The bar on the first floor was already bubbling with people’s voices by now.

Anthony was quite well-known in California. Under the power of his summons, his friends brought more friends along and filled up the place.

The lights in the entire bar were blurry, and men and women were twisting their bodies fervently on the dance floor.

Angela, who wore a long red gown, was sitting in the corner with a drink in her hand and her cheeks rosy. Next to her, her group of fair-weather friends was complimenting her.

“Hotel Finest’s not cheap, Angela. Anthony must have big plans in mind, right? Is he… going to propose?”

“He must be proposing! I’m sure of it! Isn’t your sister back? I heard that even the marriage certificate has been torn into pieces. With that, their engagement can officially be considered annulled!”

“It’s all that damned fatt… damned woman’s fault! If it hadn’t been for her hiding abroad for so many years and refusing to come back and annul the engagement, Angela and Anthony would have been married long ago!”

“Hey, why is that woman here?!”

With these words, Angela also looked at the entrance.

Nora was still dressed just as casually today. Jeans and a black T-shirt set off the skin around her neck, making it look so fair that it was glowing white.

She was expressionless, her eyes were slightly lidded, and she gave off a world-weary feeling, yet her looks were eye-catching and beautiful. As soon as she entered, she immediately attracted the attention of everyone around her.

The moment she walked in, a waiter rushed to the back. “Mr. Gray, she’s here!”

Anthony stood up immediately and walked forward. “Get ready!”

The loud music in the bar gave Nora a headache, and overwhelming irritation filled her.

She looked up. When her indifferent gaze located Angela, she walked over to her.

Before she had even gotten near, she heard a pretentious Angela say, “Why are you here, Nora? Anthony will never agree to meet you.”

As soon as she said that, her unsavory friends also spoke.

“Nora, are you here to make a scene because you caught wind that Anthony’s going to propose?”

“You were the one with immoral conduct, sleeping with some guy and getting yourself pregnant before marriage. That’s why Mr. Gray dumped you. Yet you’re here to harass him now? Where’s your sense of shame?!”

“Even if you’ve become pretty, it won’t change the fact that you’re saddled with extra baggage! Why would Mr. Gray ever pay any attention to you? Is there any point in pestering him so persistently?”

“…”

Due to the deafening music, the commotion here didn’t reach far.

Nora didn’t care what others said about her. She looked at Angela. “Tell me, where is that child?”

Angela approached her with a sardonic smile. She pointed to the sofa next to her and spoke in a voice that only the two of them could hear. “Nora, sit down obediently, watch tonight’s exciting show in its entirety, and give Anthony and I your blessings after that. If you do that, I’ll tell you.”

Nora understood now.

She wanted to use the marriage proposal scene to humiliate her. However, the private investigators didn’t have any leads at all. As long as there was a glimmer of hope, she was unwilling to give it up.

Nora sat on the sofa and leaned back. She closed her eyes, her long eyelashes casting shadows on her cheeks as she uttered, “You sure have nothing better to do.”

Angela stared at her fiercely. Things had already reached this stage, yet her sister was still so calm. It made her look like some kind of clown.

She clenched her fists. Suddenly, she started to mock Nora. “Say, Nora, if you hadn’t been fat and had always been this pretty, would Anthony have broken off the engagement?”

Nora’s eyes suddenly flew open, and a sharp glint appeared in her cat-like eyes. “What do you mean by that?”

Her obesity had been due to the mistaken use of hormonal injections.

Even though she had worked so hard to lose weight and suffered so much, it was useless. Her body needed to slowly repair its bodily functions.

Judging from what Angela said, could it be that…

Seeing that her expression had finally changed, Angela laughed arrogantly. With a venomous look in her eyes, she said maliciously, “We’re both Smiths, so why should you be the one to marry into the Grays? But what if you were a fatty? Take a look at what’s happening now—sure enough, Anthony has fallen in love with me!”

“So what even if you’ve slimmed down? It’s too late! What a waste of that face of yours. If you weren’t saddled with extra baggage, you might have been able to find another man… But now? Tsk, tsk.”

Anger roiled in Nora’s eyes.

To think her stepmother had been so vicious just for the sake of an engagement! She was only five when she was injected with hormones!

She was just about to lose her temper when…

… All the lights in the bar suddenly went out, and the music came to an abrupt stop!

Two seconds later, a white spotlight shone at the center of the dance floor!

Anthony was wearing a white suit and he looked handsome and elegant. He held a guitar in his hands. The moment he appeared, the audience screamed.

“Anthony! Anthony!”

Regardless of whether they were male or female, everyone cooperated and shouted his name.

Anthony smiled. He stretched out a finger and gestured for the audience to keep quiet. The place instantly became completely quiet.

He strummed the guitar a few times and a melody formed smoothly. Meanwhile, he also hummed the most popular love songs. Although it wasn’t a celebrity-class performance, it was bearable.

Angela stood up excitedly, her tears flowing with emotion.

Anthony was so handsome!

After finishing a song, Anthony put down the guitar. Then, he held the microphone and said, “I booked this whole place and got so many friends over today because I would like to tell a certain girl something. From the very first moment I laid eyes on you, I’ve thought that you are a very extraordinary girl.”

“Wow! Anthony! Anthony!” Everyone cheered again, livening up the atmosphere to a climax.

Anthony gave a wave. Immediately, a few “pops” sounded, and the balloons on the ceiling burst, scattering a shower of roses from above!

This is so romantic!

Angela covered her mouth. Her eyes were filled with surprise.

She turned to the side excitedly and said sarcastically to Nora, “Did you see that? Anthony was so dismissive toward you back then, but he’s putting in so much effort for me today!

“Even ten of you can’t compare to a single toe of mine!”

Angela felt invigorated.

Especially when she saw the envy in the eyes of the girls around her. Her heart felt like it was going to burst from happiness!

Then, she saw Anthony slowly walking step by step toward her with a bouquet of roses in his hands…

The surrounding crowd voluntarily stepped aside, as if building a bridge between them.

Angela straightened her back. She couldn’t help but take a few steps toward him. She felt like this day was the highlight of her life!

She didn’t notice that there was only one person in Anthony’s eyes at the moment.

Even in this dimly lit bar, the woman sitting on the sofa was dazzling and eye-catching. There was no one else—including Angela—in his eyes at all.

The only thought on his mind was that this was dramatic enough even for a proposal, so the beauty would probably give him a chance again, right?

Angela stopped after taking a few steps forward. Seeing Anthony coming nearer and nearer, her smile blossomed uncontrollably.

Anthony would probably get down on one knee in front of her next, right?

But unexpectedly…