"Every day after Xiaoru finishes her homework, she asks me when you'll be back. She's so well-behaved; won't you praise her? Won't you spend more time with her? We don't ask for much, just a little concern from you when you think of us."

"But now you're saying my daughter should become a servant," Clara Philips cried, "Balthazar Shaw, are you really so heartless? Are you really going to let your own daughter become a servant?"

Balthazar Shaw, annoyed by the noise, rubbed his tense temples, "Cry, cry, cry! All you do is cry all day. Xiaoru's tendency to cry over everything is something I think she learned from you!"

"I think if she stays with you, she'll only learn bad things!"

"Learning to borrow money from delinquents and lying to me – didn't she learn those things from you? If our daughter stays with you, she'll be ruined sooner or later!"

Hearing this, Clara Philips collapsed onto the ground with a thud.

Jovana Shaw crawled over to Clara Philips as she cried, and they hugged each other. With tears on her face, Jovana Shaw pleaded with Balthazar Shaw, "Dad, I'll be good from now on. Please don't kick mom out. Xiaoru will behave, I promise. Please don't make Xiaoru lose her mom too."

This was Balthazar Shaw's sore spot, the reason he always felt guilty towards Aurelia and tried to make it up to her.

Jovana Shaw grasped this weakness in Balthazar Shaw.

Balthazar Shaw's expression indeed changed. He picked up the bowl from the table and hurled it in front of the mother and daughter kneeling before him.

The shards of glass cut their hands; they bit their lips, not daring to make a sound of pain. Clara Philips, who usually liked to play the pitiful card, was trembling as she hugged Jovana Shaw, her face pale with fear.

"Get out! Both of you, all of you, get out of my sight, and don't let me see you in this house again!" Balthazar Shaw shouted angrily, then went upstairs.

Clara Philips and her daughter stayed huddled together.

Jovana Shaw, somewhat shaken, trembled as she asked Clara Philips, "Mom, are we really going to leave?"

A cold light flashed in Clara Philips's eyes, amidst the dread, "Leave where? Leave what? That's just your dad speaking out of anger. Wait for some time until he calms down. In the meantime, you behave yourself in your room, don't upset your dad, and don't let him see you."

"But...the school..." Jovana Shaw said, crying.

Aurelia actually got a group of people to cause trouble at the school, even though she promised her she wouldn't.

"School? What school?" Clara Philips shouted, "Isn't this enough of a disgrace for you?"

Thinking about this, Clara Philips rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache coming on.

"I'll find someone to handle the school matter and try to keep things under wraps. Don't cause more trouble during this time!"

"Pfft."

A light, soothing voice sounded.

Both mother and daughter's gaze turned towards another person in the dining room.

Aurelia sat at the dining table, her elegant, slender fingers holding an exquisite teacup, her crimson lips curving slightly in indifference. Her eyes, like peach blossoms, flickered with waves as she gazed faintly at the two, but there was no warmth or concern in her eyes.

She took a sip of tea, then lazily lifted her eyelids and said coolly, "How does it taste?"

Jovana Shaw glared at her with resentment, "You tricked me. You said you wouldn't show the papers to anyone, that all I had to do was give you money, and you'd return them."