A Warm Marriage After Rebirth

’Still, her affairs were none of his concern. As long as she didn’t get in his way or harm his interests, what she did was irrelevant to him!’ Justin Hale hadn’t stayed at the banquet for more than ten minutes. Before leaving, he glanced at Seraphina Sterling one last time. Not even he knew why.

Justin Hale’s question set off alarm bells in Aiden Faulkner’s mind. ’Seraphina Sterling is now my number one enemy! She’s too great a threat, and I can’t let anything jeopardize my marriage. He’s the man I love, my man! He belongs to me, Aiden Faulkner! No one is going to take him from me!’

And so, because of Justin Hale, a feud between Aiden Faulkner and Seraphina Sterling was born.

Justin Hale was like a gust of wind, arriving and departing with equal suddenness. But even for just ten minutes, his presence had given Aiden Faulkner a great deal of face, lending significant prestige to her event.

The atmosphere of the banquet grew even more lively with his arrival. Just seeing Mr. Hale, let alone exchanging a few words with him—however brief—was enough to leave the guests feeling deeply satisfied, the smiles on their faces growing ever wider.

Jasmine Faulkner saw that the banquet was drawing to a close and that Justin Hale had left. ’The timing is perfect.’ She subtly signaled a waiter. A moment later, a short, stout man walked in. This was Peter Quinn, a child from a branch of the Quinn Family, whose status was worlds apart from Martin Quinn’s.

Someone of Peter Quinn’s standing rarely had the chance to even speak a single word to the main family. The only time he could visit the main family estate was during the New Year, and even then, he could only see the Quinn Family Head from a great distance.

Although he couldn’t compare to the heirs of the main family line, he was still a Quinn. He was still part of the Quinn family. In Aethelgard, he used the family name to become a good-for-nothing heir who did little but leech off others. Many people preferred not to cross him and simply stayed out of his way. But no one treated him as someone important, let alone truly feared or respected him.

Of course, Peter Quinn was well aware of this. So when he heard someone had offended Martin Quinn by scratching his brand-new Maybach—and the worst part was, they’d fled the scene afterward—he saw an opportunity. This was outrageous! Peter had been investigating for a long time and had only recently discovered that the person who’d offended Martin Quinn was none other than the Sterling Family’s daughter, the one they’d just brought back from the countryside. His mind immediately began to race.

’Opportunities to curry favor with Martin Quinn don’t come around every day!’ he thought. ’I have to seize this! If I can win the appreciation of Martin Quinn, the future head of the Quinn Family, my future will be a smooth road to success! Then we’ll see who dares to laugh at me behind my back!’

Visions of his blissful future life already danced in Peter Quinn’s head. The thought filled him with a surge of power. Puffing out his chest, he strode with his short, stout body toward Seraphina Sterling.

At that moment, Seraphina Sterling was being led around by Jasmine Faulkner to meet people. Gazing at the faces, both strange and familiar, Seraphina felt a complex mix of emotions. ’I know a little something about the fates of all these people—some good, some bad. I just wonder how much will change because of me, because of my unique circumstances.’

Seraphina Sterling greeted every person Jasmine Faulkner introduced with a warm smile. ’Business relies on connections, after all,’ she thought. ’If Jasmine wants to put on a show of being magnanimous and gracious, then I’ll let her act to her heart’s content. It’s all to my benefit, with no downside.’

Just then, Peter Quinn came over, followed, of course, by his usual pack of cronies. They were all good-for-nothing heirs from wealthy families, idling away their days with nothing to do but seek pleasure.

"You’re Seraphina Sterling?" Peter Quinn’s voice boomed, and the room instantly fell silent. The guests exchanged looks. ’What’s he doing here? Who invited him? There’s no one here who wants to be in the same room as that guy!’