The speaker was Rose Campbell, Xaviera Evans' stepmother and Mag Evans' birth mother.
Twenty years ago, less than a week after Xaviera's mother passed away from illness, Mr. Evans married Rose Campbell into the family.
It's worth mentioning that before Rose Campbell entered the family, she was already pregnant with Mag, and Mr. Evans claimed that Mag was his biological daughter.
At that time, Xaviera was three years old, while Mag was only two months younger than her.
That means Mr. Evans had cheated on Xaviera's mother while she was pregnant with Xaviera, and mixed with Rose Campbell to have Mag!
And the first thing Rose Campbell did upon entering the family was to throw the naive Xaviera to the countryside to fend for herself.
It seemed that because Xaviera had something they wanted, Rose Campbell was very caring towards her when Xaviera just returned to the Evans family, treating her cautiously. But now that Xaviera caused Mag's miscarriage, the fig leaf between them had been ripped off.
"Xaviera! Since you returned to the Evans family, I've taken you to doctors and fed you all kinds of tonics like water. I gave you the whole fourth floor when you wanted to live in a big room. I even spent money on teachers to teach you manners when you didn't understand them after coming back from the countryside. I've been considerate in every way, afraid that you might not adapt well. But what about you?"
Rose Campbell's voice was hoarse as she questioned, "You stole my daughter's fiancé and caused her miscarriage. How could there be such a vicious woman as you in this world! My sincerity to you turned out in such a result! Xaviera, you won't die a good death!"
Caleb Mamet, who had been closing his eyes to rest, was awakened by a soft laugh and turned his head to look at Xaviera.𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮
It was noon, and the sun was blazing. The scorching light shone through the car window, enveloping Xaviera. It was a warm scene, but there was inexplicably a cold chill in the car.
Xaviera moved her stiff neck and then leaned back on the rear seat casually: "Stealing your daughter's fiancé? Mrs. Campbell, forgive me for reminding you, I am the rightful Miss of the Evans family. The fiancé you mentioned that belongs to your daughter is actually my fiancé, it's your daughter with no shame who became a mistress and stole my fiancé."
"Back in the day, you stole my father from my mother, and now your daughter steals my fiancé. Should I say it's a mother-daughter inheritance of being a mistress? But Mrs. Campbell, let me kindly remind you that taking someone's things comes with a price. Everything you took from my mother, along with what your daughter took, I'll take back one day. You better be prepared."
Seemingly not expecting Xaviera to react like this, Rose Campbell was silent for a while.
The phone was back in Mr. Evans' hands: "Xaviera, I give you twenty minutes. You come to the hospital and apologize to Mag right away. You caused her miscarriage, but if you sincerely kneel down and apologize to her, I won't hold you responsible, and I'll plead for mercy on your behalf with Moore, so he will let you go."
His words were righteous, as if he was considering for Xaviera, but in fact, he was stepping on Xaviera's dignity, grinding it into the ground.
"Mr. Evans, in honor of you being my father, I'd like to remind you, ten minutes ago, I got married. You should be prepared to vacate that seat of the boss in the Evans Group."
Without waiting for Mr. Evans' reaction, Xaviera hung up the phone.
Having a fall-out with her biological father and stepmother at the same time, Xaviera wasn't as calm as she seemed externally.
It could only be said that the Evans family was too good at pretending. During the time Xaviera returned to the Evans family, they treated her kindly and warmly, making her mistaken that she could complete the marriage alliance harmoniously and realize her grandfather's dream.
Their sugar-coated kindness was like poison - a careless taste might be lethal.
Xaviera took a piece of mint candy out of her backpack and put it in her mouth.
The bitter and cold taste filled her mouth, suppressing all the emotions in her mind.
Caleb Mamet's gaze had been on Xaviera the whole time, minutely capturing every subtle change in her expression. His invasive gaze was hard to ignore.
Xaviera turned her head to meet his eyes and asked, "Is there a problem?"
Caleb pointed to her phone and reminded her, "It seems you've caused quite a bit of trouble."
Of course, the so-called trouble was nothing to him.
Considering the fact that Caleb and Xaviera had obtained a marriage certificate, if Xaviera openly asked for his help, he wouldn't mind lifting a finger to do her a small favor.
Unfortunately, Xaviera didn't understand the hidden meaning in Caleb's words.
"Don't worry, the share I promised you won't change. It's just that it will take some time, waiting until I take care of the matters in the Evans family."
Transferring the shares to Caleb now would be the same as transferring the Evans family's firepower to him. Caleb agreeing to marry her had already been a huge favor; Xaviera couldn't bite the hand that fed her.
After hearing her words, Caleb was silent for a while before he finally couldn't help asking, "You seem to be unaware of who I am?". After Caleb's reminder, Xaviera realized that she still didn't know the name of her marriage partner.
She wanted to ask Caleb directly, but he gave her a glance, telling her to look at the marriage certificate herself.
Xaviera: "..."
She pushed the mint candy to one side of her mouth, creating a round bulge on her right cheek. At the same time, she reached into her backpack to search for the marriage certificate she had stuffed somewhere. As she rummaged, she said, "Actually, no matter who you are, after I settle the Evans family matters and transfer the shares to you, we can..."
Before she could finish, a hard yet warm object poked at her lips, silencing her mid-sentence.
Xaviera: "???"
Caleb: "!!!"
The surprise happened in an instant.
Caleb swore he was just curious about the bulge on Xaviera's cheek and wanted to poke it unconsciously. However, she turned her head unexpectedly, causing his finger to press directly on her lips!
The soft and warm touch made Caleb's heart tingle. He quickly withdrew his finger and rubbed it on his knee as if trying to get rid of the prickling sensation.
As the tingling feeling slowly faded, Caleb furrowed his brows, recalling what Xaviera had just said. Before he could speak, he heard an excited female voice.
"Sweet! Your fingers are sweet!"
He turned his head abruptly, meeting Xaviera's sparkling eyes. Her pink tongue quickly licked her lips, and if Caleb saw correctly, she licked the exact spot where his finger had touched.
Caleb's body stiffened instantly, "Wha-, what's sweet?"
"Your fingers, your fingers are sweet!"
Up until now, Xaviera had always seemed calm and collected around Caleb. After all, not many women dared to boldly ask a stranger to marry them on the spot at the civil affairs office or defiantly resist their father and stepmother's coercion.
Yet now, the composed Xaviera he remembered was like an elementary school student who received an award, her eyes as bright as stars and full of surprise.
A long, long time ago, Xaviera suffered from an odd ailment.
Everything she ate tasted the same to her - bitter.
Candy was bitter, meals were bitter, even water was bitter.
But now, she had tasted sweetness on Caleb's fingertip, and she swore it was sweet!
If it weren't for the fact that she was unfamiliar with Caleb, Xaviera really wanted to take another lick of his fingertips and confirm her feeling wasn't mistaken.
Her gaze lingered on his fingers, and her reluctance to look away somehow gave Caleb the impression of a dog eyeing a bone...
Caleb cleared his throat, trying to break the strange atmosphere: "What were you trying to tell me just now?"
What was she trying to say? Divorce, of course.
The sweet taste on her lips faded, and the familiar bitterness returned.
Xaviera crushed the mint candy in her mouth, casually thinking as she flipped through the marriage certificate. She never intended to really marry Moore, or the man in front of her, already prepared for a sham marriage.
But now the situation was different...
She glanced at the name of the man on the marriage certificate. Caleb? A nice name.
Wait a minute...
Suddenly, Xaviera thought of something. She looked up and, relying on her excellent vision, clearly saw the name of the residential area ahead.
Lowen Clubhouse.
A luxurious villa area in Libanan, where even the rich can't buy a property. Those who lived here were either extremely rich or powerful.
Her movements were so noticeable that Caleb couldn't ignore them even if he wanted to.
He hooked his lips, leaned back, and wickedly repeated his previous question: "Miss Evans, what were you trying to say? After transferring the shares to me, we can do what?"
Regaining her focus, Xaviera's eyebrows knit tightly together: "Caleb? The Caleb from the Mamet family in Libanan? Moore's younger uncle?"
Caleb: "Mm-hmm."
Xaviera: "..."
Well, that's a huge mess.
Caleb, the youngest son of the Mamet family, the head of the Mamet family, and the current family head. He had a playful personality and acted unorthodoxly. In Xaviera's information network, he was marked as someone not to be provoked unless absolutely necessary.
If it weren't for the sweetness of Caleb's fingers, she could tell him without hesitation that after the shares were transferred, they could divorce and keep their distance forever.
But, his fingers did taste sweet!
If she lost the constraint of marriage, Xaviera finding it hard to see Caleb again...
So this marriage can't end!
It absolutely can't end!
Taking a deep breath, Xaviera let herself slump in the car's back seat, waving weakly: "After transferring the shares to you, we can happily spend money together, okay?"
Caleb: "?"