The Second Life of a Discarded Heiress

If you have no children after marrying into the Everly family, you'll never have any status. You'll always be the other woman, with nothing to show for it—so what's

the point?

Derrick: "..."

Noah: "..."

Suddenly, an earsplitting curse rang out from the crowd.

Derrick lunged at Daisy, grabbing her by the throat. "You lying witch! When was I ever under five minutes? It was five and a half-at least!"

Daisy scoffed, shoving his hand away. "Please, you're so thin it's like sleeping with

a needle. If it wasn't for the money, I wouldn't bother pretending with you."

Her voice was hoarse-she'd lost it from all the fake moaning.

Daisy spat at Derrick, face twisted with disgust.

The next moment, the two of them were locked in a wild, undignified scuffle. Citrine: "..."

Salome: "..."

Citrine tore her eyes away from the spectacle and turned to Salome. "Auntie, when the Everly family claimed you couldn't have children, did they ever have any medical proof?"

Salome's gaze darkened. "No. Noah insisted I was infertile, so I saw every specialist I could find. Not one found anything wrong, but Noah kept blaming my infertility on my dieting. She ordered the kitchen to make me nourishing soup every day. After a while, I started to think maybe it really was my fault."

"Nourishing soup?" Citrine narrowed her eyes, remembering the faint trace of weakness she'd felt in Salome's pulse earlier.

"Yes, I've been drinking it for a full year now." Salome nodded, still oblivious to any cause for concern.

Citrine's expression grew tense. Her voice sharpened. "Do you have any of the soup's ingredients left?"

"Yes, actually. The kitchen still has some leftovers-I didn't finish mine this morning," Salome replied, suddenly noticing Citrine's seriousness.

Salome quickly ordered a trusted housekeeper to fetch it.

The faces of the Everly family shifted uneasily as they overheard the conversation.

Noah's composure vanished; panic flickered visibly across her face. She shouted toward the hall, "Where are the security guards? Get in here and throw this brat out!"noveldrama

At her command, a group of burly guards surged through the doorway.

Salome's face blanched. She stepped protectively in front of Citrine, her voice cold and threatening. "Citrine is Raymond's daughter. Lay a hand on her, and you'd better pray Raymond doesn't come back and tear your family to pieces."

Noah let out a sharp, derisive laugh. "After all these years of partnership between the Everly and Carmichael families, you really think Raymond would pick a fight over some illegitimate child?"

"Get rid of her. Now!" Noah barked at the guards.

Salome, face set with resolve, planted herself in their path. "Touch Citrine, and I'll fight you all to the death."

"Sorry, ma'am," one of the guards muttered.

The guards shoved Salome aside, barely giving her a second thought.

Citrine met Noah's gaze, arching an eyebrow in an almost amused way. "All this fuss just because I mentioned the soup? Unless-maybe there's something in that recipe that shouldn't be there?"

Noah's eyes twitched. "What are you talking about?" she snapped, then turned to the guards. "What are you waiting for? Throw her out already!"

The guards made a grab for Citrine, but she slipped easily out of reach.

"Useless!" Noah slammed her fist on the table, teeth clenched with rage. "Can't even handle one girl? Do you all want to lose your jobs?"