Cyrus let out a sigh of relief when Sierra accepted the signet ring. He then turned his gaze from Sierra to Joey. “Call me after you get to Sierra home.”
Joey smiled. “Of course.”
“Quit grinning like a fool,” Cyrus scolded him with mock annoyance. “Get Sierra home safely. If you can, go in and say hello to your Aunt Anna too.”
“Got it.” Joey agreed to everything. He then stood up from his seat and looked at Sierra. “Let’s go, Sierra!”
“Please take care. I’m heading back now.” Sierra decided to make a point of saying something considerate to Cyrus before leaving.
Cyrus’s mood improved at once. “Alright.”
Sierra glanced at the others. When her eyes met Jennifer’s gentle and affectionate gaze, she gave a small nod back. Jennifer smiled back as well.
Other than that, Sierra did not say goodbye to anyone else.
As they watched them leave, Loren took out his phone and sent a text.
Charlie, meanwhile, turned to Cyrus and asked in a stern, displeased voice, “Dad, what was that supposed to mean?”
“Whatever do you mean?” Cyrus asked as if nothing was wrong.
“That ring was supposed to pass down to me. Why did you give it to her?” Charlie was full of resentment, his face dark with anger. “She’s an outsider. She doesn’t even have King as her last name.”
“Whatever relationship you have with me, Anna and Sierra have that same relationship with me as well,” Cyrus said, making his position clear. “If she’s an outsider, then Maxwell, Loren, and Joey are outsiders
too.”
Charlie’s expression turned even darker, while Peter’s did not look any better.
Still, Peter’s mood improved a little when he saw Charlie, the one who had stood to benefit the most, end up like that.
“You know perfectly well that ring represents power and status in the King family.” Charlie truly could not accept it. “Now that you’ve given it to her, have you thought about what people outside will say about me when they see it?”
Something that should have belonged to the head of the family had ended up in the hands of a young
woman…
Once word got out, outsiders would not only talk. They would mock him to his face and behind his back. Even the branches of the family would do the same.
+25 Bonus
This was throwing him straight under the bus!
“When you all used every trick in the book to force Anna to hand over her shares, why weren’t you worried about gossip?” Cyrus shot back.
Even as he said it, he felt like he was tearing apart his old wounds.
Without thinking, Charlie blurted out, “Because you were on our side!*
Cyrus’s eyes became distant for a moment.
Yes.
He had been foolish back then. He had valued sons over daughters, cared too much about what other people thought, and made the worst mistake of his life.
“The ring has already been given away. If you care that much about what people think, then work harder and improve your own abilities.” Cyrus’s expression turned stern, making it clear the matter was closed. ” Besides, that ring was never yours to begin with.”
Charlie left in anger after that.
Peter could not be bothered to stay and watch the charade any longer, either.
Before long, only Alfred, Cyrus, and Maxwell were left in the main hall.
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