“She missed out on such wealth-serves her right!”
At this point, the online community was furiously cursing Derek’s fiancee, yet they were unaware that her name was Marissa Nash. However, a video had emerged showing her parents attempting to connect with Derek, putting the Nash family into the limelight. In the video, Korbin and Betty, carrying gifts, were seen forcing their way through the crowd, arguing with security, loudly proclaiming themselves as Derek’s in-laws, and pushing an extravagantly dressed Denise forward, declaring her as Derek’s fiancee. It was a distasteful spectacle
As a consequence, the online backlash was horrifying. Denise’s personal details were exposed. Her social media profiles were flooded with hateful comments, and some even contacted her university, demanding her expulsion. It was a complete humiliation!
Upon grasping the full extent of the situation, Marissa was seething. She had been ignored by her parents, often beaten and starved, and even cast out of their home when she was little. Derek’s grandmother had taken pity on her, occasionally offering her some bread. Grateful, she had become close to the Tucker family and naively promised to marry Derek, swayed by his grandmother at the age of six. She had always treated Derek kindly. As a young girl, she had defended and shielded him. As she grew older, she financially supported his education and provided him with clothing and food. She had even secretly planned to help him start his business and remained true to her promise of marriage. Now that he was an affluent heir, he tarnished her reputation to enhance his own tragic narrative! Even though Denise was currently taking the fall, Marissa knew the focus would eventually shift back to her. She wondered if this plot was orchestrated by Derek’s parents or if it was his own scheme. With questions and anger, Marissa called Derek
The phone was quickly answered, and a cold voice responded, “Marissa Nash, you will pay for your deception!”
The voice on the phone was not only cold but also sounded completely deranged. Marissa listened intently and finally recognized it as Derek’s voice, though he sounded like a completely different person
“Ha, Marissa Nash, you probably never imagined I’d have my moments one day, did you? I’m going to destroy you!”
Marissa frowned. Some people lose their sanity due to pain, some due to fear, and others due to overwhelming happiness. Derek fell into the last category. Rising from a deeply insecure poor boy to a rich heir had sent him into a frenzy of excitement. She could understand this change, but what baffled her was his sudden intense animosity towards her. Just a day ago, he seemed worried about losing her
“Why?”
“Why? Because you’re a whore!”
Marissa couldn’t believe Derek would insult her with that word. “Marissa, don’t think for a second I’m clueless about how you got the money you gave me. You earned it by sleeping with men in nightclubs! God knows how many times you’ve been unfaithful. Just the sight of you disgusts me!”
Marissa felt a sharp pain in her heart. Every time she had given Derek money, he had appeared appreciative. It was all a facade. He had accepted her money while silently condemning her. It seemed the villagers had been right about him. He was a wolf in disguise, only playing the part of a meek lamb because he was poor. Now that he had wealth, his true, ruthless nature was showing. All her goodwill towards him had turned out to be pointless
“Derek, I need to ask you this. Do you want to end our engagement?”
“Absolutely!” Derek’s tone was arrogant and malicious. “Marissa, you’re not worthy of me! If you try to hold on to me, I’ll make you regret it!”
Very well. Marissa looked up at the sky with a cold expression. The promise was now broken. It was Derek who no longer needed her to keep her word, not her deceiving anyone
“Don’t worry, I have no intention of holding on to you. Derek, you should go online and announce that all the rumors about your fiancee are false. From here on, you live your life as a wealthy heir, and I’ll just continue running my small flower shop. We’ll keep out of each other’s lives.”
Marissa’s calmness and detached demeanor took Derek by surprise. He had expected her to beg him in tears, but she refused to give him that satisfaction. This left him feeling both infuriated and humiliated
“Ridiculous! I’m the one who started those rumors. Why would I retract them? If I hadn’t been poor, why would I have ever considered marrying a woman like you who’s been with every man? Now that I’m wealthy, I need to express my anger properly! You bitch, sleeping with others but refusing to let me touch you, claiming we should wait until after the wedding. Did you think I was an idiot? Just wait for your downfall! By the way, I haven’t had my way with you yet. Now I want that. What’s your price for one night? I’ll pay double!”
Listening to Derek’s insane tirade, Marissa clenched her fists slightly. “Derek, you’ll regret this!”
Derek laughed hysterically. “You’re seething with rage, aren’t you? But what can you actually do to me? I travel in luxury cars and am always surrounded by bodyguards now. A village girl like you couldn’t even get near me!”
Marissa chose not to respond with words. She just let out a soft, mocking “Heh!” Then, she ended the call. Derek would soon discover if she really could get close to him or not
After she hung up, dawn was breaking. Suddenly, loud cries came from the direction of her house. Marissa walked back quickly. Approaching the gate, she saw several cars leaving. Her family’s gate was vandalized with two large holes, the walls were covered with offensive graffiti, and her parents and Denise were on the ground, crying, splattered with rotten eggs. As she arrived, Betty leaped up and cursed her
“Marissa, you bring bad luck! This family’s misery is all because of you! If you hadn’t been so set on marrying Derek, we wouldn’t be facing online harassment, and those so-called righteous netizens wouldn’t have felt compelled to ‘teach us a lesson! Now everyone recognizes us. How are we supposed to live? Boohoo…”
Marissa sneered inwardly. What righteous netizens? Those were clearly thugs sent by Derek! They had intended to target her, but since she wasn’t there, she had missed the assault. Just then, a loud “bang” erupted outside the courtyard wall, and an unidentified object hurtled towards Marissa
“Ah! It’s a bomb!”
The unknown object emitted a deafening blast in midair, causing everyone to think it was a bomb. Denise let out a panicked scream. Korbin and Betty were extremely frightened. Marissa, however, remained composed and swiftly kicked a stone at her feet
The stone struck the object in the air, changing its trajectory, and it landed in a corner of the yard. With crackling noises, the object disintegrated into powder on the ground. It turned out to be just a long firecracker. Marissa’s gaze turned cold. What a childish tactic Derek had used!
She glanced at the others, who were still shaking from fear, and reassured them gently, “It’s fine now.” The silence lingered for a few seconds. Suddenly, Betty burst out crying, “God, how are we supposed to go on with our lives?”
“I’ll handle it,” Marissa replied plainly. Just as she finished speaking, Denise suddenly charged at her and shoved her forcefully
“How are you going to handle it? I’m being destroyed by online rumors! Whenever I go out, people curse at me. My school is going to kick me out. You always cause problems!”
Marissa dodged her and was momentarily lost for words. “It’s true that this started because of me. But if you hadn’t dressed up so lavishly and posed as Derek’s fiancee when he suddenly had wealthy parents, I would be the one facing cyberbullying right now. How would you have gotten caught up in this?”
Denise was left without a reply. She was full of regret now. She had imagined she would become incredibly wealthy, but she hadn’t anticipated the enormous problems that would follow. Betty quickly stepped in front of Denise and shot an angry look at Marissa
“Why are you picking on Denise? It’s all your fault! We can’t stay in Adagend anymore. Where will we live now?”
Marissa looked at the messy yard and said, “Pack up. We’re all going to Blebert.”
“If we all move to Blebert with you, will you cover our living expenses?”
“Didn’t I already provide for you in Adagend?”
Betty was at a loss for words. When Marissa was fifteen years old, she had been forced to start working and send money home monthly as her filial duty. Her parents never asked her what she did; all they cared about was that the amount increased every year. So she had been supporting her family single-handedly
After a brief pause, Betty added, “I mean, living in a big city costs a lot. We’ll need to rent an apartment and buy food. Can you really afford it?”
“Don’t worry. You won’t starve.” After finishing her words, Marissa started to pack up. Her parents, motivated to move, quickly began packing with Denise. They were excited about the prospect of living in a big city. The morning’s events had terrified them. Korbin, Betty, and Denise were eager to leave as quickly as possible, so they packed swiftly. Thinking Marissa would provide for everything, they didn’t bring much. Each carried just a small suitcase as they followed Marissa to a rental apartment in Blebert. It was a modest two-bedroom, one-living room apartment in a regular neighborhood on Vintage Street, not far from Marissa’s flower shop
As soon as the family stepped into the apartment, Betty began to complain. “Why is this place so small? This neighborhood is just ordinary!” Marissa listened to her mother without showing any emotion. When she was finally irritated, she replied flatly, “Mom, property in Blebert is expensive. The most basic apartment costs over a hundred thousand dollars per square meter. Even though this apartment is only one hundred square meters, I’m paying eight thousand a month for it. I manage a small flower shop. I have to cover rent, food, and clothing, pay for Denise’s tuition, and save for her dowry. I’m stretched to my limit.”
Betty’s expression soured. “There are only two bedrooms. How can four of us stay here?”
Denise quickly added, “I don’t want to share a room with you. We’re adults now. It’s awkward to sleep in the same room!”
Marissa inwardly scoffed. Even though the Nash family was better off than the Tucker family, they were still modest. Back in their hometown, their house also had just two bedrooms. In the past, her parents lived in one of the two bedrooms and she shared the other with Denise, where Denise took the bed and she slept on the floor. After she was forced to start working, every time she went home, she wasn’t even allowed to sleep on the floor in Denise’s room and had to spend the night on an old bamboo chair in the living room. She had never felt valued or cherished by her family
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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