Wendy reached out and gave Anneliese''s arm a gentle tap as well. After Anneliese withdrew, Wendy examined her expression with quiet attention.


    "Are you certain you''re not pushing yourself?"


    A faint smile touched Anneliese''s mouth, her gaze open and steady. "Madam Chalmont, I grew up without a mother. On a day as meaningful as a wedding, I want to receive family blessings too. All the love and expectations you once had for your daughter were stitched into that dress. When I put it on, I can feel how deeply treasured it was. I should be the one thanking your daughter. Truly, I''m not bothered at all."


    The moment Anneliese mentioned her daughter, a dull ache tightened in Wendy''s chest.


    For years, the loss of that child had be an unspoken rule. Even Adrian and Steven avoided the topic, fearful of reopening Wendy''s wounds.


    In their hearts, they even wished that child had never existed, hoping Wendy could erase the pain entirely.


    Yet her daughter had done nothing wrong-still, she was treated like an ill omen, a name no one dared say aloud.


    And now Anneliese spoke of her so calmly, as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world.


    Emotion welled up in Wendy. She sped Anneliese''s hand, recalling how earlier— overwhelmed and restless—she had impulsively said she wanted Anneliese as her goddaughter. At the time, it was a spur-of-the-moment thought. Now, it felt unexpectedly right.


    She was just about to ask Anneliese how she felt when Ellie, who had been sprawled on the floor piecing together a puzzle, noticed them embracing and caught sight of Wendy''s reddened eyes. Ellie scrambled up, squeezed between them, and wrapped her arms around Wendy.


    Wendy chuckled and gently pinched her granddaughter''s plump cheek.


    "I''m just feeling happy."


    Ellie blinked, unable to figure out why happiness made Wendy''s eyes turn red, or what exactly she was so happy about.


    Wendy looked from Ellie to Anneliese. "I love you, Ellie, and I love Anneliese too. With both of you here with me, I feel content."


    ...


    While warmth filled that side of the room, chaos was unfolding elsewhere. Pepper found Gianna by the curb, locked in a heated argument with a delivery rider.


    Gianna had suddenly rushed out into the road. The rider swerved to avoid her, lost control, and crashed his bike sliding across the pavement as the cake he was delivering shattered into a mess.


    Gianna didn''t even offer an apology. She cast him a contemptuous nce and tried to leave. Naturally, the rider grabbed her and demanded she pay for the damage.


    Under normal circumstances, Gianna despised wasting words on people she considered beneath her she would have tossed some cash and walked away.


    But today her temper was already shot. She''d stormed out without her purse. Unable to pay, she jabbed finger at the rider and started shouting, using him of running a con, hurling insults, calling him trash and wishing him dead the confrontation quickly escted.


    Her words were vicious, dripping with disdain.


    Bystanders had seen everything clearly. Gianna had dashed out first, and the crash happened because the rider tried to avoid her. The crowd began openly criticizing her.


    "Get away from me! Don''t touch me with those filthy hands. Do you have any idea how expensive this dress is? You could break your back working and still never be able to pay for it!"


    Pepper pushed through the onlookers and arrived just in time to see Gianna fling her arm away, while the rider''s face flushed red, veins standing out as his fists clenched.


    Pepper hurried forward, yanked Gianna back, swiftly transferred three thousand to the rider to settle the matter, then dragged Gianna away.


    "Let go! Why did you pay him? Can''t you see he was trying to scam me? So even you think I deserve to be picked on that no matter what I do, I''m always wrong?"


    Gianna was still seething, her voice shrill. Pepper''s expression hardened as she dropped her voice.


    "Gianna, that''s enough. Haven''t you embarrassed yourself enough? Do you want to end up in the gossip headlines again?"


    Gianna nced around and finally noticed the crowd-and the phones pointed straight at her.


    Only then did her anger ebb. She lowered her head and let Pepper pull her away.


    Pepper took her directly back to the Malone Residence. In her bedroom, Gianna stripped off her jacket and threw it into the trash b?f?re. copsing onto the bed, her face dark with fury.


    Le


    Pepper poured her a ss of water. Gianna took it, swallowed a couple of


    mouthfuls, then looked up, eyes zing again.


    "Five years ago, I cried and begged


    her for that design draft, and she refused. Now she hands it over to Anneliese instead! Even if I''m not her biological daughter, I''m no different in practice, am I? To put it bluntly, if she dropped dead today be the one wearing mourning-not Anneliese!"


    Pepper sat down beside her and rubbed her shoulder infort.


    "Alright. It''s just a wedding dress sketch. If she wants to give it away, let her. When


    it''s your turn to marry, you''ll have something even better."


    Gianna scowled. "Mom, do you really think I care about a scrap of paper? What I


    care about is Aunt Wendy''s attitude. Didn''t you hear her? She wants to make Anneliese her goddaughter."