Chapter 80 Fake is Fake
Samuel and Grace were more hyped about snapping a pic with Catherine than their own work and research. They even busted out their wedding outfits and dragged Catherine in for a photo op!
Grace rocked a burgundy dress. Even though she was older, she still had that classy vibe, and the dress just made her look even more elegant.
Samuel's suit was old but in great shape, and he had this cool iris brooch that made him look both brainy and kind.
Catherine sat between Samuel and Grace, and they took their first group selfie.
Grace, all happy, waved at Brandon and Aurora, who were practically bouncing with excitement to get their turn with Catherine!
At the last birthday bash, they were so busy snapping pics of Catherine that they forgot to take group shots, and now they were kicking themselves for it.
The whole fam sat together and took a ton of pics.
Samuel wasted no time and changed his Facebook profile pic to a selfie with Catherine.
He hit up Marcus right away.
Samuel: [Oh man, why did I change my profile pic? I can't even see, who's that in the pic?]
Marcus was playing chess with Felix and almost lost it when he saw the message, "That Samuel, what a show off!"
Seeing Catherine's face close to Samuel's in the pic, Marcus was green with envy.
'Why didn't I think of taking a pic with Catherine? Now I gotta watch Samuel show off!' Marcus thought.
In the Windsor family group chat, Charles "accidentally" sent a bunch of pics of Catherine and their recent group shots.
George: [Catherine is so adorable. Is Grace doing okay? I'll come back after my surgery.]
Richard: [What the heck? Why didn't we take pics when I was home?]
Juniper: [No worries, I'll Photoshop myself in.]
She quickly edited herself into the group pic and sent it to the chat.
Richard: [Fake is fake. Stop pretending. You actually wanna cry, don't you?]
Juniper quickly called Catherine, sounding all pitiful, "Catherine! Richard says I'm fake. Does he want me to leave the family? I can't bear to leave you! But I know I'm not a Windsor. I deserve this. I'll leave right away."
Catherine quickly comforted her, "Juniper, I'll find time to visit you in Tranquil County and bring you some treats."
"Then I wanna take pics with you too!"
"Sure, we'll take lots."
Juniper, satisfied, hung up and sent the recording of the call in the group chat.
Richard was fuming.
Richard: [You're too much! This is sowing discord! You want Catherine to pity you! Right? George?]
George ignored the drama in the group and called Catherine. "Catherine, wanna have dinner tomorrow? I also wanna take pics with you."
"Okay."
After dealing with the Windsor family's photo frenzy, Catherine let out a sigh of relief.
When she was with the Smith family, she rarely took pics and had no photos left.
Except for one childhood photo that Elodie treasured and was buried with her, Catherine had no photos left in the Smith family.
Grace looked at the photo of Catherine smiling gracefully and gently, turned away to wipe her tears, and secretly kissed the photo on her phone, whispering, "So cute, Catherine, how wonderful."
Catherine's heart melted, feeling Grace's love through this small gesture, and a warm feeling flowed through her.
Charles extended his hand to Catherine and asked, "Wanna hit up the music store?"
"Okay."
In the car with Charles, Catherine heard him softly humming a song, clearly in a great mood.
"Catherine, Brandon and Aurora weren't always like this. Brandon used to be super strict. After finding out Juniper wasn't a Windsor, he totally changed. If you had seen him before, you'd think he was this stern, no-nonsense guy. One time, at the mall, there was an elevator accident, and a kid got stuck inside. Brandon could've called someone to stay with the kid, but he sat by the door himself, saying if you were in danger outside, it’d be nice if someone stayed with you. Our family’s always been big on charity, especially the last couple of years. Once, Lila blamed Aurora for losing you, and Aurora cried her eyes out. Juniper’s awesome, but we missed you too. Now that you're with us, you have no idea how happy we are."
Catherine was quiet for a sec, then smiled. "Yeah, I know. I'm really happy too."
Charles reached out and gently touched her soft hair, saying, "At first, Juniper came to me and said she’d leave the Windsor family when you came home. But thinking about how Samuel and Grace couldn’t bear to part with her, and neither could Brandon and Aurora, we decided to let it be."
Catherine knew the Windsor family had a tough time at first, so she said, "Juniper’s great. Even if she finds her family, we’re still family, right?"
Charles was a bit stunned, then squeezed Catherine’s face with relief and emotion.
Catherine was simply amazing!
No wonder she was a Windsor!
He sent Juniper Catherine’s exact words, along with a few scolding messages, telling Juniper to stay in the Windsor family as she’d always be a part of it.
Juniper quickly sent a string of crying emojis.
Juniper: [Catherine is my little angel! Charles! How dare you scold me?]
Juniper: [Catherine loves me, and I love Catherine! Charles, you’re blocked!]
Charles looked at his phone, his temples throbbing.
After a while, he laughed and cursed, "What a cheeky girl, no respect."
But his smile stayed, filled with joy.
The Smith Villa, Serenitia City.
Oliver and Celeste were roughly dumped at the villa’s entrance, and the unlicensed vehicle sped away.
Hearing the noise, Clara ran out, seeing Oliver and Celeste lying on the ground, all beat up.
"Oliver, Celeste, what happened to you? I sent the money!"
Oliver slapped Clara across the face and said, "You wretched girl, did you delay on purpose? We got beat up because of you! You did it on purpose!"
Clara’s face went numb from the slap.
It was her first time being hit!
"Oliver, how could you? I borrowed that money with great difficulty, and it needs to be repaid," Clara said.
Oliver and Celeste, supported by the maid, went inside and sat on the sofa, sighing. "Repay? Didn’t you borrow it from Lucas?"
'It’s five million dollars. If I have to come up with five million dollars, it’ll be the end of me! No way I’m repaying it!' Oliver thought.
Clara was conflicted. "But..."
"No buts, call a doctor! It hurts so much!" Oliver said.
Seeing Oliver and Celeste covered in bruises, Clara asked, worried and anxious, "Should we call the cops?"
Oliver rolled his eyes and said, "They could drop us at our doorstep, what's the point of calling cops? Call a doctor!"
Most importantly, during the beating, Oliver vaguely heard about some shady stuff the Smith family company was involved in.
If he called the cops and those things got out, the Smith family would be toast!
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
