Chapter 2

Marcus’s face instantly went pale.

Maya quickly clapped her hand over the boy’s mouth.

Her fingertips were trembling.

“Kids don’t know any better, kids don’t know any better… this child always gets people mixed up.”

“Really? But I think that ‘Dad’ sounded very natural.”

I led Lily by the hand and sat down on the sofa.

Martha immediately stepped in to smooth things over.

“Oh, dear, children are just thoughtless. Just the other day, Mr. Miller from downstairs came over, and he chased after him, calling him ‘Dad’ too.”

Saying this, Martha handed me a freshly peeled tangerine.

“Quick, have some fruit to quench your thirst. You must be tired from the journey, right?”

I took it, and politely said thank you.

Seeing that I wasn't dwelling on the matter, Marcus visibly relaxed.

He walked around behind me, as if to give me a shoulder massage like he usually did.

I sidestepped, dodging his hand.

Marcus’s hand froze in mid-air, and he forced a dry laugh.

“This is Maya, a distant relative. Something happened back in her hometown, so she’s staying with us for a few days…”

“Relative?”

I brought the peeled tangerine to Lily’s mouth.

I suddenly smiled again.

Marcus was a classic rags-to-riches story, a golden boy who'd escaped his poor village upbringing.

After getting into college, he cut ties with all his poor relatives in the village.

What kind of relative was this?

Thinking this, I also asked aloud,

“How come I never knew you had a distant relative named Maya? Didn’t all your family ties get cut off ages ago?”

He choked on my words, his gaze flickering evasively.

“Just a distant relative… the kind of distant relative that's so far removed, they're practically strangers. From my grandmother’s side.”

I nodded thoughtfully.

Indeed… a very “distant” relative.

George and Martha exchanged glances, their eyes filled with calculation.

Maya suddenly pulled Leo in front of me, her voice thick with tears.

“Scarlett, I know I shouldn’t bother you, but I really have no choice. Leo is sick and needs money, so I could only come to Marcus…”

“Come to him? To borrow money?” I glanced at her.

“No, no, we just… we’ll pay it back.”

Maya was incoherent.

Marcus couldn’t stand to see Maya so humble and pleading.

His face tightened.

“That’s enough, who upset you today?”

I smiled without speaking, reaching out to stroke Lily’s head.

Years ago, when I gave birth to Lily, I had a massive hemorrhage, and Marcus’s face went white with fear.

He said he would only ever cherish Lily and me…

Sure enough, vows are only true the moment they’re spoken.

Marcus pulled Maya aside:

“You take Leo to the guest room for now.”

“Oh, no.”

I stopped them, my gaze falling on Leo’s wrist.

He was wearing a gold bracelet.

It looked strikingly similar to the one I gave Lily for her birthday last year.

Lily’s bracelet had gone missing a long time ago.

Now I finally knew where it went.

Maya subconsciously pulled down Leo’s sleeve to cover it.

Her hurried action was a dead giveaway.

“That bracelet is so much like Lily’s, what a coincidence,” I said mockingly.

Lily shrank further into my arms.

But Leo suddenly broke free from Maya’s hand, pointing at me:

“You wicked woman who stole my dad, the bracelet is mine, everything in this house is mine, I won’t give it to you.”

“Leo!”

Maya shrieked, rushing to cover his mouth.

Marcus’s forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat.

George suddenly slapped the table with a loud *smack*.

“Scarlett! Stop with the passive-aggressive comments! It’s just a bracelet, do you have to be so aggressive?”

“All these years, my son has kept you in comfort and luxury, what more do you want?”

“Do us old folks not even have the right to decide what to do with a gold bracelet?”