The gentle and mellow voice was mixed with some light panting as if the owner of the voice had run all the way here.

Everyone looked at the gates and saw Caleb Gray walking in. Dressed in a gray suit, he gave off a comfortable feeling that felt just like a spring breeze.

His chest rose up and down slightly as he panted. His deep, melancholic eyes shifted to Nora after he spoke. He nodded politely and gently at her and said, "I rushed over immediately when I saw the live-stream. I almost messed things up for you."

Nora, "?"

Wasn't he her ex-fiancé Anthony Gray's uncle?

He had approached her to fulfill the marriage agreement between the Grays and her the other time. What was he doing here?

While she was wondering about it, Caleb turned to Henry. The attitude he took with him was completely different from the one he adopted toward Nora. He even sounded a little disgusted as he said, "Do you really think that no one knows the truth about what happened back then, Mr. Smith?"

Henry, who had been punched, was holding his nose. Blood seeped from in between his fingers. When he heard what Caleb said, he frowned. "What truth are you talking about?"

Caleb replied, "The truth about your marriage to Ms. Anderson!"

Henry's eyes flickered. "What I said just now is the truth itself. What nonsense are you spouting? Are you guys planning to twist the truth? Also, who are you? How dare you come over to help that unfilial girl!"

Caleb sighed. "I'm from the Grays."

The Grays?

An astounded Henry looked at him. "What?"

Nora could clearly sense that there was something going on in here. She thought of the marriage agreement, and how the Smiths were just a small family, whereas the Grays were a large and famous wealthy family in California. She thought of how the Grays had never demanded to break off the engagement even when she became pregnant before marriage...

"What exactly happened back then, Mr. Gray?" asked Nora.

Caleb replied with a sigh, "I was only three years old back then, so I didn't know the truth. It was my father who told me everything, but everything he said is completely different from what Mr. Smith said!"

Completely different...

Henry became terribly anxious. "You—"

He only managed to utter a word when Caleb looked at him, frightening him so badly that he suppressed the rest of what he had wanted to say. He was relatively unfamiliar with the wealthy families in New York, but the Grays were influential locals of California!

Besides, his daughter was currently engaged to the Grays!

He stepped forward and said, "We're in-laws, Mr. Gray. You—"

Caleb lowered his gaze, causing his long eyelashes to cast silhouettes on his cheeks. He looked at Nora and slowly said, "It is true that your mother was pregnant before she was married, but this is something that everyone knew—because her belly was already showing when she got married."

Her belly was already showing...

Then that meant that the wedding scam didn't exist at all!

Nora narrowed her eyes. "And then?"

"Your father was just a clerk at that time. For some reason, your mother took an interest in him, so she had a frank and sincere talk with him."

Henry was still disputing his claim. He said, "That didn't happen at all!"

However, Caleb took out a very old voice recorder pen and pressed the play button. A conversation between the two started to play clearly from the recorder pen.

The voice that Nora found so familiar, yet also felt foreign at the same time, was speaking calmly without any emotion. She asked, "Do you have a girlfriend, Henry?"

Henry's voice sounded a little younger than how it currently sounded. His voice shook in trepidation as he answered, "... N-no, I don't."

Yvette asked, "Are you willing to marry me, then?"

"What?"

Yvette let out a low chuckle and said, "This is a transaction. I'm pregnant and my child needs a father, whereas your mother is sick and you need money for her medical expenses."

The sound of Henry swallowing hard was very obvious. He said, "Then... Then your assets..."

Yvette said, "I'm sick and in very serious condition. I can probably only live for a year after I give birth. After I die, the company will be left to my child. I've already found a dedicated manager for the company. As for you, you are to act as my child's guardian. The dividends you'll receive before she reaches adulthood will definitely be more than enough for you. I won't hold you back from marrying and having children, either. I want you to take good care of my child. In return, as thanks, I can transfer the villa, where I'm currently living, to you."

Henry seemed to be in disbelief. He asked, "W-why did you pick me?"

However, Yvette merely chuckled and said nothing.

Henry spoke again. He asked, "A-aren't you afraid that I'll mistreat your child?"

Yvette's answer this time was very casual. She said, "It's fine as long as you make sure that she stays alive. As for the rest, you can do whatever you want."

"..."

"Oh, by the way, if she accidentally dies, then the villa will be taken back and the company's dividends cut off. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"... Y-yes, I understand."

"Okay. If you're agreeable to it, then just sign this contract here. I'll give you three days to conside—"

Henry's voice was tinged with excitement as he interrupted her and said, "No, it's fine! I agree!"

...

...

The whole place was quiet.

No one had ever thought that the plot twist would come so quickly, or that Henry would have to eat his words so quickly.

One by one, the people lambasting Nora in the comments changed their target.

'What the f*ck! Isn't this too sensational? This is a story of a man, who was sponging off a woman, coming over to make trouble because he can't freeload anymore, right?'

'That's a villa, y'know! It must be worth at least five million dollars in California, right? Moreover, there are also five million dollars worth of dividends every year. Her only demand is that her child stays alive...'

'The mother is a little cold toward her child, but she feels so cool for some reason!'

'Oh my god! Aren't they too shameless?! Not only are they living off her and literally living in her house, but they even mistreated her child. And now, they are even pestering her child to provide for them! There's no justice in this world anymore!'

...

No one paid any attention to the comments in the live-stream.

Nora's eyes were downcast at the moment. As she listened to the conversation that her mother had left behind while she was still alive—and one from more than twenty years ago at that—she actually felt as if she had traveled through time and space.

As it turned out, being a mother was also hereditary.

She had inherited her irresponsibility from her mother.

It was fine as long as she was alive.

Although her words sounded cold, it was actually her mother's greatest wish for her, right?

Her mother had been sure that as long as she was alive, she would never be ordinary, and would become strong and confident. That was why she had left her a voice recording telling her to stay low-key...

While Nora was in a daze, Melissa had already recovered from her shock. She rebuked, "Henry, you're worse than an animal! How did you even have the cheek to bring people to our place and make a scene here?!"

Simon looked even more furious. He said, "The Andersons were originally planning to let you off, Henry Smith. But judging from how things are now, this feud between us is irreconcilable!"

Henry and Wendy were just like hunted rats being persecuted by everyone now.

The two of them supported each other.

Henry, who knew that he was finished, yelled furiously, "What are all of you so triumphant for, Nora? Someone like you who has inherited your mother's cold-heartedness doesn't understand what kinship is at all! Even if you become rich and powerful, you'll still be all alone unlike us! We're at least still a family of three!"

A family of three?

The corners of Nora's lips suddenly curled upward. She took a step forward and said, "Henry, after calling you my father for nineteen years, why don't I give you a parting gift too?"