxed.


    Dinner was ready, and the servants led everyone to the dining hall. Just as the group was about to take their seats, two unexpected guests suddenly arrived—Lydia and Z. Lydia was elegantly dressed, clearly showing her wealth. Beside her, Z had intentionally dressed inly and acted modestly, as if merely apanying Lydia. She nodded at Eileen and Bryan with a polite smile.


    “Mom, why didn’t you tell me we were having guests tonight?” Lydia asked as she walked past Ruby and approached Ste, extending a hand to support her. She wanted to guide Ste toward the dining hall, but Ste stood still on purpose.


    Ste turned to Ruby with a smile and said, “As I’m getting older, I can only handle a small group of guests at once. I might find it difficult with too many guests tonight, but since they’ve alreadye, I’ll host you together. Please understand, Ruby—I invited you here for dinner today, not them.”


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    This implied that Lydia and Z were merely guests. Under Ste’s insistence, Ruby and Bailee sat on the left side of the host’s seat. Eileen and Bryan took their seats on the right side of the host’s seat. Lydia and Z, on the other hand, were seated in the back row. If they were unwilling, they could choose to leave.


    Lydia didn’t seem to mind at all. She sat beside Bailee, asionally chiming in on the conversation about Eileen and Bryan’s wedding without causing any trouble. Ste felt irritated by Lydia’s presence and found her quite bothersome.


    But she realized she couldn’t dy the conversation any longer. She needed to present the wedding gifts to Eileen tonight. She looked at Jarred and signaled him. In response, Jarred retrieved a box.


    The delicate wooden box was a masterpiece, adorned with intricately carved flowers so lifelike that they appeared real. “This bracelet has been an heirloom in the Dawson family for generations. I’ll give it to you,” Ste announced, taking out a red silk bag from the box. Lydia’s grip tightened on her fork. Despite being married to Brandon for so many years, Ste had never given her the bracelet. Yet now, Ste was giving it to Eileen even before she married Bryan.


    Ste was straightforward. She wanted Eileen to have the bracelet but then felt it a bit inappropriate. So, she turned to Bryan and said, “You should do the honors. After all, she’s the future wife you love.” As for Lydia, Brandon had just epted her verbally, never formally acknowledging her status.


    Bryan stood up and circled around Eileen. He took the bracelet from Ste and delicately ced it on Eileen’s wrist. Bathed in the bright light, the bracelet sparkled, and its value was evident. Lydia’s gaze lingered on the bracelet adorning Eileen’s wrist. Eileen’s marriage into the family only deepened Lydia’s sense of inferiority.


    Lydia’s anger bubbled over, prompting her to set down her fork with a sharp tter. Ste had already sensed Lydia’s difort, but she continued, “Isn’t it exquisite? Such a bracelet befits only the most delicate of wrists. Raise your hand. Let me take a closer look,” Ste said.


    With purpose, she raised Eileen’s hand high. She then turned to Ruby and inquired, “What do you think? Is it beautiful?”


    “Yes,” Ruby said with a relieved smile.


    Ste directed her attention to Bryan, asking, “And you? Do you find it beautiful? The Dawson family ancestors had impable taste. This bracelet still exudes beauty after all these years.”


    “Absolutely, it’s beautiful,” Bryan replied, settling back into his seat.


    Then Ste said, “Lydia, you haven’t seen this bracelet, have you? Would you like toe over and take a look? Eileen probably won’t wear it every day, so you won’t have many opportunities to see it.” Lydia was rendered speechless.


    Ste continued, “It’s alright if you prefer not to see it. You might be too jealous if you do.” She then released Eileen’s hand with a chuckle. “Put it away before someone gets tempted to snatch it.” Eileen hadn’t expected Ste’s adeptness at mockery. Suddenly, she realized that Bryan sometimes shared some simrities in temperament with Ste.


    “Now, let’s discuss another wedding gift,” Ste dered as she produced another check from the wooden box, sliding it to Ruby. “Do you think this amount is eptable?”


    Ruby briefly nced at the check before diverting her gaze. She nudged the check towards Eileen, stating, “Eileen should have the final say in matters concerning herself.” The amount column on the check waspleted with a nine, signifying the maximum sum of money it could represent.


    Eileen began, “Mrs. Dawson, you really shouldn’t feel obligated to…”


    “Consider it a gesture of goodwill from the Dawson family to you. Please ept it,” Ste interjected, cing the check directly in Eileen’s hand.


    She then added, “If you refuse it, I’ll think the amount isn’t to your satisfaction. If that’s the case, I’ll increase it.”


    “Alright, I’ll ept it,” Eileen agreed without hesitation, tucking the check away.


    Ste’s smile widened at Eileen’s eptance. Then, in an attempt to provoke Lydia, she said, “Only those acknowledged by me deserve to receive gifts—unlike some others who tried to gain eptance among us without receiving anything.”


    Maybe Ste thought Lydia had made the evening less enjoyable, so she purposely provoked Lydia. Lydia didn’t seem okay, but she didn’t react.


    Following dinner, Ste whisked Ruby away to the ss garden house to admire the blossoms and engage in conversation. Z had intended to find Eileen and Bryan because she didn’t want them to be alone. But on her way, she received a call from Lydia, asking her toe upstairs. With no other option, she retraced her steps. As she reached the junction between floors, Doris stopped her.


    Doris ushered her to a secluded area where they could speak privately. “Miss Murray, I have something important to tell you,” Doris said earnestly.


    “What is it?” Z asked, noting Doris’s troubled expression and growing curious about the matter.


    “I overheard Ste and Eileen’s conversation two days ago. It appears they made an agreement seven years ago,” Doris whispered, lowering her voice to avoid being overheard. Even though the corridor was empty, she felt guilty.


    “Anything else?” Z inquired. Doris had overheard that Ste and Eileen were recently scheming behind Bryan’s backst time. It was confirmed this time that their n and agreement had started seven years ago.


    Doris thought hard, but she had been too far away to hear the details clearly. She said, “I couldn’t catch all the details, but Eileen mentioned she nned to tell Bryan the truth. She said she couldn’t hide it from him any longer.”


    Suddenly, an idea struck Z. She blinked and said, “You can go back now. I know what to do.” Then she rushed to Lydia’s room.


    The moment she entered, Lydia vented her frustration, saying, “You brought me here just to watch Ste give gifts to that woman and talk about the wedding? I’ve put up with Ste’s tabs for so long. What’s wrong with your n? I think I’ve discovered a huge secret,” Z said firmly after a moment of silence.


    After a pause, Lydia looked at her and said, “Get to the point.”


    “Do you remember when Ste forced Bryan to marry a woman? It was said that the woman got married to get money for her mother’s treatment, and Ste did it to annoy Vivian,” Z said.


    Back then, Ste hadn’t hidden her reason for the marriage, so everyone had known about that. Z brought this up again, but Lydia wasn’t interested. “Didn’t they divorce a year ago? Why bring her up now?” Lydia said.


    “That woman is Eileen! And Bryan still doesn’t know about this,” Z said excitedly, her throat tightening.


    Ste had gone to great lengths to arrange the marriage, but Bryan had only seen the woman when he went through the marriage procedure. Even the marriage certificate had been kept at Ste’s ce. After inquiring about it for a long time, Z had found out that Bryan knew nothing about that woman.


    Lydia was stunned and stood up suddenly. “What? Are you sure?”


    Z hesitated for a moment before replying, “Eileen’s sister-inw mentioned that Eileen gave all her money to her stepmother for medical treatment after bing Bryan’s mistress. But when she graduated from college, her stepmother was already ill. Where did she get the money for her stepmother’s treatment before joining Apex Group?”


    Z then shared everything she had heard from Doris. Based on her spection, it seemed almost certain that Eileen was Bryan’s ex-wife.


    “We can’t act rashly. We need to go back and discuss this with Brandon. Let’s go,” Lydia couldn’t stay any longer, so she grabbed her bag and went downstairs with Z. She asked Jarred to tell Ste they would leave now and hurried out with Z.


    After Eileen and the others left, Jarred informed Ste about Lydia and Z’s departure.


    “They left in such a hurry. I thought they were here to cause trouble.” Jarred assumed they hade to ridicule Ruby’s modest background or stir up trouble over the gifts Ste had given Eileen.


    Sitting on the sofa, Ste listened to Jarred and lost herself in thought. After a moment, she recalled something and said, “Check the surveince footage. See where Doris has been tonight.”


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