The atmosphere went silent in an instant.
"What are you talking about? Isn't the Farrell family ..." Elizabeth started, then suddenly stood up, "Oh yes! It was Tina who should be engaged to the son of the Farrell family, and now that Tina has returned, you don't have to marry that Jared."
Everyone knew that Jared, the seventh son of the capital's wealthiest family-the Farrells-was a wastrel who never engaged in proper business and was a good-for-nothing in every sense.
But his grandfather, Logan Farrell, was extremely fond of him, especially after Jared became disabled two years prior while saving his grandfather's life.
Since then, Jared had become even more outrageous, squandering his grandfather's money everywhere.
Somehow, not too long ago, the Farrell family suddenly sent word that the daughter of the Reed family had been engaged to their son before she was born and they were expected to honor the marriage agreement.
Of course, now the daughter of the Reed family was Amber Reed.
Elizabeth was immediately anxious; although the Reed family was not on the same level as the Farrells, Amber was raised by her since childhood to marry someone more outstanding, someone who could lead the Reed family to new heights.
Jared, despite being favored, held no real power; the money he had was given by his parents and grandfather.
Money could run out, and after sitting idle and depleting their resources, all that would be left was to leech off Amber's vitality.
Naturally, Elizabeth was unwilling, but they had an engagement with the Farrell family and couldn't simply break it without good reason. Thus, she had been seeking a way to gracefully extricate themselves from this engagement.
Now that Tina had returned, there was no need to push the matter further. Tina was just a country girl, perfectly suited to marry the disabled Jared. The Reed family could thus become in-laws with the Farrell family, killing two birds with one stone.
Thinking this, Elizabeth immediately said, "I agree now that Tina can come back. You go back and teach Tina some manners. She's to be engaged to Jared Farrell in a month, and she better not embarrass me at the engagement banquet."
Hugo was stunned for a moment, incredulous at what his mother had said.
He had not recovered from Amber's earlier words.
Soon, Hugo looked up sharply, "What engagement banquet? The one supposed to be engaged to Jared Farrell is..."
"They want Miss Reed and Tina is Miss Reed, she has an engagement with the son of the Farrell family. Now that she has returned, it's only natural that she fulfills the agreement," Elizabeth interjected.
Hearing this, Hugo frowned and then glanced at Tina with a pained expression.
His mother's calculations were all too clear.
No wonder she agreed so easily to Tina's return-it was with ill intentions.
Who didn't know Jared Farrell was disabled?
He had not wanted Amber to marry Jared Farrell, but now Tina was the one being pushed into the marriage.
"I disagree!" Hugo growled, his face turning livid, "It's clearly Amber who is engaged to Mr. Farrell."
"Father, it's not that I don't want to marry Mr. Farrell, but Tina is the real Miss Reed. If I were to marry into their family and the Farrells found out later, they would blame us for deceiving them..." Amber's words were ambiguous, and a calculated gleam flashed through her slightly lowered eyes.
"Right!" Elizabeth immediately nodded, "We can't afford to offend the Farrell family."
"You are just...!" Hugo's face turned red with fury.
Elizabeth, however, had no wish to engage with him and instead turned to Tina, "If you want to return to the Reed family, you must get engaged to Jared Farrell."
Tina looked up, locking eyes with Elizabeth, her enchanting pupils shimmering fiercely.
After a moment, she parted her red lips, her voice serene, "Fine! I'll get engaged."
She had to return to the Reed family!
As for the engagement-Tina's lips curved into a subtle, almost imperceptible smile. calling off the engagement to Jared Farrell was also one of the reason for her return to the Reed family.
Upon leaving Moon Gate Estate, Tina followed Hugo back to his home.
Eight years earlier, Hugo had been driven out of Moon Gate Estate by Elizabeth, and now their family lived in the remote Harborview Heights, far from the city center.
The streets there were a bit old, perhaps due to their age, with peeling walls.
Hugo's family resided in a modest three-room apartment.
After greeting Hugo, Tina went to the bedroom.
She had just arrived home and hadn't even unpacked her luggage.
Just as she entered the bedroom, a knock came at the door.
She rose and opened it to find Hugo and his current wife, Jennie, hesitating outside.
"Mr. Reed, is there something you need?" Tina stepped aside to let Hugo enter.
"There is something." Hugo pursed his lips, unsure of how to begin.
"What is it? Just tell me." Tina offered Hugo a chair and stood aside.
"I want to call off your engagement for you."
Tina's gaze lifted in surprise.
Jennie approached, taking Tina's hand and sitting beside her on the bed, speaking softly, "The thing is, your father feels that marriage is a lifelong commitment, and that Jared is disabled. If you marry him, you'll have to take care of him for life. He wants you to find someone of good character, someone who will sincerely cherish and protect you for the rest of your life..."
Jennie paused, then continued, "But this marriage was arranged by your mother, after all, so we still need to hear your thoughts on the matter."
Although she had not been in contact with Tina for long, she felt sorry for her.
Jared was not a decent man.
Even if the Farrell family was wealthy and powerful, what of it?
It was a pit of fire; jumping into it would ruin Tina's life.
Tina observed Jennie, a faint smile appearing on her cool face, "Yes, I was planning to cancel the engagement."
Jennie was Hugo's second wife and therefore Tina's stepmother.
From the few hours of brief contact, Tina did not feel any aversion.
She could tell that Hugo and Jennie genuinely had her best interests at heart.
"That's good!" Hugo stood up excitedly, "I'll contact the Farrell family right away to cancel the engagement."
…
At the top of Serenity Ridge, in front of an unnamed tombstone, three figures stood.
The man on the left, dressed in trendy clothes with an earring, turned to the tall man beside him, "Mr. Farrell, it's been two days, and that girl hasn't shown up. She probably won't come. Let's leave."
"Wait a bit longer." The man in the middle, his narrow eyes fixed on the unnamed tombstone, a layer of light swimming in his dark pupils, was dressed in casual black, his messy hair partially obscuring his eyes, his handsome face marked by a rebellious chill.
He was the one Tina had saved, the so-called useless seventh son of the Farrell family.
Jared!
The first speaker, Hayden, was the youngest son of the third-ranking Cohen family among the four most influential families in the city.
"Let's go. If we wait any longer, you'll miss your engagement banquetwith Miss Reed," Hayden touched his earlobe and chuckled lowly, "You know how much people value Miss Reed. She's been engaged to you since she was not even born, and your grandfather has repeatedly stressed that the engagement banquet must go off without a hitch."
"Seriously? They haven't called off the engagement yet?" Jared asked, his lips curling into a faint smile.
"The Farrell family is the capital's most influential family; would they dare? Even if you are disabled, even if you are a 'useless person,' they won't cancel the engagement! Especially since you're not really disabled."
If the Reed family knew that Jared was not only not disabled but far from useless, it would be strange if they could cancel the engagement!
"Oh," Jared's eyes dimmed.
It wouldn't be fun if they didn't cancel the engagement!
Seeing his reaction, Hayden realized he had spoken in vain.
He decided not to broach the topic further, "Since we can't wait for that girl, let's go. Once we find my Serena, we can also save Sophia."
Jared's gaze flickered, giving him a look, "Your Serena? Are you sure she exists?"
Hayden choked on his breath, unable to express his frustration.
After a while, he retorted angrily, "Of course! My Serena is beautiful and kind-hearted, and she's especially a good doctor, capable of reviving the dying and knitting bones from scratch..."
He was cut off by the person standing on Jared's right, "Mr. Cohen, you don't know her name, you don't know what she looks like, you don't even remember the way to your master's temple, and yet you claim she's unparalleled. Your Serena must be a figment of your dreams. It's less likely she'll help Sophia than just waiting for Shadow Care to contact Spectre."
Even the professors at the medical research institute would never dare to make such bold claims.
Hayden exclaimed, "Nonsense! My Serena is not a dream, she's real, real person! And as for that Spectre, he's elusive and eccentric, treating patients only when he feels like it. We've been searching for so long without a trace; he probably doesn't care."
"I suspect he's not up to the task. My Serena surely surpasses him by far!"
How could his Serena be understood by such a mortal?
Although no one at his master's temple ever mentioned Serena's real name, and it had been ten years since, Serena's appearance had also changed.
But he believed that once he saw Serena, he would surely recognize her.
"Fine, fine, she's real," Nathan Lehman conceded, not wanting to argue with Hayden any further, recognizing the near obsessive fixation the man had for his Serena.
Jared glanced at them both, then reverted his gaze, bowed towards the nameless tombstone, and turned around, "Let's go."
"Mr. Farrell, where to?" he was asked.
Jared's lips formed a slight curve, "To Ensford. I have to get my fiancée to cancel the engagement!"