He sat down beside Scarlett Taylor. Although he cursed Ruby Bluen as an unfilial daughter, he couldn't resist taking her photo from Scarlett Taylor's hands. He stared intently at the image of his eldest daughter, who used to be his right-hand woman. Worry showed in his eyes.

"Where on earth could this girl have hidden herself? Ah, it's really infuriating." Chris Bluen eventually returned the photo to Scarlett Taylor and let out a heavy sigh.

"Julia is now with Glades, and with his pampering and affection, she will be happy. But Ruby... her whereabouts are unknown. Chris, what sins have we committed to drive our eldest daughter to run away from home?" Scarlett Taylor said bitterly. Both daughters were the apples of her eye. Yet one was happy and the other missing—a true mix of joy and sorrow.

"We didn't force her to leave; she chose her own path. Glades always treated her so well. For her sake, he was never involved in any scandals. In wealthy circles, how many can maintain such integrity as Glades? She was good to Glades too. Their feelings for each other were so deep they had even set a wedding date. Only when it came to registering did she run off. Who forced her?" Chris Bluen disagreed with Scarlett Taylor.

The relationship between Glades Horne and Ruby Bluen had been based on mutual affection. Though it wasn't tumultuous, it had lasted for many years, and they both felt that marriage was a natural progression.

Neither family had ever forced them into the relationship.

Moreover, was Glades Horne someone they could force?

"Julia and Glades are coming back today and will visit us later. If you keep looking so downcast, Julia will feel sad when she sees you. She's newly married and, in a way, married in Ruby's place. As parents, we mustn't affect her marriage. We've seen that Glades treats Julia very well, but who knows if he still harbors feelings for Ruby in his heart?" Chris Bluen persuaded again, seeing his wife still gazing at and caressing the photo of their eldest daughter.

Hearing this, Scarlett Taylor's hand, which was stroking Ruby Bluen's photo, stiffened for a moment before she finally put it away.

"Master, Madam, the eldest miss has returned!" the Housekeeper burst in excitedly from outside, smiling as he spoke to the couple.

The couple stood up reflexively. Looking at the Housekeeper, they asked in disbelief, "Who did you say has returned?"

"Dad, Mom." A voice they had longed to hear for over a month sounded, and the couple couldn't help but tremble.

It was Ruby Bluen's voice. Turning their heads, they saw her standing at the entrance of the Side Hall, looking at them wearily.

Ruby Bluen had flown back from Tibet to T City overnight and was supposed to have arrived early in the morning. However, not wanting to disturb her parents in the middle of the night, she waited at the airport until dawn. Fearful that her haggard appearance would sadden them, she first checked into a hotel to rest for half a day, took a bath, and ate lunch before coming home.

From the moment she boarded the plane, she had turned off her phone and had not switched it on since.

She wanted to avoid any news about Marcel Horne.

"Ruby, is it really you?" Scarlett Taylor snapped back to reality. She rushed forward, pulled Ruby Bluen into her embrace, and held her tightly, tears of joy streaming uncontrollably down her face.

"Mom, it's me." Ruby Bluen cried too. She had returned with an already wounded heart. Now, held in her mother's arms, her tears were unstoppable, flowing once more.

Indeed, a mother's embrace is the warmest, the most accepting. Even when her child has done wrong, a mother still enfolds her mistakes with a heart full of compassion.

"Ruby, you... you had me worried sick! How could you do this? How could you just leave like that...?" Scarlett Taylor sobbed, tightly hugging her eldest daughter who had suddenly returned home.

"Mom, I'm sorry." Ruby Bluen gently stepped out of her mother's embrace, her tear-stained face turned upward as she apologized.

Seeing her haggard face made Scarlett Taylor even more distressed.

With a gentle hand, she wiped the tears from Ruby Bluen's face, her voice breaking as she said, "It's good that you're back. It's good that you're back."

Ruby Bluen also wiped away Scarlett Taylor's tears. Then, she turned to face Chris Bluen, whose expression was stern.

She took two steps forward, stood before Chris Bluen, and called out apologetically, "Dad."

"Unfilial daughter!" Chris Bluen raised his hand and slapped her fiercely across the face, instantly leaving a clear five-fingered imprint on her cheek.

"Chris!" Scarlett Taylor quickly stepped forward, shielding Ruby Bluen with her body. Glaring at Chris Bluen, she said, "Chris, how could you hit Ruby?"

"She is unfilial! How could I not hit her? If she didn't want to marry Glades, she could have said so. Why did she have to run away from the wedding? Has she ever considered the catastrophe her fleeing the marriage would bring upon our Bluen Family? With Glades so angry, so furious, has she thought about how we are to quell his wrath? If we can't calm his anger and Glades decides to take it out on the Bluen Family—not to mention the end of cordial relations between our families—it's entirely possible he could destroy the Bluen Family! She only thought of herself, never of her parents or younger siblings. As a daughter, isn't this the utmost unfilial behavior?" Chris Bluen looked at the vivid slap mark on Ruby Bluen's face, his own heart aching. To strike one's child is to pain one's own heart.

He, after all, was disappointed she hadn't lived up to expectations.

Even now, they had no idea why Ruby Bluen had run away from the wedding. Had she wronged Glades Horne, or had he wronged her?

Scarlett Taylor was left speechless by Chris Bluen's shouting.

"Dad, I'm sorry." Ruby Bluen didn't blame her father for hitting her. She owed her parents an apology. She hadn't considered the consequences of fleeing the wedding; she only knew she couldn't marry Glades Horne because the one she truly loved was Marcel Horne.

"The person you should be apologizing to is Glades." After scolding her, Chris Bluen's heart softened.

After all, she was still his child.

The mention of Glades Horne turned Ruby Bluen's expression gloomy.

She didn't love Glades Horne, but having grown up together, a sibling-like affection existed between them. After hurting him so badly, she truly owed him an apology.

"Dad, I will see Glades soon. I will apologize to him. I really did wrong him," Ruby Bluen said, her expression disheartened. Bearing the title of Glades Horne's girlfriend while loving his brother was a betrayal hurtful to anyone, let alone to Glades Horne—the golden boy, a man before whom all the Businessmen in T City had to tread carefully.