Chapter 225
Marshall stood under the streetlight, his lips moving as if words he'd been rehearsing for a long time had finally found their exit. "So it was you… it's been you all along."
His voice trembled. "You're Ms. L. Those investments, that project, all those times the Wipere family came back from the brink over the years… it was all you. I looked into it. The source of all those funds—it all came from you."
He took a step forward, reached out as if to touch her arm, then pulled back.
"Back then, the Wipere family showed me a profile of my supposed fiancée. They said you came from nothing, that you had no morals, that you latched onto powerful men wherever you went… and I believed it. I actually believed it. The person I was supposed to marry was you. The person who should've been standing beside me was you. But I pushed you away with my own hands. I married Allegra—that lying woman—and I believed her for so long—"
His words came faster and faster, as if he were racing to pour them all out. "Lucinda, I know I was wrong. I'm not asking you to forgive me. I'm just asking you… give me one more chance. I won't trust anyone else's word ever again. I'll hand over the entire Grayson family to you. You can manage it however you want. I just ask that you don't—"
"Are you done?" Lucinda cut him off directly.
Marshall's lips were still slightly parted, the rest of his words stuck in his throat.
Lucinda looked at him, her gaze calm. "What about Allegra?"
Marshall's Adam's apple bobbed. His voice dropped. "I… I was deceived by her."
His eyes reddened further. "It was all a lie from the start. Lucinda, I really didn't know—"
"You didn't know?" Lucinda let out a short laugh, but there was no warmth in it. "You didn't know, so you slept with one woman, then turned around and begged another woman to give you a chance?"
Marshall's face went white instantly.
"Marshall, who the hell do you think you are?" Lucinda's tone remained unhurried. "You believed Allegra's words. You thought I was dirty, thought I was beneath you, thought I wasn't worthy of you—so you replaced me. Now you find out I'm richer than you, more connected than you, that I carry more weight in all of Starlight City than you do—so you come running back saying it's me you love."
"You don't love me." Her gaze landed on his face like she was looking at something inconsequential. "You love yourself."
Marshall stood rooted to the spot, his whole body swaying slightly.
"Lucinda—"
"Get lost." Lucinda's voice was low. "Don't let me see you again. Otherwise, I don't mind letting the Grayson family get a taste of bankruptcy too."
She finished speaking, walked around him, and continued toward the parking garage.
Marshall stood in place, watching her walk farther and farther away, the resentment in his eyes deepening.
Lucinda entered the parking garage, her steps steady as she headed toward her car.
She'd just pulled out her keys when her peripheral vision caught several figures.
She stopped and turned her head slightly.
Not far away, Preston, Gemma, and Allegra stood beside her car, as if they'd been waiting there for a while.
Preston held a deep red velvet box in his hands. Gemma carried two shopping bags. Allegra stood in the back, head lowered, looking like a kicked puppy.
Seeing Lucinda approach, Gemma was the first to rush over.
Her smile was so broad it looked like it might overflow—completely unrecognizable from the woman who'd been pointing at Lucinda and calling her an "ungrateful wretch" just hours ago.
"Cindy! You're finally here! I've been waiting forever!"
She pushed the shopping bags forward. "Look, I just bought this for you—limited edition Cartier. You'll look stunning in it."
Lucinda glanced down at the shopping bag. She didn't take it.
Preston stepped forward as well, opening the velvet box in his hands to reveal a diamond necklace inside.
He cleared his throat, his voice deliberately soft. "Cindy, I know we've wronged you all these years. This is just a small token of my feelings. I know it's late, but please—accept it."
Lucinda's gaze swept over the necklace, then returned to Preston's face. Her tone was flat. "If you have something to say, say it."
Preston's smile stiffened for a moment. Gemma quickly jumped in. "Cindy, look at you, talking about 'something to say.' We're family—there's no such thing as holding grudges overnight! I know I treated you poorly before, but that was… that was just me being confused for a moment!"
She spoke faster and faster, her smile deepening. "You're so capable now—I'm genuinely happy for you. Look at Allegra—she knows she was wrong too. She said she'll give you all her jewelry, as long as you're willing to forgive her—"
She turned back to glance at Allegra.
Allegra lowered her head and stepped forward, pulling a jewelry box from her bag and holding it out to Lucinda with both hands.
Her voice was small, sounding extremely reluctant. "Lucinda… I know I was wrong. I've been saving these for a long time. Please take them. About Marshall—that was my fault. I won't fight you over him anymore."
Lucinda looked at the three faces in front of her, all plastered with ingratiating smiles. She turned her face away, not bothering to say another word.
"No."
She walked around them toward her car.
Gemma panicked and hurried after her. "Cindy! Don't be like this! I really know I was wrong! For the sake of raising you all these years—"
"Raising me for how many years?" Lucinda stopped, turned her head to look at her. "All the money you ever spent on me put together wouldn't even cover the cost of the chain around your neck. You call that raising me?"
Gemma's mouth opened and closed. The smile on her face nearly crumbled.
Allegra stepped forward at just the right moment, her eyes red-rimmed. "Lucinda, are you still angry with me? Don't blame Marshall—he actually… he didn't really want to marry me."
She lowered her head, biting down hard. "He was the one who kept chasing me. He said he liked me, said he had to be with me. I… I didn't want it to be this way either, but he pushed so hard… I had no choice… If you still like him, I can step aside."
Her voice grew quieter and quieter, like she was some helpless innocent forced into a corner.
Lucinda watched her pitiful act and suddenly let out a short laugh.
The smile was faint, but it sent an inexplicable chill up Allegra's spine.
"He said he likes you?" Lucinda's tone remained unhurried. "Do you know that just now, at the entrance to the parking garage, he cornered me and said I was the one he loved? That he'd hand over the entire Grayson family to me if I'd just get back together with him?"
Allegra's face went pale instantly. Her lips trembled slightly.
That… that's impossible.
Marshall went to Lucinda privately to get back together?
Impossible!
Seeing Allegra's disbelief written all over her face, Lucinda's disgust reached its peak.
"Allegra, you think you're scheming against others, but you've been played from the start. Whoever gives you money, you follow them. Whoever makes you promises, you believe them. The way you live—it's a joke."