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Madeline’s face fell.
Natasha had beaten her to the punch, and there was no way she could deny it now.
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If it had been an ordinary bracelet, she could have just said she had been given the wrong gift.
But Natasha had already said it was a gift from her grandmother.
Everything that had happened that night left Andrew feeling anxious.
He instinctively wanted to keep something that could give him leverage over Natasha.
“The bracelet is for Natasha, but it’s only to be given to her when she gets married. It really wasn’t meant to be today’s birthday present,” he said.
He gave the butler a subtle nod.
The butler looked baffled, but after receiving the signal, he habitually moved to take back the
bracelet.
But a pair of hands blocked his way.
Alexei said, his tone dripping with sarcasm, “So something that’s only supposed to be given when Natasha gets married can be worn freely by Olivia.
“When Natasha finally gets it, it has to be taken away?”
Everyone instinctively turned to look at Olivia, who was shrinking behind Andrew and Madeline.
She had put on the bracelet just <i>to </i>get under Natasha’s skin. Natasha couldn’t have it, but Olivia had already been unting it for ages.
If the timing was right, she could have even made Natasha believe that the bracelet on her wrist was the very one meant for her.
But she never imagined that this bracelet, meant to be her tool, would end up turning into evidence against her.
Olivia was kicking herself inside.
Her dress didn’t have any sleeves, so she could only anxiously try to cover her wrist with her
hand.
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But before she knew it, Tilda had slipped over from the crowd around the flower cart and grabbed Olivia’s left hand.
She said, “Whoa, Olivia, your bracelet is exactly the same as the one Natasha just got!”
Everyone’s eyes immediately zeroed in on Olivia’s left hand, the one she’d been trying to
hide.
A person asked, “They really are identical. What’s up with that?”
Another asked, “Olivia isn’t married either. How did she get hers?”
Natasha smiled and said, “Actually, most of you probably don’t know this, but the bracelets my grandmother left behind were a matching pair. One is for me, the other one is for Olivia.
“I only just found out that Olivia got hers ages ago, while mine was always kept from me. Mrs. rk, would you care to exin why that is?”
Madeline was at a loss for words.
Even Andrew couldn’t help but me Olivia for wearing the bracelet at the wrong time.
He quickly tried to smooth things over. “Today’s a special asion.
“Your sister was just trying it on, that’s all. Let’s just leave it at that. Since you care so much, I’ll officially give you the bracelet today.”
But Alexei, who had been standing right next to Natasha, suddenly spoke up with a mocking tone. “Mr. rk, do you always y peacemaker like this in business too?
“Are you always twisting your favoritism and double standards by saying Natasha is being petty?”
Andrew felt a lump catch in his throat.
Not only was Alexei meddling in his family affairs, but he was so savage with his words.
Andrew felt that it was not appropriate for Alexei to do this.
Meanwhile, Tilda, who had already stepped back and was now happily shipping Alexei and Natasha from a corner, was grinning from ear to ear.
She thought, ‘Alexei really won’t let his wife suffer even a little. He’s a total wife–protecting
maniac.
‘I love it!‘
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Everyone could see through it now. That whole “trying it on” story was just a cover.
Clearly, there was a lot more going on beneath the surface.
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With everyone feeling sorry for her, Natasha seized the moment to drive her point home.
She lowered her head, looking genuinely hurt, and leaned against Alexei’s arm, her whole posture screaming heartbreak.
She said, “I’ve always known that my cousin and I mean differently <i>to </i>our parents.
“I can skip my birthday, I can let Olivia have the <i>5</i><i>% </i>shares I was supposed to get when I turned eighteen. Since then, I haven’t taken a single cent from the family.
“I’ve never once coveted our family’s wealth. But I thought at least when it came to my grandmother’s keepsakes, things would be fair.
“Turns out, even that’s too much to ask.”
She looked up at Andrew and Madeline, her eyes brimming with tears. “Mr. rk, Mrs. rk, am I really your biological daughter?”
A person asked, “What the hell? Is Andrew out of his mind? He’s giving the family shares to an adopted daughter instead of his real one?”
Another asked, “Adopted daughter? Isn’t Olivia the rk family’s eldest daughter? Shouldn’t she already have <i>5</i>%?”
Someone else said, “What are you talking about? Didn’t you hear Natasha call her cousin?
“Olivia is Madeline’s sister’s daughter, adopted by the rk family seventeen years ago. Natasha is the only real heiress of the rk family.”
A person asked, “Wait, isn’t the real issue that the rk family hasn’t given Natasha a single cent since she turned eighteen?
“Did they swap the real and adopted daughters or something?”
Not only were old grievances being dragged up again, but the rk family’s deep–seated favoritism was once moreid bare for everyone to see,
The whole rk family’s faces turned sour all at once.
Even Lucas, who had been eerily silent ever since Alexei reimed the spotlight for Natasha’s birthday, stared at them, utterly stunned.
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He knew the rk family hadn’t treated Natasha well, but he never realized just how far they’d go in treating her and Olivia so unequally.
He thought, ‘Natasha was never the type to air her grievances.
‘Or maybe, there were times she actually wanted to speak up.‘
Every time she tried, Lucas would just go on about how pitiful Olivia was because of his guilt and sympathy for Olivia.
He asked Natasha to cut Olivia some ck, and even tried over and over to get them <i>to </i>make <ol><li>up. </li></ol>
After all, before Natasha’s Grandma passed away, Natasha always held everything in. Lucas felt that everyone was getting along just fine back then.
Ever since then, whenever Natasha shed with Olivia, she never told Lucas about the things the rk family did to her because of Olivia.
Unable to take everyone’s snide remarks and usations anymore, Noel finally snapped. “What nonsense are you spouting?
“When has our family ever not given you money? You’re just greedy and making up lies to hurt Olivia.”
As someone who never had to fight orpete for anything, born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he was truly sheltered and clueless.
Natasha stayed cool. “Noel, you can mess around with guys all you want, but don’t let it fry your brain.
“Whether I got money or not is something you can check with the ounts.
‘Mr. rk, Mrs. rk, Thomas, have I ever taken a single cent from you since I turned eighteen?”
Thomas instinctively shot back, “I gave you a card…”
“Did that card ever actually get used after it was suspended?” Natasha cut in directly.
Thomas felt like he’d just been struck by a hammer. He vaguely remembered his assistant mentioning that the card kept getting suspended every so often.
The assistant even asked if he should check with Natasha to see what card she was using instead.
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He knew the rk family hadn’t treated Natasha well, but he never realized just how far they’d go in treating her and Olivia so unequally.
He thought, ‘Natasha was never the type to air her grievances.
‘Or maybe, there were times she actually wanted to speak up.‘
Every time she tried, Lucas would just go on about how pitiful Olivia was because of his guilt and sympathy for Olivia.
He asked Natasha to cut Olivia some ck, and even tried over and over to get them to make <ol><li>up. </li></ol>
After all, before Natasha’s Grandma passed away, Natasha always held everything in. Lucas felt that everyone was getting along just fine back then.
Ever since then, whenever Natasha shed with Olivia, she never told Lucas about the things the rk family did to her because of Olivia.
Unable to take everyone’s snide remarks and usations anymore, Noel finally snapped. “What nonsense are you spouting?
“When has our family ever not given you money? You’re just greedy and making up lies to hurt Olivia.”
As someone who never had to fight orpete for anything, born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he was truly sheltered and clueless.
Natasha stayed cool. “Noel, you can mess around with guys all you want, but don’t let it fry your brain. <fn654e> This content belongs to f?ndnovel</fn654e>
“Whether I got money or not is something you can check with the ounts.
“Mr. rk, Mrs. rk, Thomas, have I ever taken a single cent from you since I turned eighteen?”
Thomas instinctively shot back, “I gave you a card…”
“Did that card ever actually get used after it was suspended?” Natasha cut in directly.
Thomas felt like he’d just been struck by a hammer. He vaguely remembered his assistant mentioning that the card kept getting suspended every so often.
The assistant even asked if he should check with Natasha to see what card she was using
instead.
and Madeline were both hit hard.
They thought, ‘So Natasha was telling the truth all along? She really hasn’t used a single cent from the family since she turned eighteen?
‘So after she left home all those years ago, how did she even survive?‘
But Natasha didn’t give them a single moment to catch their breath.
She continued to mock herself, “Whatever. You guys have never really treated me like your own daughter.
“Might as well let everyone see it for themselves today.
‘Since the rk family only ever acknowledges Olivia as their daughter, I won’t im to be the rk family’s daughter anymore.
‘From now on, my life and my marriage are none of your business. The rk family and I share no more ties. We’re done.”
After tonight, people would definitely start gossiping about her and Alexei.
She was afraid that people might try to suck up to Alexei by getting close to Andrew and Thomas and investing in the rk family.
If that happened, all the money would end up in Olivia’s pocket.
Alexei’s power was hers to use, and hers alone.
She had to make sure the rk family would never get to use Alexei for their own benefit. Tonight, she’dy everything out in the open.
She didn’t care what people said. There was no way she’d let people she hated profit off her name and status,
Besides, even if Lucas was out of the picture, there could always be another guy.
With Olivia stirring things up, Natasha knew that her parents could pull off something crazy again.
She had to shatter their power to boss her around and make decisions for her behind her back, once and for all.
From now on, if they tried to set up her marriage without asking her, nobody out there
would believe it.
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Madeline was left reeling, her eyes clouded with confusion. She thought, ‘How did a tiny bracelet turn into this? Natasha is actually cutting us off?‘
Most of the guests totally got it. The rk family had been straight–up bullying Natasha for
ages.
After everything that went down tonight, it was no wonder her heart was shattered for good.
Plus, when Natasha said she was done, she really meant it.
She didn’t have a single share in the family business to her name.
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