CHAPTER 563: UNEXPECTED

"Yes, Miss!"

Suzie sprang into action, her crisp voice cutting through the murmurs of the crowd. She hadn’t been told explicitly what to do ... she didn’t need to be. Lately, just a look from Shelby was enough to convey what needed to be done, and her service had honed her instincts. Sometimes, she didn’t even need the call to get tasks done.

The two were in an almost perfect sync without the mind link. In moments, Suzie was gliding through the space, directing the footmen, adjusting the pace of the servers, and subtly steering the flow of conversation.

The guests were directed to another space where the grand reception was to be held. It was tacitly understood that the wedding couple would be missing from this, and no one minded anyway.

It took some time to draw the guests’ eyes away from Shelby’s usual and striking dazzle. Radiant in her gown with her now prominent baby bump, but the transition was effortless. With practised grace, Suzie directed their attention towards the expansive wedding reception grounds.

The reception was a spectacle in itself. Tiered gardens overflowed with exotic blooms imported for the occasion, their perfume mingling with the aroma of delicacies prepared by world-class chefs.

Crystal chandeliers hung from temporary pavilions, catching the afternoon sun in thousands of tiny, glittering prisms. A quartet played beneath a silk-draped gazebo, the music soft yet precise, designed to encourage conversation rather than overwhelm it.

No media had been allowed inside as the family’s rules were firm, but selected moments of the day were being streamed online through the official channel, a carefully curated glimpse into a celebration that most could only dream of attending. Every step, every smile, every clink of champagne glasses had been designed to showcase both grandeur and exclusivity.

Yet, in the midst of the grandeur, there was one pair of eyes that never left Shelby. They watched from the far edges of the crowd, always there, never close enough to draw attention.

When she laughed, they tilted forward as if to catch the sound. When she moved, they shifted to follow, carefully and deliberately. Whoever they belonged to, they seemed to know better than to approach... for now. Besides, no one in their right mind would approach Shelby when Ian was around, whether with good intentions or not. But from the look of things, this person belonged to the latter.

As the conversation drifted to other mundane subjects, one of the mothers who was lamenting about missing out on joining the Thornstons’ whispered, "You know, there are still three Thornstons left. The cousins! I mean, half a loaf is better than none, right? If we can’t get Master Ian or Brad and now Rockwell, then we can look at those three!"

For a moment, no one said anything as they were stunned.

"Are you really living under a rock?"

"Yh, do I want a diamond or the rock you found in your shoe?"

"Hahahaahaaaaa...." The surrounding mothers couldn’t help but laugh while the speaker continued,

"I came for the real phoenix and not some wet chicken somewhere. It was widely broadcast with evidence that those people are just adopted and don’t relate by blood! Why would I want to subject my daughter to those useless fools? One, they don’t have the blue blood, and two, they are lazy and frankly missing a few screws up there...."

Their circle grew quiet before the first person responded, "Did you see the two sisters? They look so much like Chairman Alex that I find it hard to believe that they are not relate-"

Some shook their heads at her ignorance,

"I would not finish that statement if I were you...."

"Yh, Do you think that they don’t know that? If the sisters from the other branch of the family are so wronged, why do you think that they have not countered this?"

"It’s surprising to hear this from you, as you have been a part of this circle for years now...."

"Whoever is in power wins! Do you think we all don’t know that? I don’t want to be a part of this suicidal conversation. My family is barely holding on as is... I don’t want to step on anyone’s foot! If you want to be a part of a discarded family so bad, please do yourself and us a service by disassociating from us going forward...."

"Wai-"

Before she completed the word, all the other mothers had left her side. It took her a while to understand what they meant.

Meanwhile, on another part of the island, the Thornston sisters, Molly and Sally, sat in front of the TV watching the livestream from the news coverage.

The television screen was a cruel reminder of everything the two had lost. They should have been part of that glamour! Their nephew was getting married, and they had not even received an invitation. The two knew better than to go there uninvited, based on the rules in their circles and, most importantly, their new unfavourable status.

Sally watched as her own family, laughing and toasting in the grand reception hall, while she and Molly sat alone in the shadowed corner of her once-proud home. She didn’t even have the luxury of anger anymore; the servants looked at her with thinly veiled contempt, as if she were already dust. It had been widely accepted now that they were guests in this home.

And now her sons, grown men, yet still brawling over trivialities, clattered across the living room like children at recess.

Sally’s eyes, sharp and cold, fixed on them. "I wish I could call the authorities on such stupidity!"

Dumb froze mid-sentence, jaw slack. The younger one, Dumbest, glanced at her like she’d sprouted horns.

"You two," she spat, the words like acid, just as the third of her sons joined, "... and YOU! in your thirties and forties. Men. Men, who should be responsible for their own families and careers by now! And yet I swear, if I didn’t know better, I’d say you were arguing over who gets the biggest lollipop. You’ve been fed, spoiled, and coddled all your lives. And this is what you give me? This circus of idiocy?"

Her cane slammed the floor. The sound echoed through the room, harsh and final. Molly just looked on, seemingly lost in thought.

"I tolerated your tantrums when I had leverage, when I could afford to shield you from your own shame. But now?" She let the silence stretch, tasting it. "Now, I see you for what you are. Pathetic. Spineless. Embarrassments wrapped in human skin.... Just like that, useless father of yours! Just what did I see in that man, and why am I surprised that his offspring are like this! I—" Her voice dropped to a low hiss, deadly calm. "I cannot even stand you."

This time, even Molly looked at her sister in surprise as her sons shrank back, eyes wide. For once, their mother’s wrath wasn’t tempered by love. It was raw, unflinching, and merciless.

The butler of their mansion, who was not far from them, only lifted a brow. "Finally," he murmured.

"I wonder who created and nurtured such Dumb children and who she is targeting her anger at?"

Another maid said, not bothering to lower their voice. In this home, the servants were king after that media spectacle, and Sally, as well as Molly, had learned to accept this. Sally usually wore her emotions on her sleeve, and it had taken her a longer time to come to a consensus with their new status.

Even their share of the family inheritance had been taken away, but they were given monthly stipends of a sort to support them. It was enough, but it could not support their usual luxurious lifestyle. It was just enough but not too much.

Sally leaned back, letting the dark satisfaction settle. She had nothing else in this house but her fury. And now, at least, she wielded it like a weapon, even if it was against her beloved sons.

"With all this hullabaloo from the main family, if my sons were self-reliant, I wouldn’t have to bow my head and suffer such humiliation! ... from a bastard! One who doesn’t belong to the family! I know that bastard Ian is definitely behind this!"

The boys shrunk back at their mother’s tone, for sadly, though they usually acted dumb, they could feel the negative differences in their lives after that incident. For once, they stopped their bickering and filed out of the room so as not to anger their mother again.

Molly sighed and then stood up, making her way back to her room, looking even older than her age. Time had etched itself deeper into her face; wrinkles now spoke louder than words. She made it to the room and never emerged again.

The next morning, when Molly did not appear for breakfast, Sally went to check on her. The door creaked open to a scene that froze her blood: eyes closed, body cold and stiff. Her sister, her world, her constant, her rock, was gone.

A scream tore from Sally’s throat, raw and ragged, echoing through the empty house. She collapsed to her knees beside the lifeless form, clutching at the air, then at her sister, shaking as though her own body could will her back.

Tears streamed unchecked, soaking the floor, as sobs wracked her frame. Her heart pounded so violently it felt as though it might burst, and yet the emptiness inside pressed in heavier than any pain Molly had known.

She ripped at her permed hair, pounded the bed with frail fists, screamed the name she would never speak again, Molly. A storm of grief that left her trembling, gasping, and utterly undone. The world had narrowed to the cold, unyielding weight of loss, and she had nothing left to hold onto.

Sally only had Molly to lean on, and that was why everything was tolerable even after what had happened with the main family.

But now, the house, once filled with the quiet constancy of Molly’s level-headed presence, felt vast, empty, and unforgiving. Every heartbeat reminded Sally: the one who had been everything to her was gone, and with her, a part of herself had gone too.

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