"Aria Sterling, we've arranged a marriage for you. The groom is Mr. Landon of the Hawthorne family, the wealthiest family in the country. Your father will take you to them shortly."
The moment she walked through the door, Aria Sterling heard her mother, Shelly Sterling, say this. Her eyebrows shot up, a look of stunned surprise on her face.
Shelly Sterling walked over and took her hand with a smile. "The Hawthorne family is the wealthiest in the country. Marry into their family, and you'll be the wealthiest man's wife. Don't forget to help us out. The Jennings family is your roots, after all."
Aria Sterling's lips twitched. She was speechless.
She was a daughter of the Jennings family, but she had been lost to them for twenty years. As far back as she could remember, this was only the second time she had ever set foot in the Jennings family home.
The first time had been two weeks ago.
Back then, she had been injured and was in a wheelchair, her arms and face wrapped in gauze. The Jennings family had first mistaken her for a beggar, and then she was cruelly humiliated by their adopted daughter, Iris Jennings.
The Jennings family had contacted her in a panic today, telling her to come home. She never imagined it was to arrange her marriage.
Aria Sterling knew the Jennings family had run into trouble with a futures project, causing nearly seven hundred million to evaporate from the company's accounts. They were planning to sell her off in marriage to plug the hole.
She once heard of Landon Hawthorne. As the esteemed Mr. Landon of the Hawthorne family, his status was exceptionally high. But he was also a notorious "wife-killer." Of his five previous fiancées, some died and the rest fled.
Aria Sterling felt nothing. She narrowed her eyes and asked Shelly Sterling calmly, "Back when I was lost, did you ever look for me?"
"We did, but we couldn't find you, so we gave up." Shelly Sterling paused before adding, "Besides, after we adopted Iris, we had the emotional support, so we gradually moved on."
As she spoke, Shelly Sterling avoided Aria Sterling's gaze, her voice cold. "Aria, don't blame us. It's only natural to play favorites. Iris has been with us for so many years; she is like our real daughter. And while you may be our flesh and blood, you haven't been around. There's no real affection between us. Besides, the Jennings are a prominent family. If people found out we had a crude, uncultured daughter from the countryside, we'd become a laughingstock..."
"That's enough." Aria Sterling couldn't stop herself from cutting her off. "I agree. I'll marry him."
Her voice was calm, but her downcast eyes hid a glint of ruthlessness.
Then she spoke again. "Consider the betrothal gifts from the Hawthorne family my repayment for the gift of life you gave me. From this day forward, I will have nothing more to do with you."
"That would be for the best!" Shelly Sterling couldn't have been more pleased.
Aria Sterling looked up to see Iris Jennings hiding behind Shelly Sterling, a triumphant, gloating smirk on her face.
Iris Jennings hadn't expected it, either. The ugly duckling from two weeks ago had somehow transformed into a stunningly beautiful swan.
She gritted her teeth in jealousy, wishing she had a knife to slash Aria Sterling's face.
'But then again,' she thought, 'even if I'm adopted, I'm still the young lady of the Jennings family.'
'And the Jennings family only has room for one young lady!'
'Even if Aria Sterling is the true heiress, she can't take away anything that's mine.'
Aria Sterling couldn't be bothered with Iris Jennings's petty triumph. Her voice was casual as she said, "Allow me to offer a kind reminder. I've helped you get through the Jennings family's current crisis, but Iris is fated to face a fatal trial. It will manifest within three months, and she'll live for half a year at most. You should probably start looking for a burial plot and picking out a coffin. Choose a place with good feng shui, lest she return as a vengeful ghost."
Iris Jennings, who had been gloating a moment before, turned pale at these words. She immediately clung to Shelly Sterling. "Mom, Aria Sterling hates me! I owe her so much... Why don't I just give her my fiancé and everything the Jennings family owns..."
Before she could finish, her father, Sean Jennings, who was sitting nearby, became so enraged he grabbed a teapot and nearly hurled it at Aria Sterling. "You unfilial daughter—"
Aria Sterling easily sidestepped the move.
Her mother, Shelly Sterling, was also so furious at her words that she nearly fainted. "You wretched girl! Why didn't you just die out there? What did you come back for? How dare you curse Iris? You're vicious..."
Aria Sterling's lips curled into a cold smile. "I'm just stating the facts. Believe it or not."