Chapter 4

Sean Simmons froze, and when he turned to meet my eyes, his face went pale and his body went rigid, as if he'd seen a ghost.

Kathy sensed something was off. She looked at Sean, then at me, and demanded an answer.

"How do you know my fiancé?"

I raised an eyebrow slightly but said nothing.

My subtle reaction puzzled all the elders in the living room. Their expressions turned uncertain as they murmured among themselves.

"This Sean, he wasn't Crystal's boyfriend before, was he?"

"It couldn't be that much of a coincidence..."

Kathy looked panicked and turned to ask Sean, "Sean, how do you know my cousin? What exactly is your relationship with her?"

Sean stole a cautious glance at me but didn't dare say a word.

His reaction only strengthened Kathy's conviction.

She suddenly whipped her head around, glaring at me viciously, and screamed at the top of her lungs like a madwoman.

"Crystal, did you deliberately seduce my fiancé just to get revenge on me?"

"Sean is mine, and don't you dare try to take him from me!"

The moment she said it, the other elders started laying into me too.

"Crystal, this is going too far! Kathy is your cousin—how could you steal her fiancé?"

"I know you've worked hard all these years and you're still just a low-level employee, but that doesn't mean you throw yourself at any rich man you see."

My mother tried her best to defend me.

"Don't say such nonsense. Our Crystal isn't that kind of person."

She'd barely finished when Kathy, as if she'd gone insane, suddenly started shrieking.

"How is she not that kind of person?"

"Crystal, you seduced my fiancé, you shameless slut! I'm going to post you online and expose you!"

She had just pulled out her phone when Sean, standing beside her, couldn't take it anymore and quickly stopped her.

"Enough, shut up!"

Sean looked exhausted, and through gritted teeth he said, "I have nothing to do with Ms. Harding, so quit talking nonsense!"

The sudden outburst left Kathy frozen where she stood, feeling deeply wronged.

"Even now you're still making excuses for her?"

Seeing that the mood had built up just right, I lifted my chin toward Sean.

"It's come to this, and you still don't plan to tell them clearly—what exactly is your relationship with me?"