She was never his blood sister, but as a child, she was cute and always clung to him.


    Even though she wasn''t his real sister, she was still a cousin, and what had happened back then had nothing to do with Gianna.


    Steven disliked Adrian bringing home a ''recement daughter'', but never med Gianna and had always tolerated her.


    Recently, Steven noticed Gianna''s temperament worsening.


    He once thought her simply willful, but herst police station incident showed clear arrogance.


    Steven almost weed Gianna facing setbacks. If she''d learned humility before, Anneliese and her husband couldn''t humiliate her now.


    As he watched the woman beside him speaking calmly and confidently, a trace of admiration shed through his eyes. Anne''s never been the kind of fragile person who needs me to shield her every second. She''s got her own edge, her own strength.


    Gianna lost patience and tried to scratch Anneliese''s hand.


    But Pepper, who stood beside her, suddenly reached out and grabbed Gianna''s wrist.


    At the same time, Pepper took the tissue from Anneliese''s hand and said,


    "Gianna wasn''t well during thepetition. She''s young and upset. The Malone family always doted on her-this is her first setback, so her words went too far."


    She turned to Adrian as she spoke.


    "Adrian, why not treat everyone to dinner as Gianna''s apology?"


    Gianna''s impulsive words made things awkward.


    With Jonathan refusing to let the matter go and Anneliese clearly not someone who would swallow insults, if Gianna had been smart enough, a calm, straightforward apology would have ended things.


    Instead, she insisted on ying the innocent victim, making even Wendy feel embarrassed.


    Adrian was unhappy; that''s why he stayed silent.


    Pepper stepped in, acting as thedy of the house and unconcerned about Adrian''s displeasure.


    For one thing, she was Gianna''s mother. When her daughter caused trouble, it was only right for her to step forward.


    For another, Adrian wanted everyone to have dinner together anyway. By doing this, she was helping him achieve that goal. At least it meant Gianna hadn''t lost dignity for nothing.


    Adrian nodded. "Jonathan, you won''t refuse, will you?"


    Adrian was an elder. Jonathan couldn''t refuse.


    The two groups ended up sharing a private dining room.


    Anneliese sat between Jonathan and Ellie.


    After Ellie sat, Wendy turned to sit, but someone moved her chair for her.


    Wendy saw Adrian smiling at her and didn''t want to sit anymore.


    But since she wanted to sit with Ellie and Anneliese, she calmly withdrew her gaze, pretended she hadn''t seen the person behind her, and sat down At the same time, she called Out to Steven, Stevene sit here, and look after Ellie."


    Adrian tried to sit next to Wendy, but she called Steven instead. Adrian gave Steven a pointed look.


    Unfortunately, this son had never been reliable. From childhood to adulthood, he had never acted as a bridge between his parents-only as someone determined to oppose them.


    As if he hadn''t noticed Adrian''s gaze at all, Steven pulled out a chair and sat down on Wendy''s other side. He even turned to Adrian behind him and asked feigning ignoranc What are you standing there for?"


    Adrianughed coldly, but Gianna pulled him aside, saying, "Dad, didn''t you want to discuss business with Jonathan?"


    She guided Adrian to sit beside Jonathan. By then, Pepper had already taken her seat-right on Adrian''s other side.


    That left only one seat remaining, which Gianna and Steven ended up sharing.


    She had always been a little afraid of this eldest brother. Ever since the incident at the police station, when Steve hot helped her at all, b?r” warness toward him had only grown.


    Now that she knew she wasn''t even his real sister, sitting next to him made the


    sense of distance and coldness around Steven feel even stronger.


    But she had already lost face today, and Pepper had made it clear-the priority now


    was to stabilize her position in the Malone family.


    She needed to win over Adrian and Steven for reassurance.


    Gianna leaned closer to Steven and spoke quietly.


    "Steven, did I do terribly today? Can you check what people are saying online? I''m


    afraid to look."