Seeing that Helen frowned from what she said, Gina quickly assured her, “Don’t worry—that bastard was just exaggerating. He was trying to trick you into eloping with him. He definitely won’t try barging into this wolf’s den… Who knows, he might have fled Riverton by now!”
Helen was at once disappointed and hopeful—all she wanted was for Frank to be safe, and she could only hope that he refrained from causing things to spiral out of control.
Cindy entered just then, and promptly grabbed the jewelry box, gaping at it and then at Helen, “Wow… Did Mr. Graves give these to you? Can I have a few of these necklaces? I’ve never worn anything so expensive…”
“Yeah, you can have it.” Helen forced a smile.
She had zero interest in the jewelry box and pushed it toward Cindy.
“Thank you, Helen!” Cindy was jubilant and tried on everything from the jewelry box while looking at herself in the mirror repeatedly.
Gina sighed nearby—it was Frank’s fault that Helen was like this.
But those days were behind them now… they would live like queens soon!
“Smile, Helen—it’s your big day.” Gina grinned. “The Lionhearts are sending their people over too. We can’t embarrass ourselves in front of royalty.”
“Yeah,” Helen replied, her voice hollow and once again forcing her smile.
Gina could see that Helen had not gotten over Frank, but he did not deserve her at all.
All was right in the world now—Helen would soon marry into the Graves family, and the Southstream Lanes would be taking them back as well.
Gina was certainly determined to see this through when a life of privilege was within reach. Even if her daughter is still obsessed over Frank now, reality would compel her to change her mind and forget about him.
“Come on, it’s time. We should go,” Gina said.
“Yeah.”
Even as Gina pulled Helen to her feet and left the dressing room, Cindy was still obsessing over the jewelry box.
While Helen was distracted, she quickly sneaked a pile of jewelry into her purse.
–
It was a full house at the wedding hall.
Soon, Chaz went onstage under the emcee’s invitation and amid a warm applause.
Picking up the microphone, he was beaming as he spoke vibrantly. “I thank all of you bigwigs of Riverton, partners of my family and Helen’s, as well as all our friends and family, for coming to witness our wedding.
“I won’t lie—Helen and I were meant to be with each other ever since we were kids, and I’ve decided that she’s the only one I’d ever marry. But various things happened, and she was led astray by vile people. However, I worked tirelessly, and now she’s back at my side!”
“And now, our true love has borne fruit. I wish everyone would generously offer your blessings for our union without worrying about things like family or self-gain.”
With that, he concluded, “I love her, and she loves me. It’s that simple!”
The hall erupted in thunderous applause at his speech, with several bootlickers cheering loudly amid the charged atmosphere.
“Oh, Mr. Graves is such a loyal man!”
“True love will always bear fruit!”
