His Sweet Mate

Chapter 6

THIRD PERSON'S POV

The smug look on Maeve's face was evident and it was meant to hurt her in any way.

Maeve turned her head and smiled viciously at Adriana. "Julian and I are in love, so what if we have our child? Besides, we're getting married soon, anyway." She looked at Julian and continued, "Julian, isn't that right?"

Julian's face turned pale.

Maeve is pregnant. When Julian first heard about that, he was ecstatic. A child of his own. However, now that Adriana is in front of her, he couldn't feel anything other than shame and regret.

But he couldn't just ignore his child, can he?

Forcing himself, he gritted his teeth and said, "Yes."

"What a loving couple!" Adriana sneered, her face turning white with anger, "However, I do wonder what the people think that you got pregnant even before marriage. As far as I can remember the Roseinhart and the Terranova family values reputation too much. How did this news blow the perfect reputation of our families?"

"Enough!" Harris spoke out with a livid face, "Adriana, Julian and your sister's marriage is already set in stone and cannot be changed. If you feel wronged, after your sister gets married, I'll find you another good marriage prospect! How's that sound?"

Although Harris said this, his tone was stiff, and anyone could tell he was just making up an excuse. The guests went quiet.

Adriana looked up at Harris, her eyes filled with sadness. After a while, she said, "Since Father has already said this, what else can I say? I can only accept it..."

"But if sister insists on marrying Julian, for the sake of sister and the reputation of the Roseinhart and Terranova families, I must first cancel my engagement with Julian and retrieve the token given by mother during her engagement to the Terranova family."

"I remember clearly, that token is the silver plate governing the Roseinhart family's jewelry store and pawnshop!"

As soon as these words were spoken, not only Katherine, Racquela, and Harris but also Julian's face changed. They didn't like what Adriana just declared, apparently.

Years ago, Jacinda was a rare female entrepreneur, the daughter of the Alpha, and the Roseinhart family's business covered Westfall and its surrounding cities. Their accumulated wealth was naturally much greater than that of the military-focused Terranova family. The Terranova family's engagement with the Roseinhart family was, to some extent, aimed at the Roseinhart family's wealth. Jacinda was the bearer of wealth in the Roseinhart family. Being the daughter of the Alpha, she had a natural leading capacity. After leaving the biggest pack in the North Coast, her father offered her prosperous wealth when she married Harris in the Aerilon pack.

In order to ensure her daughter's well-being in the Terranova family, Jacinda had given the most profitable jewelry store and the lucrative pawnshop of the Roseinhart family to the Terranova family. In return, the Terranova family had given a valuable set of jewelry.

Now, this jewelry store and pawnshop had been in the hands of the Terranova family for many years, and they still constituted the main source of income for the Terranova family. However, in the short three years since Jacinda's death, due to Harris's lack of business acumen, the once thriving Roseinhart family had withered. This fact was only hidden from outsiders by the Roseinhart family members.

But Mrs. Racquela and Harris were not worried. They believed that as long as Maeve married Julian, the Roseinhart family would be able to enjoy a life of wealth and stability, thanks to the Terranova family's power.

So, they intended to directly offer the jewelry store and pawnshop as part of Maeve's dowry to please Julian and the Terranova family, without mentioning whether the token would be returned or not.

Who would have thought that Adriana would drop such a bombshell upon her return? And to take back what the Terranova deemed as important.

"Adriana, what... what are you talking about? The jewelry store and pawnshop have been managed by the Terranova family for years. How can you just take it back like that? Aren't you making things difficult for Julian? Besides, once your sister marries into the Terranova family, the Roseinhart and Terranova families will be one. There's no need to talk about returning things." Seeing Julian's displeased expression, Katherine hurriedly said a few words.

"Lady Katherine," Adriana raised her voice slightly, "That silver token only represents the management rights of the jewelry store and pawnshop. The deeds and everything are still with the Roseinhart family, so it's still the Roseinhart family's property. Moreover, this token is tied to my marriage contract. What does it have to do with sister? Whether she marries or not, my marriage contract must be terminated, and this silver token must be returned. Otherwise, wouldn't it cause gossip, saying that I might want to maintain a relationship with Julian through this silver token or that Julian doesn't want to marry me but still covets my possessions? We don't want those rumors, do we?"

Katherine angrily said, "Adriana, enough! You've also said that the jewelry store and pawnshop belong to the Roseinhart family. The master and mistress have agreed to include the deeds to the jewelry store and pawnshop as part of Maeve's dowry to the Terranova family. How dare you, a girl who just returned, claim that it's your property?"

Katherine is also power-hungry. Since Jacinda's death, everyone in the Roseinhart family had addressed her as "madam" for three years, but this girl Adriana had just returned and takes the spotlight and it infuriated her!

"Lady Katherine, you're wrong," Adriana said calmly. "Others might not think this way but you're not the real Lady of the Roseinhart family. In this family, my mother was the one in charge. After her passing and I don't have legitimate brothers, the family would naturally be led by my father if I hadn't returned. But now that I'm back, I should be in charge, and the Roseinhart family's property is mine. You don't have the right to use the things tied to my marriage contract without my consent.

"Now, if Maeve insists on marrying Julian, I'll bear the pain and let it be, but it's not appropriate to use the Roseinhart family's property as her dowry, right? After all, Maeve and Lady Katherine are not real Roseinharts. I am in charge and I get to say what should be done. I think all the people here would agree."

They all looked around the guests were all listening to their banter. And from the looks on their faces, it was obvious that the crowd favors the estranged daughter--the one who had just returned to take back her power.