Chapter 21 Juniper is Home!
At the front door, Juniper, rocking a white lab coat, dropped her suitcase and said, "I'm back."
Aurora rushed over, grabbed Juniper's hand, and checked her out like she was inspecting Catherine, looking all worried.
"Juniper, why you lookin' so skinny again? Is the food in Tranquil County that bad? I'll whip up some supplements for you."
Juniper shook her head, "Nah, I'm good."
She turned and locked eyes with Catherine, who was surrounded by Charles, George, Richard, and Philip.
Catherine stood there all graceful, looking a lot like Aurora but with Marcus's sharp and bossy features, making her even more stunning.
Juniper thought to herself, 'Dang, Catherine really looks like a Windsor. She's so beautiful it makes my heart skip a beat!'
"Hey, I'm Juniper. Got a little something for you."
Juniper pulled out a small box from her suitcase, revealing a colorful feather hairpin. Each feather sparkled like gold under the light, as dazzling as diamonds.
"This feather came from my lab subjects. It's not worth much. If you don't like it, no biggie."
After all, her lab subjects were thousands of chickens.
Hearing that the hairpin was made from those chickens, Esme took a big step back.
"Juniper, it's one thing to do your research, but bringing this back? That's just gross!"
Catherine was a bit taken aback.
'I know about this hairpin. Last month, they said Tranquil County's No. 3 Research Institute developed a subject closest to chickens from three thousand years ago.'
'The No. 3 Research Institute's project is top-secret in all of Stellara. I didn't expect Juniper to be the head of it!'
'This feather hairpin is priceless, representing a huge leap in human research with major impacts on various fields in Stellara!'
Catherine accepted the hairpin and said, "Thanks, Juniper. I really like it, but it's too precious. Isn't it a bit much?"
What she meant was, getting this hairpin out of the research institute must've been a hassle.
Esme pouted.
'What a country bumpkin, thinking a chicken feather hairpin is a treasure.'
For the first time, Juniper smiled. She was slender, with short hair neatly tucked behind her ears, and her delicate face showed two small dimples.
"As long as you like it, who cares about the procedures? If it weren't for all the red tape, I would've welcomed you home when you arrived. It's such a pain. I'll blow up the research institute sooner or later, just to come home every day!"
Catherine was speechless.
'Blowing up the research institute is a bit much.'
Getting out was tough, always with a dozen special forces soldiers to protect Juniper. Even Marcus had to get clearance to see her. Over time, Juniper got fed up and just stopped coming home.
Juniper couldn't help but step forward and hug Catherine.
'Ah! Catherine smells so good, totally different from my stinky brothers!
The brothers looked at Juniper with jealousy, wanting to hug Catherine too!
But fearing Catherine's wrath, they only dared to ruffle her hair, watching helplessly as Juniper hugged her.
Esme said nothing.
'Is Juniper nuts? She's actually hugging Catherine!'
'The most beautiful and elegant daughter of the Windsor family should be me.'
"Juniper, I need to talk to you," Esme said.
Juniper let go of Catherine and turned to Esme. "Why you still dressed like that? If someone didn't know better, they'd think you were from the slums. Stop being an eyesore and go take care of Grandma."
Esme, on the verge of tears, grabbed Juniper's sleeve. "Juniper, I really need to tell you something important."
Juniper was annoyed. 'Esme is such a buzzkill, always interrupting my time with Catherine.'
"Fine, let's go to the study."
All the Windsor kids had their own private studies. Brandon and Aurora never meddled, letting them do their own thing.
In the study, as soon as Esme walked in, she grabbed Juniper and started bawling.
"Juniper, don't be fooled by Catherine. She's a two-faced schemer. On her first day back, she dressed in rags to make Aurora, Brandon, and our brothers feel guilty. Today, she was even pulling and tugging with several guys on the roadside. We are the real daughters of the Windsor family. She's gonna take everything from you and leave you with nothing! Juniper, you should be the daughter of the Windsor family. Why give your stuff to someone else? We need to team up and kick Catherine out. Having a daughter like her is a disgrace to the Windsor family. Lila is sick because of her and is still in the hospital."
To prove her point, Esme showed a video of Lila in the hospital on her phone.
In the video, Lila, full of energy, was munching on a dozen oranges in a row, showing no signs of illness.
Juniper raised an eyebrow and said seriously, "Lila's appetite looks good. At her age, she shouldn't eat such sweet things. How are you taking care of her? And those cakes, are they suitable for her?"
Esme was speechless.
'Those things are bought to show how filial I am to Lila! Lila was clearly enjoying them. How could Juniper, who was never around, question me?'
"Lila is sick because of Catherine! Juniper, didn't you hear me? As soon as Catherine came home, she took Aurora's amethyst and forbade the chef from cooking with onions and ginger!"
Juniper nodded. "Oh, Catherine doesn't like onions and ginger. You said she likes amethyst? I have a set too. I'll give it to her later!"
'Finally, I know what Catherine likes!'
Esme was silent.
'Why! From childhood to now, Juniper has always been indifferent to me, either thinking I am too stupid or too ugly, never playing with me. Now, why is she so good to Catherine? It must be because she thinks she isn't the real daughter of the Windsor family, trying to curry favor with Catherine to stay!'
Juniper happily went to find the amethyst and said, "Close the door when you leave. I'm gonna give the amethyst to Catherine."
Esme stared at Juniper's back, her resentful gaze suddenly falling on Juniper's open laptop.
Half an hour later.
Catherine looked at the set of top-quality amethyst crystals in front of her, a bit surprised.
She remembered this set of crystals from a stone gambling event two years ago. The auction price was a hundred million dollars. She didn't expect the Windsor family to buy it for Juniper.
Juniper rubbed her hands, looking at Catherine with anticipation, and said, "Catherine, I heard you like amethyst. This was a gift from Aurora and Brandon when I graduated with my PhD. It's yours now!"
'I think the hairpin is too shabby. Better to give something substantial!' Juniper thought.
"Thank you, Juniper."
Juniper smiled more happily than when her experimental data made a breakthrough.
Brandon and Aurora, seeing them getting along so well, smiled with relief.
'We knew that Juniper, whom we have personally raised, would definitely love Catherine just like they do!'
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