Charles gave Maisy a cool, measured look but said nothing. Harvey, on the other hand, wasn’t as restrained. He sneered and said, “We don’t welcome you.”
Maisy forced a smile, bitterly. “I know you’ve all misunderstood me. But I believe you’ll get to know the real me soon, and the misunderstanding will clear up.”
Janine sighed inwardly, feeling helpless. She watched as Charles and Harvey’s defensiveness towards Maisy only grew. Given their past issues, she knew they weren’t going to resolve the misunderstanding easily.
“Mom,” Harvey spoke up, “my friend just showed me Skylar’s Instagram post. What’s her current boyfriend’s job?”
“Skye doesn’t have a boyfriend. Didn’t you steal her ex-boyfriend?” Harvey sneered.
Maisy gritted her teeth. “It was a misunderstanding, I clarified everything back then.”
Harvey wasn’t having it. “Stop kidding. Do you think we’re fools?”
“I can’t see Skylar’s Instagram because she blocked me. But my friend sent me this photo.” Maisy quickly forwarded the image on her phone.
Harvey raised an eyebrow, scanning the photo. “He’s probably just a friend of hers.”
“Yes, they could be colleagues or friends,” Janine agreed, nodding thoughtfully.
Charles, who had already tried reaching out to Skylar, added, “It’s normal for Skylar to take photos with men. I don’t think we should read too much into it. Even if Elliott turns out to be her boyfriend, it’s no big deal.”
Maisy, however, wasn’t letting it go. “Skylar must have paid a lot to join Mr. Gardner Senior’s team. Mom, you may want to pay closer attention to her. After all, girls are more vulnerable in situations like this.”
Janine was about to respond when Maisy continued, “You might not realize Mr. Gardner Senior’s influence in Jipsburg. Nobody gets to join his team without connections or serious skills. Skylar could be heading down the wrong path—”
Before she could finish, Harvey slapped her hard across the face. “Watch your words and stop spouting nonsense! My sister got onto that team because of her own abilities!”
“Don’t slander Skye again,” Janine frowned, her voice tense.
Charles, who had been quietly listening, finally spoke up, his voice cold. “Did you come here to try and destroy our relationship with Skylar? If that’s the case, you should give up now. We know Skylar better than anyone, and all of your efforts are in vain.”
Maisy, anger flashing in her eyes, stood up abruptly. “Do you even know what Mr. Gardner Senior’s team does?”
“Mainly restores cultural relics,” Charles responded calmly, unfazed by her outburst.
Maisy was momentarily stunned. She had never heard that before, and it made her wonder if Skylar had been hiding her true abilities.
Meanwhile, Jeffrey and Sadie were equally shocked by the Instagram post, which Maisy had forwarded to them.
“Why did she post this photo now, of all times?” Peter fumed. “We were already embarrassed in front of John this morning, and now we’ve really angered the Gardners!”
“Could Skylar be flirting with John and other men at the same time?” Samuel scoffed. “She’s not as well-behaved as everyone thinks. She’s wild!”
Jeffrey was sitting at home with Sadie, staring at the group chat, hoping that Skylar might offer an explanation. Unfortunately, she hadn’t been added to the chat from the start, and she had left the other one as well.
Sadie looked worried. “Jeff, what do we do now? Can our company survive this?”
Jeffrey’s face grew somber. “Our company is at its most critical point. If things don’t change soon, we’ll probably have to declare bankruptcy.”
Sadie turned pale. “But only a short amount of time has passed. How could our company—”
“We’ll have to sell the villa,” Jeffrey cut her off. “I’ll mortgage everything and try to turn things around. I’ve been wondering if Skylar’s involvement somehow triggered this, but it doesn’t seem like that’s the case.”
Deep down, Jeffrey was hoping that someone significant would notice Skylar’s potential. He was willing to sell her out if it meant saving his company.
Skip to content