Chapter 153
Latham glanced over at his daughter one more time. “As for Cindy, if she needs a tutor, just hire one. Don’t worry about the money. Investing in her education is necessary. If she gets into a good college, it’ll look good for us when we deal with the Byron family. Oh, and I already talked to Frederic. Both families are having dinner together this Saturday night. Let Claire know and make sure she comes. She should be there when we end the engagement between the kids p>
The mention of the engagement finally made Octavia breathe a sigh of relief. It felt like a heavy weight had been lifted from her chest. “Alright, I’ll let Claire know p>
Latham looked at her seriously. “Just… try not to make your favoritism too obvious between the girls.” He worried his wife would go too far. She’d shower her own daughter with affection and treat the other like she didn’t even matter. He was a businessman, after all, and he knew how to make the most of every connection.
Octavia caught his meaning right away. She nodded, but couldn’t help standing up for Cindy. “Cindy’s been through so much. She’s finally home, so what if I spoil her a little? You didn’t see what she went through in the countryside. Meanwhile, Claire enjoyed everything our family had to offer. Claire should be grateful to us, but now she’s trying to draw a line with money. She’s being completely ungrateful p>
If Claire really understood the situation, she would have handed over that agarwood pillow by now. But she kept clinging to it, saying it was a gift from Pandora. Clearly, she just didn’t want to give it up.
“We can make it up to Cindy in other ways,” Latham replied. He didn’t want to argue about these small things. “By the way, did the paternity test results come in?” Even though they were sure Cindy was their real daughter and Claire was the one who’d been switched, he still felt the need to ask.
Octavia’s eyelids twitched and Lance looked away. “I’ll check in with Wade. We should have the results by tomorrow morning,” Octavia said, forcing a smile.
Cindy felt a flicker of worry. What if she wasn’t really a James after all? The thought flashed through her mind, but she quickly shook it off. No way. She looked just like her mother and her mom loved her so much. There was no doubt they were family. Blood really is thicker than water.
“I’ll have my secretary pick up the results tomorrow. You don’t have to go,” Latham said suddenly.
Octavia laughed awkwardly. “It’s fine. I’ll go myself. I was the one who asked Wade for the favor. If I don’t show up in person, it might come off as rude p>
Her explanation made sense, so Latham didn’t argue.
Back in her room, Cindy called her godmother telling her how she was struggling to keep up with her classes and that her family wanted to hire a tutor. She mentioned the DNA results would be readyO tomorrow and rambled on about everything else happening at home. She never felt close to Pandora, but her godmother, who had come into her life by accident, had always been there for her. That love filled the gap from growing up without her mom. Cindy told her godmother everything.
Her godmother listened and comforted her. “Cindy, you have nothing to worry about. It’s not that you’re not good enough. Someone else took what should have been yours all these years. Now that you’re back with the James family, you need to make the most of your position Think about the family’s assets. You and Lance should split everything evenly. He’s already got a head start. You have to work hard and catch up, or else everything in the James family will end up with Lance and you’ll get nothing. That wouldn’t be fair, would it p>
Cindy hadn’t expected her godmother to be so blunt.