Chapter 50

Chapter 50

"Flora, look at them, still giving me those looks."

Ava's voice came through the phone with a playful complaint. Flora helplessly curved her lips and soothed her gently, "Alright, alright. When we get out of the car, I'll have them give you a proper apology. If they cause any more trouble, we'll turn around and head back to the hospital right now."

"Okay!" Ava nodded, then lifted her chin high, glancing sideways at Michael and Susan's uncomfortable expressions across from her, practically writing her smugness all over her face.

She thought, 'Want to mess with me? You're not even close to being qualified.'

After hanging up, the smile on Flora's face hadn't faded. Thinking of how Ava had just acted all clingy and whiny, she couldn't help but laugh.

No wonder Mom, Dad, and her uncles all spoiled her—with the way she knew how to act cute and persistent, anyone would find it hard to refuse her.

Gavin stayed silent the whole time, focused on driving, but his eyes kept stealing glances at Flora.

Seeing the smile playing on her face, his eyes unconsciously curved too.

This was good.

Now she had family who cared for her, relatives her age she got along with. She was no longer the quiet, withdrawn person she'd been at the Smith family. She'd become increasingly bright and confident.

Perhaps leaving the Smith family back then wasn't such a bad thing after all.

The two cars pulled over one after the other. The moment the car stopped, Ava couldn't wait to push open the door and rush out, not wanting to spend another second with Michael and Susan.

Under Flora's pressure, even though Michael and Susan were fuming inside and felt offended, they didn't dare show their displeasure.

Knowing Flora wasn't easy to control, before entering the police station, Michael used the offer of a cigarette as an excuse to approach Gavin, wanting to pull him aside for a private word.

Gavin nodded slightly. Before leaving, he turned to look deeply at Flora.

"Gavin, I want to ask you for a favor."

Walking to the flower bed about 6 feet away, Michael quickly offered a cigarette, his face full of smiles. As he spoke, his back unconsciously bent a bit.

Gavin kept his hands in his pockets, didn't take the cigarette, and just asked, "What is it?"

"You know Flora's temper—she's always been stubborn. Vivian isn't a bad person by nature, and this time she truly knows she was wrong and has changed. She'll never do it again. For old times' sake, and considering she used to be your fiancée, could you help persuade Flora to let her go?"

Though he tried hard to sound fair, halfway through his words, the blame in his tone was hard to hide, implying that Flora was just making trouble out of nothing.

Susan chimed in from the side, still holding onto a bit of hope. In the past, he'd paid attention to Flora only because of the Smith family. Now that the Smith family's real daughter was Vivian, she figured he'd show at least some consideration.

But to their surprise, Gavin refused on the spot.

Susan immediately panicked and couldn't help reminding him, "Gavin, Vivian should have been your fiancée originally. All this special treatment you're giving Flora should have been Vivian's—she just got there first."

"You can't force fate. If you favor Flora now, I won't stop you, but haven't you thought about how unfair this is to Vivian?"

"If you really want what's best for Flora, you should correct these extreme ideas of hers. Everything she has now is because of the Smith family. She's taken all of Vivian's opportunities." Her throat tightened as she tried hard to control her tone and not lose her composure.

In Susan's eyes, Flora had clearly taken advantage of everything yet still played the victim, with Gavin helping and taking her side.

"No."

After hearing all this, Gavin finally looked up and seriously corrected them, "I like Flora because of who she is as a person. It has nothing to do with status or position, and even less to do with the Smith family or any engagement."

"As for Vivian, I've never had any interest in her. Someone who could do such things shows terrible character and a twisted personality. I would never associate with such a person. Besides, we already broke off the engagement long ago. There's no connection between us anymore, so naturally I won't help her."

His words were firm and decisive, completely severing any past relationship. This resolute and cold attitude left Michael and Susan, who had been holding onto a shred of hope, completely stunned.

"Then how about this..." After a long standoff, Michael quickly calculated in his mind before speaking hoarsely with difficulty, "As long as you're willing to persuade Flora to settle, the Smith family can change our story publicly and say she's the Smith family's adopted daughter, or that she's always been part of the Smith family—that she and Vivian are fraternal twins."

"That way, when you and Flora get married, her family background won't damage your reputation or attract gossip from outsiders or displease the Williams family."

Hearing her husband say this, Susan felt her teeth itch with hatred, thinking, 'That bitch is getting another advantage!'

She'd finally managed to completely kick Flora, that burden, out, and now she had to humbly invite her back, letting her legitimately take advantage of the Smith family name. This hurt more than cutting out her heart.

"No need." Gavin still refused.

He didn't care at all about the other person's family background, and the Williams family never needed to climb up through marriage alliances. Besides, what weight did the Smith family carry? What kind of impressive credentials was that?

Not to mention Flora's own outstanding abilities—if he wanted to create a family background for her, with a little planning, he could create a much more prestigious origin than the Smith family. Why would she need to borrow glory from others?

"People who don't know better would think the Smith family is some deep-rooted top-tier elite family, acting like you're doing Flora this huge favor and she's getting such a great deal from you?"

Seeing the group whispering and going back and forth for so long, the impatient Ava couldn't sit still anymore. She strode over confidently. As soon as she got close, she heard Michael and Susan's condescending tone, acting like they were doing charity.

Her temper flared as she mocked, "Instead of making people laugh by bragging about your family background, why don't you replace that cheap car first? What kind of rich person uses that kind of car to show off?"

Seeing their car repeatedly pulled out for ridicule, Michael's face immediately darkened. "That's just a car I grabbed in a hurry today!"

"You're middle class, and nobody's making fun of you for it, but you insist on pretending to be elite." Ava put her hands on her hips and continued mercilessly exposing their true colors. "You're desperately trying to cozy up to the Williams family, aren't you? Now that you see Gavin protecting my cousin, you must be dying inside, regretting how heartlessly you cut ties with her. But you still have to put on this act of being generous and compromising, like you've suffered a huge loss but are willing to take her back. It's disgusting!"

She snorted coldly, grabbed Gavin's hand, and pulled him away. "Come on, Flora's calling for you. Let's get away from these people!"