Chapter 29
The murmurs were just loud enough for Ophelia to hear, but she pretended not to notice and continued greeting guests calmly.
Jerry pushed through the crowd and hurried over, his face plastered with a flattering smile, his tone ten times more respectful than usual: "You really kept a low profile. I was blind before and offended you. Please don't take it to heart."
He was relieved he hadn't really crossed Ophelia before, or he'd be crying his eyes out right now.
Ophelia nodded slightly: "Mr. Nelson, you're too kind. What happened before is in the past. Let's just focus on making the anniversary celebration a success."
"Yes!" Jerry quickly responded, then turned to supervise the food and service, afraid of any mistakes.
Even though Ophelia specifically asked people not to spread the news, it still flew through the entire circle like it had wings.
Before long, hashtags like #the Smith family real and fake daughters# and #luxury anniversary celebration on a hundred thousand dollars# shot straight to the top of trending topics, with netizens shocked by this plot twist.
Some dug up Ophelia's experience of being deceived by Jeffrey and spoke up for her; others admired how she pulled off such an impressive anniversary celebration with just a hundred thousand dollars.
Ainsley returned to her place and smashed everything in her room to pieces, cursing Ophelia nonstop.
She couldn't swallow this humiliation. After thinking it over, she still called Freya.
When Freya answered the phone, she was sitting on edge.
After learning that Ophelia was the Smith family's biological daughter, she was filled with panic, afraid Ophelia would take revenge for what she'd done before.
"Ainsley, what... what's up?"
"Freya, we can't just let this go!" Ainsley's voice carried a vicious edge. "Ophelia embarrassed me like that. I have to make her pay!"
Freya was panicking inside but was blinded by jealousy: "What do you want to do?"
"The anniversary celebration isn't over yet. There's still a client interaction session coming up." Ainsley said sinisterly, "I've already had someone contact a few media outlets. They'll go to the top floor for 'interviews' later, and then we'll deliberately make things difficult for Ophelia and embarrass her in front of all the clients and media!"
"As long as she loses her composure in public, even if she's the Smith family's biological daughter, Grandma won't value her anymore!"
Freya hesitated for a moment, thinking about Ophelia's current success and the revenge she might face, then agreed through gritted teeth: "Fine, let's do it! I'll go to the top floor now and wait to work with you."
After hanging up, Freya took a deep breath, her eyes turning vicious.
She couldn't let Ophelia have it so easy.
Meanwhile, Jeffrey was sitting at home scrolling through his phone. When he saw the trending topic about the Smith family's real and fake daughters, he froze completely.
The wine glass in his hand dropped to the floor, spilling wine everywhere, but he didn't even notice.
Was Ophelia actually the Smith family's daughter?
This realization struck him like a thunderbolt.
He thought about how he'd deceived and schemed against Ophelia before, how she'd taken out all her savings to help him start his business, how she'd worked day and night running the business and talking to clients, how he'd threatened her this afternoon...
A wave of deep regret instantly overwhelmed him.
He regretted it so much!
If he hadn't conspired with Freya to trick her into marriage, if he'd treated Ophelia well, his company wouldn't be on the verge of bankruptcy now, and he could have even used the Smith family's influence to start over!
But now, he'd not only offended Ophelia but also completely ruined a winning hand.
No, he couldn't just let it go like this. Gritting his teeth, Jeffrey already had an idea.
Early the next morning, when Ophelia arrived at the Smith Group, she saw Jeffrey's figure lingering at the entrance.
Seeing Ophelia arrive, Jeffrey's eyes lit up instantly. He rushed forward, his face full of flattery, his tone extremely humble: "Ophelia, you're here."
Ophelia paused, her eyes cold as ice, and stepped aside to go around him: "Move."
"Ophelia, let me explain!" Jeffrey desperately blocked her way, his hands trembling. "Everything before was my fault. I was possessed, bewitched by Freya. I'm so sorry!"
"I know you're the Smith family's daughter now, but my love for you is real! If you hadn't given me your savings back then, I never would have gotten where I am today. I've always remembered how good you were to me!"
As he spoke, he tried to grab Ophelia's arm, but she dodged sharply.
"Jeffrey, stop being disgusting." Ophelia's voice had no warmth whatsoever. "You remember how good I was to you? Remember how I helped you fill your holes, how I ran around getting clients for you, while you married Freya behind my back and made me raise your daughter?"
"You remember all that?"
Jeffrey's face instantly turned red, his eyes evasive: "I was deceived by Freya back then. Now I know I was wrong! Ophelia, can you give me another chance?"
"I've cut off contact with Freya, and I'm planning to sell Jeffrey Technologies. From now on, I'll listen to you about everything. Can we start over?"
Employees arriving for work had already stopped to watch, pointing and whispering at them, the murmurs growing louder.
Ophelia found it incredibly ironic. How did she ever know such a shameless person?
"Jeffrey, did you forget?" Ophelia took out her phone and played a recording. His threatening voice immediately came through: "Ophelia, don't be ungrateful! Believe it or not, I'll make sure you can't survive in this industry!"
After the recording finished, Ophelia put away her phone and sneered: "You said this yesterday. It's only been one night, and you're already denying it?"
"You're here begging me now only because you know I'm the Smith family's daughter and want to use my status to start your business again. Don't make yourself sound so devoted."
Jeffrey's face turned deathly pale, his lips trembling, unable to say a word.
He did panic after seeing the trending topics, thinking that now that Ophelia's status was different, if he could win her back, not only could Jeffrey Technologies' crisis be solved, but he could also rise to the top.
But he didn't expect Ophelia to be so unforgiving and expose him publicly.
"Ophelia, that's not what I meant!" Jeffrey was almost crying in desperation. "I really regret it. I know I was a bastard before. Just take pity on me and give me one more chance, okay?"
"Pity you?" Ophelia sounded like she'd heard a joke. "When I was being deceived by you, framed by Freya, and fired by you, why didn't you take pity on me?"
"Jeffrey, things between us ended long ago. Stop pestering me, or I won't be nice about it!"
With that, she didn't spare Jeffrey another glance and walked into the Smith Group.