A Warm Marriage After Rebirth

"Holy crap, you’re skipping a grade! Seraphina, do you have to be so incredible?! You’re going straight from eleventh to twelfth grade and applying to Aethelgard University! Are you even human? What is your brain made of? I have to go back to cram school! If I don’t, I don’t even know if I’ll be able to get in! I feel like you’re just here to crush my confidence!"

Despite her words, Genevieve Churchill’s face was filled with excitement and admiration, without the slightest hint of jealousy.

Seraphina Sterling’s lip twitched. ’Of course I’m human!’ "Didn’t you say you were a proper lady? Mind your ladylike demeanor! I don’t mind the praise, but could you maybe use slightly more... conventional terms?"

Hearing the words "proper lady," a flicker of pain crossed Genevieve Churchill’s heart, but she hid it well. "A proper lady? What’s that? I’m a total tomboy! Since you brought it up, I’m taking that as a promise. This September, at Aethelgard University—see you there!"

"Alright. See you there," Seraphina Sterling sighed softly. In over half a year, this was the first friend she had made who had truly reached her heart—someone even closer than Summer and Mindy Linton.

Genevieve Churchill only stayed in the hospital for one night before Julian Churchill took her back to Veridia City early the next morning.

Of course, it was anything but a peaceful night for Julian Churchill. Genevieve Churchill’s words replayed endlessly in his mind, and a sense of reluctance, sorrow, and deep regret slowly welled up inside him.

But things were far from over.

The very first thing Julian Churchill did upon returning to Veridia was hit several of Ronan Winters’s establishments, specifically targeting the most profitable and influential ones. His actions threw the city’s Underground into a panic, with many believing a new organization had emerged from the shadows to challenge the Winters Family.

Several smaller outfits that had previously offended the Winters Family and been ruthlessly suppressed were now watching from the sidelines, hoping to join the fray. Of course, they were doomed to disappointment. This was nothing more than Julian Churchill’s personal revenge.

When Ronan Winters received the news, he had no choice but to swallow the loss. That madman from the Churchill family... it was best to steer clear of him and never face him directly. When he flew into a rage, he fought with a death wish. Ronan Winters placed all the blame on Miles Galloway. If Galloway hadn’t failed to properly investigate his targets before asking him to make a move, how could the Winters Family possibly have offended those two?

As for Miles Galloway, he had truly dug his own grave this time. With Terrence Grant backing Seraphina Sterling, and with her public declaration that she was coming for the Galloway Family’s auction house, there was no way Ronan Winters would continue to help him. In fact, not only did Winters refuse to help, he immediately pulled all his capital from the auction house to cut his losses.

Ronan Winters had held a significant stake in the auction house, so with his capital gone, one can only imagine the situation Miles Galloway was left to face. To make matters worse, the police came knocking at that very moment.

Someone had reported the Galloway Family’s auction house for engaging in illegal auctions and using illicit means to make exorbitant profits. With the Galloways now under investigation, clients who were already wary of them after the Serenity Antiques affair lost all remaining confidence. The company’s operations ground to a virtual halt.

Although the Galloway Family had made a great deal of money over the years, a large portion of it had gone to Ronan Winters, meaning the profits Miles Galloway actually pocketed were far less than rumored. Compounding this, he had invested a huge sum in Serenity Antiques, all of which was now lost. The Galloway Family was in an extremely perilous state; the slightest misstep could force them into bankruptcy.

And it didn’t end there. When news broke that Miles Galloway had hired thugs to harm someone, the Galloway Family’s auction house was truly teetering on the brink of collapse. Miles Galloway was at his wit’s end. How had his perfectly stable family business been pushed to the verge of bankruptcy in just a matter of days?