Chapter 6
Chapter 6
Manager Jackson immediately extended his hand, all traces of his previous arrogance replaced by a cautious, ingratiating smile.
“Secretary Cooper, hello! I’m the Procurement Department manager.”
“You’re such an important figure, I’m sure you wouldn’t have noticed me before.”
“But it’s fine, it’s fine. Now we’ve met! In the future, I hope we’ll have more opportunities to-”
Secretary Cooper cut him off with a dismissive turn of his head, clearly uninterested. He turned to
me instead.
“My apologies, Miss Maddison. There was an incident on the way, which caused my delay.”
“Tell me everything they said or did to you just now, and leave the rest to me.
The room erupted in whispers.
“What does this mean? Is Bonnie Maddison really the Maddison heiress?”
“How could it be fake? That’s Secretary Cooper! He’s the public face of Maddison Corporation–he’s frequently on TV and in magazines. Don’t you recognize him?”
“Oh my God. So Ricardo Colson is just an idiot? Ignoring the Maddison heiress to marry the daughter of some nouveau riche?”
It was only then that Ricardo seemed to process the situation. He quickly released Juliana from his. arms, turning toward me with a hopeful expression.
“Bonnie, look–this is all just a misunderstanding, isn’t it?”
“Why didn’t you say something earlier? This is like the dragon king flooding his own temple!”
“Don’t worry, there’s nothing between Juliana and me. It’s just a business arrangement.”
Secretary Cooper appeared ready to speak, but I raised a hand to stop him. I turned my gaze to Ricardo instead.
“Really? A business arrangement? Didn’t you just say last night that you were deeply in love with
I told you from the very beginning that my father is Cyrus Maddison. Did you ever believe me?”
“Ricardo, your behavior disgusts me. You’ve perfected the art of leeching off others.”
Ricardo paid no attention to the harshness of my words, brushing it off as anger.
“I was forced into this–you know that. The Colson family is facing financial difficulties, and marrying into the Lee family was the best solution.”
“But now it’s different. We can get married, and everything will be resolved.”
“You know how much I’ve loved you these past three years.”
As he spoke, he tried to reach for my hand, but the bodyguards Secretary Cooper brought immediately stepped in to block him.
Ricardo’s parents stepped forward then, with Mrs. Colson rubbing her hands together nervously, her expression sheepish.
“Dear girl, this is all just a misunderstanding, isn’t it?”
“You’ve been with Ricardo for three years–you know him, don’t you? He’s just clumsy with words. Forgive him this time, won’t you?”
“The moment I saw you, I knew you were a kind and understanding girl. Ricardo is lucky to have found you–it’s his fortune.”
I was genuinely amazed at how quickly this family could change their tune. Truly, the apple didn’t
fall far from the tree.
Before I could respond, the ignored Juliana screamed in outrage.
“Have you all gone mad? The Colson family is supposed to marry me!”
“Have you forgotten how you begged my family for this marriage? Ricardo, have you forgotten how you begged me to marry you?”
“You’re all a bunch of pathetic trash! Worthless dogs!”
Hearing Juliana’s words, Mrs. Colson, who was already seething with anger, suddenly found a target
vent her frustration. She turned around and delivered a vicious slap across Juliana’s face.
Mrs. Colson, being stout and strong, clearly used her full strength. Caught off guard, Juliana was kuocked to the ground.
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But Mrs. Colson wasn’t done–she straddled Juliana, grabbed her hair, and began slapping her repeatedly.
“You wretched girl! You wretched girl! How dare you run your mouth like that!”
“At your age, instead of learning good manners, you try to become a mistress! Look at your nouveau
riche face. Our Bonnie is the real heiress!”
“Do you think sticking a few feathers on yourself makes you a phoenix? Watch me beat the nonsense out of you today!”
“Do you think you can destroy the deep feelings Ricardo and Bonnie share with just a few words?”
The scene unfolded so quickly that by the time everyone reacted and pulled the two apart, Juliana’s face was already swollen like a pig’s head.
Clutching her face, Juliana screamed and cursed.
“You’re all heartless! You begged me to marry into your family, and now you turn on me?”
“This woman fooled all of you with just a few words. She hired some random people off the street to put on this act, and you all actually believe she’s the Maddison heiress?”
Secretary Cooper? Heiress? You’re all idiots, fooled by her lies!”
Juliana’s explosive words made everyone look at her as if she were a fool.
