Chapter 140 - 140: Husband
Chapter 140 - 140: Husband
Under Poppy\'s relentless brainwashing, she felt she had let down the Olsen family and Isla.
She recalled that when she was going to leave the Olsen family, Poppy wouldn\'t let her go and wanted her to slave away for the family. She knelt for ten grueling hours.
At thirteen years old, she dressed in thin clothes, kneeling in the cold winter.
After a full ten hours, she stubbornly looked at Poppy and asked, "Can I now leave the Olsen family?"
Ever since then, she never brought up her own identity again.
Jake accused her of deceiving him and keeping it from him, but in reality, she didn\'t intentionally hide it. She just didn\'t know how to break the news. She had already decided, back then, that if Jake confessed his love to her by graduation, she would reveal her identity.
Looking back now, she suddenly felt that her past twenty-something years were actually confined by Poppy.
Poppy crafted a cage called "illegitimate daughter" and firmly bound her within it.
But how important was a person\'s background, really?
Keira had already come to terms with it. She just hadn\'t learned to face it openly.
Now, she was finally able to face it.
"..."
The whole private room was silent.
Everyone looked at Keira with disbelief, then turned toward Isla and began whispering among themselves:
"Oh my God, are they actually sisters?"
"What sisters? That\'s an illegitimate daughter, which means Keira\'s mother is \'the other woman\'! If I were Isla, I would hate her to death, right?"
"But it doesn\'t seem like it, right? Keira has always been working hard on work-study programs. I heard she earned her tuition by working part-time…"
While a few people were whispering among themselves, Erin suddenly realized something and burst out loudly. "Keira, so that\'s what you are. Why didn\'t you tell everyone?! Your background is just disgusting! Your mom is the mistress, isn\'t she? She wrecked another family, and you yourself are a vixen, seducing every man. How could I have a classmate like you?!"
She turned to Isla. "Isla, aren\'t you too kind to her? Why didn\'t you speak up about this earlier?" n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Back in primary and middle school, Isla would stir things up so that all her classmates knew, and at that age, children knew that stepmothers and mistresses were the scariest, which would make them detest Keira.
But since high school, that trick no longer worked.
After all, there were few people like Erin who harbored personal prejudices against Keira, and most were...
"This is the 21st century already. Is there still anyone who judges others by their background? What\'s the matter? You\'re so arrogant! Is your family royalty or what?"
"That\'s so funny. My ancestors are relatives of aristocrats, but am I arrogant? What\'s wrong with someone\'s background? Can a person choose their own parents?"
"Really? You\'re a descendant of a noble family?"
"Can\'t you tell a joke? Go away…"
A few people couldn\'t stand Erin\'s attack and shot back at her.
"Heroes are not judged by their origins, and whatever Keira\'s background may be, it isn\'t something she chose. As long as she\'s outstanding in her own right, who would bother asking about her origins?"
"Speaking of origins, if we dig three generations back, who isn\'t descended from humble beginnings?!"
"Erin, how great is your background? What do your parents do? Does your family own a palace?"
Erin was struck speechless by the questions. She then retorted angrily, "You\'ve all been bewitched by that seductress, haven\'t you? All the boys are speaking up for her! Unbelievable!"
Her words enraged the silent female classmates.
The girls spoke less not because they were less straightforward than the boys, nor did they rant and rave like them. But now that they were called out, they started chattering.
"Erin, you\'ve gone too far! We\'re all classmates, and even though Keira might have been a bit reclusive at school, she\'s actually got a nice personality! There was a time when I was on duty and couldn\'t reach something up high, and it was Keira who helped me!" said a petite girl.
Another voice chimed in. "I think you\'re just jealous because you like Charles, but he\'s always speaking up for Dr. South. Don\'t make it about boys and girls. People are annoyed with you, regardless of gender because of the way you act!"
"Exactly, you think you\'re so great, that your background is so superior. Can you surpass Dr. South in terms of research achievements?"
"..."
Everyone was denouncing Erin.
Isla watched from the side, lowered her gaze, and let out a cold laugh.
See, if she told the truth, she would end up just like Erin...
Watching Erin about to be reduced to tears by the crowd\'s scolding, Isla said, "I agree with you guys. So Keira, you really shouldn\'t just marry someone at random because of your background... You should ask Dad for his opinion... Dad was very upset and felt sorry for you when he saw your husband yesterday..."
At these words, Erin suddenly found a new angle of attack. She stood up abruptly as if this posture would give her an advantage over everyone else!
She let out a cold laugh and then confronted the men who had just spoken. "You say you don\'t care about family backgrounds, but would you really be willing to marry her?"
All those men were immediately at a loss for words.
Erin sneered. "Her mother is a notorious homewrecker. A daughter born from such a woman is bound to be lascivious by nature. Aren\'t you afraid she\'ll make a cuckold out of you someday? Moreover, if your relatives and friends ask about your wife\'s family, what will you say? Marriage isn\'t just between two people but between two families. Can you honestly say that your parents, knowing her circumstances, would agree you to marry her?"
Her words left most of the men dumbfounded.
Everyone had just graduated. Who was thinking about marriage yet?
Erin then let out a defiant laugh. "Ha! None of you dare to guarantee that you could marry her for sure, do you? With her kind background, which decent family would accept her?
"Whoever marries her will be a laughingstock! Mr. Horton liked her so much that he pursued her for four whole years, but isn\'t it for this very reason that he didn\'t end up with her? Even someone like Mr. Horton couldn\'t settle the problem, so what makes you think you could?"
Erin then turned to Scott. "So, she just randomly picked a construction worker, right? Only someone of that status wouldn\'t mind her background! After all, an illegitimate daughter can only be matched with a lowlife!"
The room fell silent for a moment.
Isla smiled triumphantly at this turn of events.
That was exactly the effect she wanted!
Keira was really that shameful, huh? No matter how impressive she was, she could only match up with a construction worker!
Just as this thought crossed her mind, a deep voice from Lewis broke the silence. "Have you said enough?"
Everyone turned to look at him, only to see the man\'s deep gaze and hear his calm voice. "Who says her husband is a construction worker?"