"Thank you." Juniper picked up a piece of fruit, but just as she was about to eat it, Miranda spoke again.


    "Juniper, what on earth do you see in our Shanley?"


    Juniper paused mid-chew, her eyes lifting in confusion.


    “Don''t get me wrong," Miranda quickly rified. “I''m just incredibly curious how he managed to win you over."


    A top schr, a master dancer, a jewelry designer, and apparently a skilled race car driver... On top of all that, she was a phenomenal gamer. Honestly, the girl was practically a prodigy, and she was only eighteen. What could she possibly see in Shanley? Miranda genuinely couldn''t fathom it.


    "Shanley''s had a strange personality since he was a child. He''s always been cold to everyone and never let any girls get close," Miranda said, airing all her son''s dirtyundry. "We used to suspect he was into men, ha ha ha."


    Shanley''s face turned ashen as he listened to his mother''sughter.


    "Is that so?" Juniper, however, found theughter contagious. A smile touched her lips as she replied softly, "I thought he might be into men at first, too."


    "Thankfully not." Miranda found craning her neck ufortable, so she simply ordered Shanley to get up. They swapped seats, and she happily plopped down next to Juniper, continuing their chat. “Juniper, you''re not even neen yet, are you?"


    "That''s right," Juniper nodded.


    "Tsk." Miranda nced at Shanley with a look of mock disdain. "Well, thank you." “Hm?” The thanks came so suddenly that Juniper was caught off guard.


    "If it weren''t for you, Shanley would have probably died alone," Miranda said, pulling no punches.


    Juniper looked over at Shanley and found him carefully preparing a dessert for her, a faint smile on his lips. He seemed topletely agree with his mother''s assessment.


    "Don''t worry. If he ever dares to bully you, I... I mean,” Miranda paused,posing herself before continuing.


    Juniper just watched her, a silent question mark forming in her mind.


    "I''ll stand up for you," Miranda finished firmly.


    Juniper smiled and murmured, "Okay."


    "Oh, right—" In the middle of their conversation, Miranda remembered the wee gift. She gestured for Hayden to bring it over. "This is for you."


    Miranda ced a box in front of Juniper. “It''s a Schwartz family heirloom, for our daughter-inw," she said gently.


    An heirloom? Juniper opened the box to find a three-piece set of emerald-green jade: a ne, a bracelet, and earrings. The color was rich, the quality wless- a priceless collection.


    "Originally, I came to meet you today


    to see if Shanley was taking advantage of you," Miranda.


    exined her eyes filled with delight


    as she looked at Juniper. "But Seeing


    how well he treats you, I can@est easy."


    "We''re only dating," Juniper began, looking up at Miranda. "You haven''t even asked about my family background. Aren''t you afraid that if things don''t work out you work be able to get something so valuable back?"


    “That won''t happen,” Miranda said with an unhesitating smile. “I know my son. The


    girl he chooses will be exceptional. Your family background doesn''t matter at all.”


    "And if you do end up separating..."


    Miranda took Juniper''s hand, her expression turning serious. "It will definitely be that brat''s fault, not yours his gift wouldnt even begin to cover the trouble he''d have


    caused you."


    Shanley let out a silent sigh. He felt it was necessary to remind her that he was, in


    fact, her biological son.