Chapter 186

Had Penelope really committed some unforgivable crime? All she’d done was quietly avoid announcing she was only the Sterling family’s stepdaughter— everyone else had jumped to their own conclusions. How could that possibly be her fault?
And being a stepdaughter was already a painful enough label. It was a wound she carried, something that must have hurt every time it was mentioned. Was it really fair to expect her to stand up and lay bare her scars in front of everyone?
As for the business with giving away a few of the Sterlings’ things, she was family too, after all. It wasn’t like she’d handed out anything valuable. If Anastasia wanted to nitpick about that, well, wasn’t that just being small-minded?
With these thoughts swirling, several girls stepped forward to comfort Penelope.
Penelope gave a secret, satisfied smile, quickly replaced by a look of fragile gratitude. “Thank you… thank you all. I never expected anyone would believe in me.”
But as she remembered Anastasia’s parting words, a flicker of unease crossed her mind. She forced it down.
Monday? Please. She’d always been careful with Samuel-never left a trace. What kind of evidence could Anastasia possibly have? Most likely, she was just trying to scare her.
Juliet, however, didn’t see it that way.
Clutching her cousin’s sleeve, she asked excitedly, “Cousin, what are you going to do next Monday?”
Her cousin would never bluff. If Anastasia said something would happen, Penelope was finished for sure.
Anastasia just winked, her tone mysterious. “You’ll see soon enough.”
Why Monday? Well, tomorrow was the weekend, and Monday was the big Freshman Gala.
In her previous life, Penelope had seized the opportunity to shine at the gala, signing up to perform a solo dance that had made her the talk of Kingsbridge University and even gone viral online.
This time, she would no doubt try to do the same.
A sly smile curled Anastasia’s lips. Her eyes narrowed with a glint of mischief.
If Penelope wanted to be famous, she’d make sure the girl became famous— across the entire internet. The source of this content ɪs
Juliet had no classes that afternoon and was heading home.
The two girls walked to the school gate together, where they spotted the Brennans’ car-Mrs. Brennan herself had come to pick up her daughter.
Juliet instinctively looked back. “Cousin
“Go on,” Anastasia said calmly, stepping aside to hide herself from view.
She wanted to reconcile with her mother’s family, but now wasn’t the time.
After all those years being manipulated by Nora and her daughter, she’d broken her grandfather’s heart and disappointed the entire Brennan family. She couldn’t go back empty-handed. Until she proved herself, how could she face them? How could they ever trust or accept her?
They wanted to see a worthy heir to her mother’s legacy-not some hapless pawn being toyed with by Nora and her daughter.
The Brennans had never liked her much. If Mrs. Brennan-her aunt-saw her with Juliet, she’d probably order Juliet to keep away from her.
Juliet knew it too. Swallowing her words, she trudged over to her mother’s car.
Once her cousin was safely inside, Anastasia turned and headed for her apartment.
They’d only been apart since that morning, but she already missed her husband. The thought of him waiting for her at home made her quicken her pace.
At the apartment, Logan had just finished a phone call. He turned respectfully to Harrison. “Mr. Lancaster, Mr. Jackson will be here soon.”
Mr. Jackson-Marcus-was Harrison’s childhood friend and closest confidant. After an accident had left Marcus paralyzed, he’d lost his place as the Jackson family heir. He’d mentioned coming to Fairhaven to recover, and now, finally, he’d wrapped up his affairs in Riverton and was on his way.