She Left She Thrived She’s Worth Billions novel Chapter 159

She and Gregory thought differently.

Although Melanie was the eldest daughter from Nathaniel’s first marriage, it was unlikely that the Royce family, a dynasty of pharmacists, would pass their legacy to a daughter who knew nothing about pharmaceuticals and spent her days clubbing.

Aria, on the other hand, was the most likely to inherit Nathaniel’s enterprise.

One look at how Nathaniel was cultivating Aria, compared to his treatment of Melanie, made it all clear.

“I wish I had a daughter as brilliant as Aria…” Camilla said, glancing at Evelyn.

Evelyn, feeling slighted, muttered under her breath, “I have a master’s degree, you know!”

Camilla overheard her.

“So what if you have a master’s degree? Aria is in a combined Master’s-PhD program.”

Seeing Camilla lavish praise on Aria, Melanie let out a contemptuous smile.

The combined program was at a private university in Cyranth that Sabrina had found. It had a big name, but with enough money, you could get in through special channels.

The Master Pharmacist’s License was indeed difficult, but Aria was only preparing for it. Millions of people around the world were studying for it, but very few actually passed. Elias was one of them.

Evelyn was fuming from Camilla’s jab.

Among the younger people present, she wasn’t the one with the lowest level of education. Why was Camilla constantly using her as a benchmark to praise Aria?

“Speaking of education, it’s such a shame about Melanie. She didn’t even finish her pharmacy degree before switching majors,” Evelyn said with a theatrical sigh.

“Pharmacy is too difficult. Switching majors was the right choice,” Sabrina said, seemingly defending Melanie but actually delivering a backhanded compliment.

“Look at Melanie. After changing her major, she at least managed to graduate from college, right?”

“It’s good that she can work. Getting out into the world gives you broad experience. Not like Aria, who’s always buried in her books at the university. She’s never even been to a nightclub or a private lounge. How could she possibly compare to Melanie!”

As soon as Sabrina finished, Nathaniel let out a displeased, cold snort from the side.

Everyone present knew that his anger wasn't directed at Sabrina, but at Melanie.

“Broad experience? She spends all her time with shady people! If she were even half as dedicated to her studies as Aria, she wouldn’t have barely scraped by with a bachelor’s degree!”

“Now, now, dear, let’s not get upset,” Sabrina said, gently rubbing Nathaniel’s arm to soothe him.

Only Melanie sneered internally.

Aria was studying abroad, and her father sent her hundreds of thousands of dollars in living expenses every month.

While this Thangka was well-crafted, its auction price wouldn’t exceed a million dollars—the equivalent of one or two months of Aria’s allowance.

Did Aria really need to skip meals for this?

“By the way, I wonder what gift you prepared, Melanie?” Evelyn’s clear voice suddenly rang out.

The living room fell silent.

All eyes turned to Melanie.

Melanie stood up and took the gift box she had prepared last night from her handbag.

As she walked toward Nathaniel, Evelyn gave Lila a look, and the little girl immediately stuck out her foot.

Caught off guard, Melanie tripped. The gift box in her hand fell to the floor, spilling out packets of white powder and strips of white paper.