Chapter 4 Important Thing Lost
Josephine looked up, feigning fear as she said, “Winry told me to leave the Sommer family. I was so scared that I knocked over the plate.”
Winry was taken aback. This fool is actually trying to wrongly accuse me?
She immediately shrieked fiercely, “Josephine, how dare you tattle on me in front of Dad? I clearly said I was going to scratch your face to pieces.”
Upon saying that, Winry immediately realized her slip of the tongue, but it was already too late.
“Winry!” Caiden’s anger surged. He pointed at Winry and roared, “The Jaywalker family is coming tomorrow. Can’t you behave yourself? If you dare to bully Josephine again and make a fool of us in front of the Jaywalker family, don’t blame me for breaking your legs!”
“Dad, I didn’t hit her!” Winry said indignantly.
She didn’t even manage to touch Josephine. Instead, she ended up splashing herself with the leftovers.
Caiden bellowed, “Your sister is an idiot. Do you really think she could lie? Don’t assume I’m unaware of how you’ve been bullying her. How dare you put on a show in front of me? Who gave you such audacity?”
Upon seeing Caiden’s anger flaring up, Eunice knew the more they dragged the discussion, the worse it would become. She quickly stepped forward, giving Winry a meaningful look. “Apologize to your father quickly and go back to your room.”
Winry’s eyes welled up with tears. Feeling extremely wronged, she shot a resentful glare at Josephine on the ground, then turned to Caiden and said, “I was wrong.”
Then, she ran back to her room in tears. I didn’t even touch Josephine, yet Dad actually scolded me! Moreover, my new dress is ruined. What am I supposed to wear for tomorrow?
Once again, Caiden glanced at Josephine with irritation. He waved his hand dismissively. “You should leave too!”
He didn’t want to see Josephine. His only reason for summoning her back to the city was for his own benefit.
The Jaywalker family was coming to choose a bride the next day, and it was imperative that Josephine be present.
He had just reprimanded Winry earlier, not out of concern for Josephine, but out of fear that the Jaywalker family would perceive discord between the sisters when they visit tomorrow. He worried this would reflect poorly on his household management and cause him to be humiliated. In truth, whenever Josephine was bullied, Caiden saw it all but chose not to intervene.
Quietly, Josephine rose and made her way into the doghouse.
The blush on her face was a result of her subtly pinching her cheeks when she covered her face.
Eunice wore a long face, not mentioning dinner anymore, deliberately making Josephine hungry for the night.
Everyone assumed that Josephine was a fool, but only she knew deep down that Josephine was not foolish at all.
A couple of years ago, during Josephine’s eighteenth birthday, Gloria had sent over a few pieces of jewelry as birthday gifts and wanted to invite Josephine over to the Jaywalker residence for a chat.
Caiden had no choice but to let Eunice go to the countryside to visit Josephine. If Josephine’s condition had improved a bit, he planned to bring her back to Junbert to meet with Gloria.
As a result, when Eunice arrived in the countryside, she unintentionally spotted Josephine engaged in conversation with someone else. Her speech was smooth and fluent, not at all like that of a fool.
Shocked, Eunice immediately returned to Junbert. She informed Caiden that Josephine’s illness had significantly worsened.
Eunice didn’t want Josephine to return to Junbert at all, nor did she want anyone to know that Josephine’s condition had been cured. Otherwise, how could her daughters have the chance to replace Josephine and marry into the Jaywalker family?
As for the expensive jewelry that Gloria had gifted to Josephine, Eunice naturally kept it for herself.
Eunice watched Josephine’s retreating figure with a trace of coldness flickering in her eyes. Since she’s playing the fool, I’ll let her stay a fool for the rest of her life. Does she dream of marrying into the Jaywalker family? Not a chance! Once tomorrow is over, I’ll send Josephine packing back to the countryside, never to dream of returning to Junbert in her lifetime!
After Josephine left, Eunice’s face turned to one of concern. She softly whispered to Caiden, “Caiden, what’s going on?”
Caiden sighed. “I’ve heard some unsettling news. Apparently, Mr. Jaywalker has quite a temper. Just this month, another one of his servants ended up in the hospital because of him. I fear for Winry and Yves if they were to marry him. They might be subjected to abuse. It might be better for Josephine to marry him instead.”
Seeing his concern for their two daughters, Eunice felt considerably relieved and smiled again. “These are all just rumors. If they were true, would all the prominent families in Junbert still be rushing to present their daughters to the Jaywalker family?”
“You have a point.” Caiden also felt relieved and nodded.
He was all talk. After all, there was no way he wouldn’t allow his daughter to marry into the Jaywalker family. This was a golden opportunity that many sought but few could attain.
Among the betrothal gifts from the Jaywalker family, there was a contract worth seventy million. He had shamelessly sought it out from Michael that very morning.
The contract promised him a substantial profit. As for whether his daughter would suffer domestic abuse after marriage, he simply didn’t care.
The room in the basement was quite cramped and reeked of mustiness.
As soon as Josephine stepped through the door, she promptly locked it behind her. The vacant look in her eyes swiftly transitioned into a cool detachment, a glint of iciness flashing through.
The Jaywalker family was coming for a matchmaking visit tomorrow, but who they chose to marry had nothing to do with her. Josephine didn’t even want to show her face. She planned to leave the Sommer family as soon as tomorrow passed to handle her affairs.
She had no interest in being the lady of the Jaywalker family. She came to Junbert with a singular purpose, and that was to look for someone.
Josephine wore a copper necklace around her neck, a memento left by her granddad. Inside the necklace which was shaped like a pair of fish was a tiny photograph. The person in the photo was her target.
He was the most significant person in Josephine’s life, and she was determined to locate him.
Josephine set down her luggage, instinctively reaching up to touch her neck.
Suddenly, her expression shifted.
Her neck was bare.
Where did my necklace go? Josephine froze on the spot, a fine sheen of sweat forming on her forehead.
She immediately sprang up and began rummaging through her luggage.
Half an hour later, the room was a mess, with everything strewn across the floor. However, the necklace was still nowhere to be found.
Josephine’s brows furrowed in frustration. She had rummaged through her luggage, but the necklace was nowhere to be found. Could it have been lost?
She quickly sorted through the places she had been in her mind. From the moment she got off at the station, she went straight back to the mansion without going anywhere else.
As Josephine panted, her mind flashed back to the events in the narrow alley. The man in the mask I encountered in the alleyway had positioned his dagger at my throat. At that moment, I was too anxious. My sole focus was to escape, and I didn’t pay attention to anything else. It seemed there was a slight itch on her neck at that time, but I didn’t notice. It must’ve been him!