Janice shot to her feet, pointing accusingly. “That’s my necklace! Take it off your neck right now, you thief!”Martha immediately jumped in, nodding aggressively. “Exactly! That necklace was originally bought for my daughter. You have no right to it so give it back!”Leila scoffed, her fingers gently caressing the exquisite piece as she looked at Janice with condescension. “Why should I return something that’s no longer yours? You all watched Drex give it to me after you threw it away like worthless trash simply because you chose to believe another man over your own husband.”She smiled mockingly. “Janice, the only thing you should be worrying about right now is how you’re going to crawl back and apologize to Drex. Maybe… just maybe… he might be kind enough to pull off another miracle for you.”Janice’s hands clenched into tight fists, her entire body shaking with incandescent rage. Her eyes were locked on the necklace that should have been hers, a piece so expensive and exclusive,

Drex stepped into the living room and looked at the hostile faces surrounding him, his expression one of feigned confusion. “Why the hell are you all raising your voices at me like this?”Janice let out a sharp scoff. “You have the nerve to ask? I called you last night, remember? You owe us an explanation for that little stunt you pulled at the banquet yesterday.”“Stunt?” Drex interrupted, his brows furrowing in disbelief. “That wasn’t a stunt, Janice. You still haven’t learned your lesson, have you?”“What stupid lesson?” Martha snapped, stepping forward aggressively. “You made a complete fool out of this entire family, Drex!”Drex shook his head slowly, a knowing smile tugging at his lips. “No… you made fools of yourselves. I clearly told you I was the one behind the Knight Group contract, but none of you believed me. You chose to swallow every lie the Whitmores fed you.”His gaze shifted sharply to Janice and her heart skipped a bit. “And you…” he said coldly, “you were about to

At the mall, Drex moved quietly through the aisles, pushing a shopping cart and methodically adding items, mostly things his daughter Anna loved.One of the main reasons he was determined to cut Jordan out of the picture was Anna. He didn’t care that Jordan was her biological father. Anna was the one person he refused to lose to anyone. When this whole mess with Janice and the Ellingtons was finally over, it would be just him and his daughter. He had no intention of letting Anna grow up inheriting her mother and grandmother’s toxic traits.As he placed a large tin of milk powder into the cart, a soft voice beside him gasped in surprise.“Drex Easton?”He turned his head and raised an eyebrow at the familiar face. “Aria Hastings?”Aria let out a light, melodic chuckle, tucking a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear in a shy gesture. “You actually remember me. I’m glad… it’s been such a long time.”Drex studied her for a moment, genuinely surprised. He had met Aria by chance two ye

Aria immediately shot the woman a cold glare. “Sandra, he’s not a cleaner. He came with me.” She slipped her arm possessively around Drex’s and pulled him closer. “He’s my man. My boyfriend.”The announcement made Jo’s expression darken instantly. He sized Drex up with clear hostility, his smile fading into a deep frown. “What? Boyfriend?”Aria nodded confidently, still holding tightly onto Drex’s arm. “Yeah.”One of the guys chuckled mockingly. “You know this restaurant is a subsidiary of the Knight Group, right? None of us can afford the expenses, except Jo. He’s the one treating everyone tonight… just to prove his love for our goddess.”Jo glanced at the speaker and let out a smug chuckle. “You don’t have to explain everything, Vincent.”Vincent scoffed loudly. “Why not? It’s plain disrespect for our goddess to bring some random pauper here pretending to be her boyfriend.”Aria’s brows furrowed in irritation. “Who said I was pretending?”Vincent raised an eyebrow, looking Aria up a

Drex slowly lifted his gaze from the expensive food arranged on the table and looked straight at Jo, his expression calm and unreadable. “I’m the owner of this restaurant,” he said simply. For a moment, the table fell silent, then they erupted into loud, unrestrained laughter. They laughed so hard it seemed their throats might give out. Aria stared at Drex in stunned disbelief, unsure if she had heard him correctly. “Oh, I know exactly what you are,” one of the guests choked out between fits of laughter. “You’re a comedian!” “Even for a comedian, though, he could’ve at least dressed better,” another added, still laughing. Vincent, seated beside Drex, slapped his shoulder playfully. “Bro, you’re hilarious.” Drex watched them in silence as they laughed at his expense. Their reaction was predictable since, afterall, his claim sounded absurd. Still, he was exhausted from constantly being underestimated wherever he went. And even though they get to know the truth, they won't dare sp