The Second Life of a Discarded Heiress novel Chapter 71

The atmosphere inside the private dining room was icy cold.

No one from the Iverson family touched their food. Each face looked grimmer than the last.

All of them sat in silence, eyes fixed on Citrine as she ate with apparent enjoyment, savoring each bite.

Sawyer, though clearly displeased by Citrine's attitude, managed to rein in his temper. After all, he had wrongly accused his daughter for so long; he could hardly blame her for being upset.

In as gentle a voice as he could muster, he said, "Citrine, the main reason we asked you here today is to apologize."

"We were wrong to accuse you."

As he spoke, Sawyer shot a meaningful glance at his two sons.

Norton, the eldest at twenty-five, was the first to respond. He rose stiffly to his feet. "Citrine, I misjudged you. I'm truly sorry," he said. But even as he apologized, he couldn't hide his air of superiority.

Citrine looked up at him, her gaze cold and unimpressed. "What are you so smug about? Is there anything to be proud of? Weren't you adopted too?"

"Drop the holier-than-thou act. You're not above anyone here."

She'd always disliked Norton's condescending attitude, and now it just made her skin crawl.

Norton opened his mouth as if to retort, but nothing came out.

It took him a long moment before he managed, "Even if we were wrong, that doesn't mean you should treat us like this."

Citrine couldn't be bothered to answer.

If the family insisted on making her uncomfortable, she'd make sure none of them could enjoy their meal either.