Patricia had barely opened her eyes that morning when she heard a noisymotion outside her


    front door.


    She padded over, pushed the curtain aside, and peeked out. There was Joseph, posted up right at her doorstep, with a small crowd trailing behind him–cameras and all.


    Was this seriously his idea of a public apology? Turning up with the media to stage some headline–worthy reconciliation?


    Downstairs, Jackson was waiting. “Miss,” he called, seeing her finally make her way down.


    “Don’t bother with them,” Patricia said, not even pausing. If Joseph needed an audience just to say sorry, she wasn’t about to y along.


    All day, Joseph stood outside. He didn’t leave, and Patricia didn’t so much as crack open the door.


    Joseph must’ve been exhausted, but he kept on livestreaming, determined not to let his guard down for even a <b>second</b>. And in thements, people couldn’t help but pour in–thanks in no small part to the Miller family’s PR push. Suddenly, the “wealthy heir waiting all day for forgiveness” became the talk of the inte.


    /* <![CDATA[ */


    fpm_start( "true" );


    /* ]]> */


    “Wow, not every rich guy goes this far to apologize.”


    “It’s almost ny degrees! He hasn’t taken a sip of water. That’s real effort.”


    “Is she not home or just refusing to forgive him? It’s not like anything serious happened, right? Didn’t his people already get what they deserved? Isn’t that enough?”


    “Seriously, just forgive him!”


    But Patricia wasn’t just sitting around.


    She picked up her phone and called someone from the Parsons family, asking them to get the official media involved and share her side of the story.


    .should an apology mean you have to forgive? That’s just emotional ckmail.”


    “Apologies shouldn’t be a publicity stunt.”


    Just like that, the tide of public opinion shifted.


    Meanwhile, at home, Nina was glued to her tablet, anxiously scrolling through thetestments. She looked up at her father. “Dad, maybe I could ask Mrs. Newton to step in? Maybe she could help smooth things over.”


    Ben shot her a look, calm but firm. “Do you really need me to remind you how bad things are between Kelly and her own daughter–inw? If you can’t even find the right person to help, what’s the point?”


    Nina fell quiet, the words catching in her throat. You could only rely on people who actually had a good rtionship with you–otherwise, <i>you </i>


    just made things worse.


    Before Nina could say anything else, Joseph’s livestream was abruptly <b>shut </b>down.


    Out at the gate, the police had arrived. Someone had reported them for causing a disturbance, and


    <b>13.27 </b>


    now it was time to clear out.


    “Mr. Miller, don’t make this harder for me. If you weren’t broadcasting everything live, maybe we could. look the other way. But with all these people watching…” The officer sighed, ncing at the cameras behind Joseph. <fn94a1> This text is hosted at Find?Novel</fn94a1>


    Joseph got the message. Sometimes, you just had to swallow your pride.


    He left the estate, but instead of heading home, he drove to a friend’s wine shop across the city.


    As soon as he walked in and sat down, he spotted Colton–the owner himself–behind the counter. Joseph blinked in surprise. “When did you get back from Toronto?”


    Colton barely ever showed up in person, always letting his staff run things. Bumping into him today felt like some kind of twist of fate.


    “Two days ago,” Colton replied.


    “Back for business?” Joseph asked.


    “Reporting to the boss,” Colton said, rolling his eyes and handing Joseph a cigarette. “You’ve made quite a mess for yourself these past few days.”


    “Don’t even bring it up,” Joseph groaned, taking the cigarette and lighting it. He picked up a ss of wine, then dropped into a seat by the window, exhaling a long, tired breath.


    “You’re just going to have to deal with it for now,” Colton said, his tone even. He’d never thought much of Joseph’s character, even though they went to school together. They weren’t close, but he knew exactly what kind of person Joseph was.


    The Miller family had been pouring money into their hotels, desperate to build their brand. Timing couldn’t be more critical. If Joseph had stopped to think for even a second, he would’ve realized how reckless he’d been.


    They could share a drink, maybe a few words–but anything more? That was out of the question..