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It was clear that Mia had been her rival from the start.
As long as Mia was present, nothing would go smoothly for her. This was evident when she returned to the Barrett family and relied on Dana’s assistance to get rid of Mia, allowing her to live a comfortable life for five years.
Luna believed she could secure her place in the Barrett family through Asher’s identity, but Mia’s return shattered her plans. She was not only expelled from the Barrett family, but she also ended up in jail.
Despite thinking that she could easily handle Jasmine, she was blindsided by Mia once more, derailing her scheme.
Luna glanced at Raymond with grievance in her eyes and exclaimed, “Dad, aren’t you going to say anything?”
At the moment, Luna’s sole hope rested on Raymond. According to Raymond’s earlier statement, he would acknowledge her identity at long as she agreed to have Asher adopted into the Shelbert family. She spent a lot of time persuading Raymond to let her come to this banquet with him today.
After all, Asher would make his first public appearance at the Aide Castle Hotel later So, Luna attending this banquet today could be seen as a sign of what was to come. Nevertheless, she never expected her plans to be thwarted. S
Raymond’s expression momentarily froze, leaving him feeling trapped. Truth be told, Raymond was unwilling to reveal Luna’s true identity as his illegitimate daughter. Such revelation would greatly tarnish his esteemed reputation.
However, for Asher’s sake, he still decided to bring Luna to the banquet. Little did he know that Luna would audaciously choose to reveal her true identity herself.
It became evident that Luna truly belonged to a modest family and lacked sophisticated manners like Jasmine.
Jasmine had effortlessly handled the situation and earned him praise for assisting his old friend’s daughter.
Chapter 1078
Raymond cleared his throat and replied quickly, “Don’t worry, Luna. Once you become part of our Shelbert family, you’ll be my daughter, and I’ll treat you as my own. No one will ever look down on you. Trust me, there’s nothing to worry about.”
As long as Luna returned to his side and received proper care, it made no difference whether he acknowledged her as his daughter or not. It was a win-win situation for him.
Jasmine smiled and replied, “Indeed. My dad has always been supportive and kind to others. With Luna now here in our home, we’re truly becoming a family. Luna, please know that you don’t need to worry about these events. If you ever have any doubts or need assistance in the future, I’ll be here to guide you and teach you.”
Raymond nodded to Jasmine with deep satisfaction and remarked, “You’ve truly matured. Luna has endured so much since childhood and is quite inexperienced in these matters. You should guide her to socialize more and teach her your ways. As Asher’s mother, she can’t be ignorant.”
Jasmine felt bitter, yet she still managed to force a smile as she responded, “Don’t worry, Dad. I’ll definitely teach Luna properly.”
It was difficult to make that decision. However, seeing Luna’s frustration, anger, and powerlessness, she felt that she made the right choice. Ultimately, there was nothing wrong with beating someone at their own game.
Luna tried her best to maintain control over her expression. Any display of anger at this critical moment would render all her previous attempts pointless. She also worried that if she made any wrong move, Raymond would not recognize her or bring her out to events again.
Luna took a deep breath and said, “I still have a lot of things I don’t understand. I’m afraid of inadvertently making a mistake in front of everyone in the future. I need your help to prevent that from happening. We’re going to be a family, and I don’t want to be the one to embarrass our Shelbert name with a joke that falls flat.”
Jasmine’s eyes grew cold as she pondered whether Luna’s words meant something more was she threatening them?
Jasmine said with a half-smile, “Don’t worry. I’ll try my best. After all, teachers can only guide us, but learning ultimately depends on ourselves. Luna, you’ll have to work harder in the future.”
Luna glared at Jasmine with an expression of reluctance. She couldn’t believe that this bitch dared to speak to her in such a way.
Mia witnessed Luna’s defeat and locked eyes with Jasmine. Without uttering a single word, they communicated through the unspoken language of their shared gaze.
Someone nearby quickly intervened to smooth things over. “Mr. Shelbert, your daughter is remarkably well-educated. She’s incredibly kind and generous. You’re truly fortunate to have her, unlike the brat in our family. He always disappoints everyone.”
“That’s right. What are the advantages of having a son nowadays? You still have to clean up his mess. It’s far more advantageous to have a daughter. A daughter is thoughtful, diligent, ambitious, and compassionate.”
“I agree. When I was sick before, only my daughter was there to take care of me, and my son was nowhere to be found. What’s the point of having a son?”
Luna’s expression froze as she pondered why having a son would be considered useless.
The only reason she was able to return to Raymond’s side was because he valued sons more than daughters. Raymond desired to have his own son to inherit the family business, and that was her ticket back to him.
Jasmine’s eyes turned cold as she said loudly, “Indeed, Dad has consistently displayed a preference for girls over boys. He instilled in me the belief that there is no distinction between genders, raising me to be his rightful heir.”
Luna’s expression suddenly changed upon hearing that.
Chapter 1079
Mia was surprised and glanced at Jasmine, who had truly come into her own today. It was clear that Raymond’s efforts in investing years in educating her had not been in vain. Despite his preference for sons, premium education always paid off. With Jasmine overcoming this obstacle, Luna’s only bargaining chip would no longer hold any advantage. Raymond gazed deeply at Jasmine and said, “Yes, I’ve always preferred to have a daughter, and Jasmine has always been exceptional.”
“Indeed, it has been widely known that Mr. Shelbert has always been an adoring father to his daughter.”
“I truly admire Mr. Shelbert for having such an exceptional daughter.”
Jasmine glanced at Raymond, who stood beside her. She had heard these words repeated countless times before. She used to believe that what Raymond said was true.
However, as she grew older, she realized that the invisible preference for boys over girls truly existed.
It was evident in the words of those two women who were seemingly belittling their son, when in fact they were showing off.
For instance, Mrs. Jonas, the first to speak, always claimed that her son was incompetent and that she would give her daughter anything she desired. However, when her husband retired, the inheritance rights went directly to her incompetent son. Despite her daughter graduating as an executive with outstanding abilities, she was only able to serve as a deputy general manager in the company, with no real authority over the group.
Those who were accustomed to treating their daughters well and their sons poorly would reveal their clear biases when it came time to divide the family inheritance. In those days, all the property was inherited by the sons, while the daughters were married off and received only a small share. However, their daughters would come in handy when they needed someone to take care of them.
After thinking about this, Jasmine instantly felt nauseous. She couldn’t help but wonder how parents could be so vicious to their own children.
Mia noticed that everything was almost ready, so she quickly announced, “Dinner is about to be served. Please go over and grab a bite. Let’s not linger here.”
Once she finished speaking, everyone scattered. Raymond also departed alongside the elders.
Luna glared at Mia with a discontented expression. “This is a banquet at Aide Castle Hotel. It’s not hosted by your Lane family. Why are you acting as if you’re the one charge here, insisting that go and grab a bite? How in nyone presumptuous of you.”
Mia must have been the one who taught Jasmine how to fight back. Otherwise, dealing with a pretentious woman like Jasmine would have been a simple task.
Mia was just a woman who couldn’t stand the thought of someone being better than her. She was afraid that one day someone might surpass her so she tried every possible means to stop that from happening.
Mia observed the furious expression on Luna’s face. It was clear that Jasmine’s counterattack had truly caught her off guard.
Mia smiled confidently, her red lips curving slightly as she declared, “I don’t need to pretend to be the owner. I am the owner of Aide Castle Hotel.”
“Are you claiming to be the owner of Aide Castle Hotel? Are you kidding me? Do you honestly believe that the owner would maintain a low profile to allow others like you to assume their identity?”
“I don’t have to explain to you,” Mia said flatly.
Luna sneered “Mia, I’ve left the
Barrett family, so why do you still insist on targeting me? You were once an orphan yourself before you discovered your own family. You of all people should be able to to o empathize with my experience.”
Mia’s eyes widened with surprise as she exclaimed, “How could I possibly understand your situation? I am my parents’ biological child!”
Unbeknownst to others, Jasmine discreetly spilled her cocktail onto Luna’s dress. Luna immediately screamed, “Do you know how expensive my dress costs? It’s a limited edition!”
“I know. I apologize for what just happened. My hand accidentally slipped. You don’t mind, right?”
Chapter 1080
Luna glanced at her stained dress and snapped at Jasmine. “You did that deliberately, but let me make one thing clear. Even if my dress is damaged, Dad can easily buy me a new one. You can never stop me from returning to the Shelbert family. Your dirty tricks are utterly disgraceful!”
Jasmine chided, “Didn’t I learn all this from you? Although these underhanded tricks are not widely embraced, they’re quite straightforward to use. This is why I’ve started learning from you. Whatever tricks you use, I’ll use as well. Does that please you?”
“Jasmine, don’t be complacent. I’ll deal with you sooner or later when I return to the Shelbert family.”
Luna was in no mood to argue. Her dress was stained, and she had to quickly change into a new one. She had to continue her appearance in front of the guests. After all, today was very important to her. Despite her identity now being Raymond’s goddaughter and the daughter of his old friend, it was only the beginning. She was determined to personally clarify her identity in the future.
After Luna left, only Mia and Jasmine remained. Mia commented with a smile, “You did an excellent job today. Luna’s identity is now entirely established. She’s simply the daughter of an old friend and incapable of causing any trouble. Even if anyone questions her identity, they wouldn’t dare to do so openly. She’s merely an unacknowledged illegitimate daughter, and no one will pay attention to her.” In prominent families, such occurrences were not unheard of.
“I know. I should have listened to you earlier. So many things could have been avoided, and my Mom wouldn’t have been so upset that she ended up in the hospital.” Jasmine now felt a twinge of regret. “It’s not too late for you to change now, and you’ve timed it perfectly,” Mia remarked.
Jasmine said, “I have Luna to thank for that. What she did just now has made me determined. I understand now that these people have always favored sons over daughters, but they don’t openly show it. They often claim to be good to their daughters, but their true intentions are revealed when it’s time to divide interests.”
“Actually, this only represents a portion of the population and they cannot speak for everyone. For instance, when my parents drafted their will, they evenly distributed all the property among their children, regardless of their gender. S
Jasmine envied Mia and said, “Not everyone has parents like yours, or as many loving brothers as you do.”
Mia gently pressed her lips together, a subtle smile adorning her face. It seemed slightly awkward to boast about her brother in front of Jasmine at this particular moment. Hence she shifted the topic of conversation, suggesting, “The investment banquet is out to commence. Why don’t we grab a bite first?”
After finishing their meal, the duo made their way towards the banquet venue. Mia glanced up and caught a glimpse of Luna quickly changing into yet another dress before making her way out. Jasmine snorted. “It seems that my Dad has arranged for a lot of people to tend to Luna.”
In general, when people like them went out, their assistants usually brought a change of clothes. However, someone like Luna probably only had that one dress.
Jasmine didn’t want to see Luna at the banquet anymore, so she deliberately dirtied Luna’s skirt to prompt her to leave. However, she didn’t expect Luna to change into another dress and reappear so quickly. It showed that Raymond had arranged for an assistant for Luna.
Luna hadn’t even returned to the Shelbert family, and Raymond was already treating her so well. For a while, Jasmine felt utterly disappointed in Raymond. Luna proudly strolled into the banquet venue, casting a provocative glance at Mia and Jasmine.
Shelly walked over directly and asked tentatively, “Are you Luna?”
Chapter 1081
When Mia saw Shelly approaching Luna, she was slightly surprised. It felt as if a great show was about to unfold.
Meanwhile, Jasmine still felt very uncomfortable about Luna’s quick dress change. Mia gently squeezed Jasmine’s hand and said, “Perhaps we’ll be able to witness something good happen later.” However, Jasmine only wore a surprised expression, revealing her uncertainty about the situation.
“Luna was with the Barrett family for five years. You should be familiar with Shelly’s personality too. She would likely bully, mistreat, and look down on Luna,” Mia said.
Based on Mia’s understanding of Shelly, Luna, whom she had previously looked down upon, had now transformed. Shelly harbored jealousy in her heart, and she might do something unexpectedly. Luna proudly changed into her new dress and emerged, ready to show off in front of Jasmine. After all, Raymond had arranged an assistant for her and prepared a change of clothes, which she didn’t expect to come in handy. Unexpectedly, this idiot Shelly also showed up at today’s banquet.
What a coincidence. It seemed that God was still favoring her. When she made a public appearance today, she actually met the Barretts.
Luna looked at Shelly and said with a condescending tone, “Yes, it’s me. Long time no see.”