Chapter 205
Nora's eyes were a bit red, but she didn't say anything.
Michael stepped forward, pulled Nora into his arms, and shot Jasper a cold look.
Jasper opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but in the end, nothing came out.
"Whose car is this? This car isn't cheap, right?" Opal walked Valencia out, and Valencia asked in a sharp voice.
"Who is this? Didn't you say your daughter doesn't have a boyfriend?" Valencia looked surprised when she saw Michael holding Nora.
Nora nervously tried to pull away, but Michael kept her in his arms.
"Hugging and touching before marriage—that's so improper. Opal, you need to talk to your daughter. What's going on? How will she ever get married like this?" Valencia said seriously.
"Could she be someone's mistress? That man looks pretty rich. This car must cost tens of thousands of dollars, right?" Other relatives chimed in.
"Nora had a child out of wedlock. Is this child she gave birth to for some rich old man?"
Jasper got a bit angry and turned to look at that relative. "Over three million dollars."
The relative didn't react at first.
"This car is Mr. Smith's cheapest one—over three million dollars." Jasper spoke again.
The relative looked shocked, as if they'd never imagined a car could cost as much as a house.
"Isn't that just stupid? If you have three million dollars, why not buy a house?" The relative looked disdainful, not wanting to lose face.
"I own too many properties to report to all the elders right now, but as far as I know, even the cheapest one costs tens of millions of dollars. I don't quite understand what kind of house you're talking about for three million dollars." Michael said in a deep voice.
Michael was usually a low-key person, but these people were clearly unfriendly to Nora, so he didn't need to humor them.
"Tens of millions of dollars?" Valencia almost bit her tongue in shock, "Opal, should I still arrange tomorrow's blind date?"
Opal hadn't said anything. Even if she didn't know Michael, she could probably guess.
After all, Nolan had already approached her.
"Arrange it, of course arrange it. Nori needs to get married as soon as possible." Opal said with a dark face, reassuring Valencia, "You take care of it, and tomorrow I'll make sure Nora goes on the blind date."
"I'm not going!" Nora didn't know where she found the courage—probably because Michael was there, she wasn't afraid anymore.
"I told you, I want to work, and you have no right to decide my marriage or my future. You've already ruined me. I won't acknowledge you as my mother, and I won't see you again. You already gave me away when I was little anyway, so just pretend you don't have me as a daughter." Nora said everything on her mind in one breath. Even though she was a bit flustered, she decided to make things clear.
"Right, no need to see each other again." Jasper nodded too, "Mom, you never raised Nora for even a day. Even if she doesn't take care of you in old age, you can't say anything about it. I'll take care of your retirement. If you can't get used to living in the city, just go back to your hometown. It's more comfortable there."
Opal's face turned dark. She pointed at Jasper and started cursing, "I did all this for you!"
Jasper frowned, his face looking terrible.
This so-called "for him."
What a heavy burden.
"Nora, I'm your mother!" Opal stepped forward, trying to grab Nora.
Michael blocked Nora, his face dark.
"Nora, you're being so ungrateful. How can you talk to your mother like this? Just because your mother went to prison, you look down on her now? Don't forget she did it for you. She not only gave birth to you, but also gave you a second chance at life."
"Exactly. If she hadn't sent you to the Adams family, could you have had such a good life? You need to be grateful."
The relatives started whispering among themselves again.
"Besides, this man is so rich—he's just playing around. Do you think he'll really be good to you, good to that burden of a child?" Valencia acted like she was looking out for Nora.
"Your mom is just thinking of you. You're unmarried with this child—what kind of man would really want you?" Valencia deliberately mentioned that Nora had a child out of wedlock.
She thought Michael would definitely look down on her.
"Mommy! Daddy brought me to pick you up and take you home. Daddy bought lots of desserts—they're so good!" In the back seat, Samuel, who Michael had ordered not to get out of the car, rolled down the window and shouted loudly.
"Daddy, let's go eat barbecue!" Samuel smiled happily at Michael.
Michael rubbed Samuel's head, smiling helplessly.
But when the topic of barbecue came up, his expression stiffened.
Last time he only ate two bites, and his stomach still felt uncomfortable.
Nora looked at Samuel with red eyes, then looked at Michael, "Our business doesn't need any of you to worry about. Just pretend the Thomas family never found me."
"I never thought you'd be such an ungrateful person. If it weren't for me, you would have died back then. Who did I spend five years in prison for!" Opal started making a scene, sitting on the ground crying and wailing.
Tears welled up in Nora's eyes, and her heart ached terribly.
Sometimes she wondered—if people had no conscience, wouldn't they avoid being trapped by morality and conscience?
"I'm your mother! You have to acknowledge me whether you want to or not. Your body and hair come from your parents! I gave you life. I risked breaking the law for you. I did it all to keep you alive." Opal cried and slapped the ground.
"We don't acknowledge the mother-daughter relationship you're talking about." Michael opened the car door, signaling Nora to get in.
Nora looked at Michael nervously.
Michael signaled her not to worry.
The car door closed. Michael looked at Opal throwing a tantrum on the ground, "May I ask, after the fake heiress case came out, the Adams family only did a paternity test with Evelyn. Have you and Nora done one?"
Opal froze for a moment, panic clearly flashing in her eyes.
"Without a paternity test, what proves your relationship with Nora? Empty words? Just your mouth? You never raised her for a single day. You say you're her mother, and we're supposed to accept it? At least you should provide some proof to show your biological relationship with Nora."
Opal instantly went quiet, looking at Michael, "What nonsense are you talking about? Nora is my daughter. Because she had a heart condition, I personally switched her with Evelyn at the Adams family!"
What Opal said was fact, but it was seventy percent truth and thirty percent lies.
She'd probably even fooled herself.
"Where's the evidence?" Michael said in a deep voice.
He didn't really doubt that Nora wasn't Jasper's sister—he was just using this to buy time.
Nolan had found Opal to use her to control Nora and give him a warning and lesson.
He just needed to stall Opal as much as possible. After his secret battle with Nolan ended, he could figure out the rest.
Opal was stunned by Michael's question, "What evidence? She's my daughter. What evidence do I need!"
Opal became angry from embarrassment.
"Paternity test." Michael held out his hand to Opal.
Opal's face turned terribly dark, and she shouted as if panicking in anger, "What paternity test? I don't have one! She's my daughter."
Michael frowned. Over the years, he'd seen all kinds of people in business circles and thought he was pretty good at reading people.
Given Opal's bossy, unreasonable shrew personality, if Nora really was her daughter, she could have firmly shouted that they should go do a paternity test then.
But she felt guilty instead?