Chapter 35
Garrett’s expression tumed stormy. “You knew Ollie was just a child when her father dumped her on Skull Island to rot. She wa victim. How can you pin her father’s crimes on her and expect her to atone for them?
“If she had benefitted from her father even a little, you might have a leg to stand on. But she didn’t. She suffered terribly because of him. And yet you’re still blaming her? Isn’t that heartless?”
Carol’s face was cold, her tone resolute. “As long as his blood runs in her veins, she is responsible. As his daughter, she should pay her father’s debts. I didn’t say anything wrong.”
Garrett let out a bitter laugh, his voice tight with anger. “You’re unreasonable.”
Carol’s chest heaved with fury. “Unreasonable? You’re calling me unreasonable over an outsider? Everything the Kaur family went through is all tied to her father.”
“I’m not denying what her father did,” Garrett snapped. “But don’t mix them up. Olivia had nothing to do with that.”
Carol exploded, her voice rising. “Fine, let’s say she’s innocent. Then what about her mother? Her mother was the one who hooked up with that bastard in the first place.
“She made him hate her so much that he dragged the whole Kaur family down. If that woman hadn’t messed with him, none of this would’ve happened.”
Garrett’s face turned ashen. “Natalie’s been gone for years, and you’re still digging up her bones to throw blame around?
“Don’t forget it was you who told her to accept him when that bastard pursued her. You told Natalie to latch onto him for the sake of the family.”
His voice trembled with indignation. “The only reason the Kaur family ever made it into high society was because Natalie went with that man, and he helped us. Why don’t you remember the benefit Natalie brought us?”
The Kaur family had once been just a modest family. Olivia’s grandparents Bradley and Erica were childhood sweethearts from the same village. Years ago, her grandmother’s fiancé, Morgan, ran off with the war compensation money that belonged to her father and his comrades.
Left with nothing but debts and shame, Erica worked every job she could find, sold off the family land, and managed to repay most of the stolen funds.
But one family remained–Erica had nothing left to give them, so she went to apologize in person, hoping they could accept an IOU.
The son of that family, Bradley, joked, “Why don’t you just marry me instead? Then we’ll call it even.”
Bradley only wanted to make Erica laugh, tired of seeing her face sunken with hardship every day.
But Erica actually took his words seriously. That very day, she packed her clothes and moved into his home.
Later, they went to the city to work. For a year, they labored in a factory, until Erica realized that wage work wouldn’t get them anywhere. She talked it over with Bradley, and he agreed to keep working while she pursued a technical skill.
Erica studied fashion design for three years. Afterward, she got a job with a major company, built up her network, and brought in a steady income. Eventually, Erica and Bradley launched their own design label and even opened a factory.
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It was the early years of economic reform, a time full of opportunity, and they rode that wave with little resistance, turning business into a success.
But as time went on, Erica’s design sense couldn’t keep up with modern trends, and they couldn’t attract top–tier talent. Their network had always been thin, so the business slowly began to falter.
By the time their children were old enough to marry, the company was only bringing in around 30,000 dollars a month. That was excellent by normal standards but far from enough to earn a place among the elite.
Then came the turning point: Olivia’s mother caught the eye of a powerful man–her father. He came from an old–money family
On paper, he didn’t look wealthier than the Wilson family, but when it came to influence and legacy, there was simply no comparison. The Wilson family wasn’t even in the same league, and the Kaur family didn’t even register.
With Olivia’s father backing them, the Kaur family’s business soared. Their profits ballooned year after year, eventually surpassing a billion dollars annually at their peak. They basked in success, living lives of extravagance and influence.
But everything began to unravel when Olivia’s mother fell out with her father. One by one, those who had once bent over backwards to curry favor with Olivia’s father vanished. The family’s fortune began to decline.
At first, it wasn’t too bad. Though far from its former glory, the business still brought in close to ten million a year.
But eight years ago, disaster struck. The shareholders staged a coordinated betrayal, fleeing with the company’s funds. The Kaur family was left in financial ruin. Worse yet, Olivia’s mother died under humiliation.
It was hard to believe that Olivia’s father hadn’t orchestrated the entire collapse behind the scenes. Everyone in the family knew what had happened.
Carol had reveled in the splendor of the Kaur family’s golden years–years built on the back of Olivia’s mother. She also knew full well what both Olivia and her mother had suffered.
And still, she had the audacity to blame them. To Garrett, Carol’s attitude was sickening.
Garrett thought furiously, ‘She’s so ungrateful. I’m really disappointed in her.‘
His anger surged, and he barked, “Don’t say things like that again. I really feel ashamed of you.”
Debbie, standing nearby, immediately jumped in to defend her mother. “Dad, how can you blame Mom? She’s not wrong.
“Even if we don’t blame Aunt Natalie or Ollie, we took Olivia in, gave her a home, and treated her like family. Shouldn’t she repay us
for that?
“Besides, she stole my marriage. If it weren’t for her, I would’ve married into the Wilson family. She took my future, and now she can’t even win Dylan’s heart. She’s going to destroy our family.”
Garrett snapped, “Watch your mouth, you ungrateful brat. Olivia never stole anything from you. Morgan chose her. Dylan’s grandpa was the one who arranged this marriage.”
Debbie bristled. “He chose me first. Then he saw a photo of Olivia and changed his mind. If that’s not stealing, then what is?”
Olivia bore a striking resemblance to her grandmother. The moment Morgan laid eyes on her picture, he decided to have Dylan marry Olivia, and no amount of protesting from Debbie could change his mind.
Garrett’s face was clouded. “You said it yourself–Morgan made that call. Olivia wasn’t even with us at the time. She didn’t say a
Chapter 35
single word to Morgan.”
Debbie insisted, “I don’t care. If she hadn’t put her photo on our photo wall, Morgan wouldn’t have even seen her shameless face.”
Debbie felt even more resentful as she recalled the past things. ‘I was supposed to marry into that family. That was supposed to be my life. I’m the previous granddaughter in this family, but why should Morgan’s compensation go to Olivia instead of me?
‘Now, with the Kaur family’s reputation in ruins, no wealthy family wants anything to do with us. I lost my only chance to marry into
money.
‘I’ll never land a decent match in this lifetime. Olivia didn’t just steal my wedding–she stole my future. She ruined everything”
