The room was warm and smelled faintly of jasmine oil and clean linen. At that moment, Queen Ladin, the ruler’s wife, Justin's sister, was seated gracefully in front of a giant, beautifully framed mirror. She was a striking woman in her late thirties, with elegant features and smooth, pale skin that made her look younger than her age. Her long, dark hair was being carefully styled by a group of maids.Her back was to the door when Justin stormed in.The second he barged into the room, raging and demanding answers, the maids instantly lowered their heads with their hands trembling slightly as they tried to keep working. None of them dared look his way.They all knew Justin’s reputation. He was quick-tempered, unpredictable, and dangerously spoiled because of his sister’s influence. He could lash out over the smallest thing, and the maids had learned the hard way that it was safer not to meet his eyes.But Queen Ladin didn’t flinch. She didn’t even turn her head. It was as if Justin’s o

The moment Eleanor’s eyes met the old man’s, It felt like she stopped breathing. The room went so quiet that she could almost hear the beat of her own heart in her ears. But still, the patriarch didn’t look away, his gaze stayed locked on her.Then the rest of the Roosevelt family noticed it too, and they could tell something was up even though the guests had no idea what was going on. Slowly, one after the other, they followed the old man’s stare, and every single pair of their eyes landed on Eleanor who was beside Asher.There were six of them on that stage, so that was twelve eyes fixed on her, and at that moment, she felt a rush of emotions she hadn’t prepared for.Fear, regret, anger, all hit her at once as she instantly regretted agreeing to come to this party, even though Asher had told her the night before it would be fine. But standing there now and facing them again, she realized it was going to be much harder than she thought.Meanwhile, Asher was getting more and more irri

As Eleanor started heading toward the Patriarch with the pearl in her hand, Alicia, Stephen's wife leaned in close to her husband with her eyes flicking rapidly between the pearl and Eleanor.Then, In a low, urgent whisper, she hissed, “What the hell is going on, Stephen? Are you seriously just going to sit there and watch this loser hand over a pearl like that? Do you realize what this means? If the Patriarch takes that thing, she wins him over. And what happens to us? You’re the most loved grandson here, everyone knows it, even though you’re the youngest. Are you really going to let them steal your spotlight like this?”Stephen’s jaw tightened and without turning his head, he whispered back, “Alicia, calm down. It’s just one gift.”“One gift?" She shot back, "Are you blind? That’s not just one gift.’That’s the Blood Pearl, Stephen! The Blood Pearl! Do you know how long your grandfather has been obsessed with finding one? And you’re sitting here like it’s nothing. If he accepts it, y

At Stephen’s words, Asher turned sharply and tilted his head as he looked Stephen up and down with a mixture of disbelief and amused curiosity in his eyes. It was as if he was silently asking who's this idiot. Meanwhile, the room’s energy tightened as every head turned toward Stephen as he boldly stepped forward, holding the pearl high in his hand like a trophy. Alicia who was by his side, wore a satisfied, knowing smile, the smug kind of smile that made it clear she had seen this coming. She didn’t even have to say a word as the look in her eyes said it all.The crowd hushed again, and Stephen spoke with a raised voice so no corner of the hall would miss a word.“I’ll say it again, the pearl this woman,” he gestured dramatically toward Eleanor, “and her insolent son brought here today was a trick and a cheap attempt to deceive the patriarch of this family.”Another sharp gasp sliced through the crowd.He continued, “Knowing how much Grandfather has yearned for the legendary Blood P

After Asher spoke those sharp words, the whole room went dead quiet that one could hear a pin drop. With everyone still grappling with the earlier words, the patriarch’s voice came out. Though his voice was calm and steady, it carried the kind of weight that made everyone tense up.“Boy,” he said as he narrowed his eyes, a slight frown on his face as if he had just realized how rude Asher had been. “you’ve crossed the line. And the only reason why I have been tolerating your tantrums is because of your mother. But then, patience will soon be overdue.”He didn’t shout as his words alone were enough to make most people back down, but definitely not Asher. He saw that cold, final look in the old man’s eyes that screamed he was done with the nonsense, but still, he didn’t budge.Instead, he gave a mocking scoff that made everyone’s heart skip a beat.“Do I look like I care?” he said in a cool and fearless voice.Then he took a step closer and stared at the old man dead in the eye like he