When Lila appeared, everyone turned to look.
Facing their gazes, Lila remained expressionless.
She wore a simple t-shirt, but on her head sat an exquisite golden crown. Around her neck hung an emerald necklace, her wrists adorned with pearl and gold bracelets, and on her finger was a large pink diamond ring.
Immediately, mocking laughter erupted around her.
“Lila looks so tacky, wearing all those decorations. She’s like a nouveau riche.”
“I think Lila’s doing it on purpose, wearing such expensive things to show off and embarrass Sylvia.”
…
Lila swaggered up to Sylvia and spoke calmly, “Congratulations, you’ve finally become a member of the Landon family.”
In her previous life, after Sylvia became part of the Landon family, Lila’s nightmare began.
No matter how hard she tried to please them, how obediently she behaved.
Her brothers all favored Sylvia. Max had even said once that he wished Sylvia were the Landon family’s biological daughter.
This time, she wouldn’t cling to that dog-shit family bond.
Seeing all the valuable items on Lila, Sylvia felt extremely jealous, though her face revealed nothing.
Sylvia first shrank her neck a little, then carefully answered, “Lila, I know you’re unhappy, but don’t worry, I won’t compete with you for your brothers’ affection. After all, I’ll always be an outsider, while you’re their biological sister. How could I ever compare to you?”
As she spoke, Sylvia’s eyes reddened.
Lila’s lips curled mockingly. What a pretentious bitch.
In her previous life, she had been terribly deceived by Sylvia’s harmless act, only seeing the woman’s true face when she was on her deathbed.
Easton, seeing this, quickly explained, “Sylvia, don’t cry. Who said you’re an outsider? From today on, you’re my, Easton Landon’s, sister.”
Sylvia lowered her eyelids, hiding the flash of triumph in her eyes.
Max took out a box. “Sylvia, this is a gift for you.”
Sylvia looked utterly surprised. “Max, isn’t this a gift for Lila? How could I accept it!”
Lila saw the limited-edition figurine in the box and wasn’t surprised at all.
Because in her previous life, Max had also “kindly” decided for her, giving her long-awaited figurine to Sylvia as an apology.
Max. “Take it. She owes you this.”
Easton said with dissatisfaction, “Lila, although Sylvia isn’t holding a grudge about you pushing her into the pool earlier, and Max has given her a gift on your behalf, don’t you have any sincerity to show?”
Lila nodded. “I do, so I’ve specifically brought gifts of apology.”
She removed all her jewelry, placing each piece one by one on a tray.
“This golden crown is from Blake.”
“This emerald pendant is from Max.”
“This century-old ginseng is from Westley.”
“This rare pink diamond ring is from Easton.”
“This gold bracelet is from Zachary.”
“This gold trophy is from Finn.”
Lila placed each item on the tray. “These are all very important things to me. As gifts of apology, they should be sincere enough.”
She had known her fourth brother would question her sincerity in apologizing, so she had prepared these items.
Ever since Sylvia came to the Landon house, her brothers had never given her any decent gifts. These were the only valuable ones she had.
Anyway, in the end, her brothers would find various reasons to take these back for Sylvia.
When Easton saw the items on the tray, his facial expression instantly froze.
These were all things that Lila had treasured the most!
How dare she?
Max pursed his lips. “Lila, what do you mean by this?”
“Max, I said these are my sincere apology. Do you think they’re enough?”
Lila’s expression was extremely faint, without any emotional fluctuation.
When Sylvia saw the contents of the box, she was somewhat surprised, not understanding what trick Lila was trying to play. Was she advancing by retreating?
Sylvia quickly spoke up, “Lila, these things were gifts from your brothers. They’re too valuable, I can’t accept them.”
Easton angrily said, “That’s right, these are gifts we gave to you. How could you just pass them on to someone else?”
Sylvia’s smile stiffened slightly as she gently bit her lip. “Yes, Lila. I’m just somebody else, how could I deserve such gifts?”
Easton realized he had misspoken and immediately explained, “Sylvia, that’s not what I meant. I’ll choose new gifts for you. How could you accept gifts that belonged to someone else?”
Sylvia immediately broke into a smile through her tears. “Thank you, Easton.”
Easton’s heart instantly softened. Now this was what an obedient sister should be like.
Max was somewhat helpless. “Lila, what are you throwing a tantrum about now?”
These gifts had always been precious to Lila; no one was allowed to touch them.
He hadn’t expected her to bring them all out to apologize to Sylvia!
Was she trying to draw a line between herself and them?
Or was she angry because he had taken her figurine to give to Sylvia as an apology?
Max believed Lila surely didn’t sincerely want to give these away!
“Max, she’s just trying to vent her dissatisfaction this way. Does she think we can’t see through it? Lila, when will you grow up and be more like Sylvia?”
Lila remained expressionless. “These gifts are worth tens of millions. As a sincere apology, I’m asking if they’re enough? Easton, you’re not reluctant to part with them, are you?”
Easton choked, unable to respond. How could these be the same thing?
In front of Sylvia, he stammered, “Am I that kind of person?”
“Then let everyone witness, these gifts will serve as compensation.”
Max grew annoyed. “Lila, stop making trouble.”
How could she give away such important gifts to someone else?
Even if she was angry with Easton, how could she give away all the gifts they had given her?
“Max, do I look like I’m making trouble?”
Lila pushed the tray into Sylvia’s hands. “Now these all belong to you.”
Including the six Landon brothers-she didn’t want them anymore.
Sylvia’s expression became somewhat awkward, feeling that Max and Easton seemed unhappy.
Sylvia held the box, feeling her palms burn. She hadn’t expected Lila to bring these as an apology, catching her completely off guard.
If she didn’t handle this well, it would surely provoke the Landon brothers’ antipathy.
Lila had suddenly become difficult to deal with!
Lila didn’t wait for Sylvia to speak but turned and left.
“Lila Landon, stop right there!”
Easton was furious. Lila using his gift as compensation-what kind of apology was that?
But Lila walked away without looking back.
Max frowned. “Lila is getting more and more out of line!”
Max felt very uncomfortable. The pendant he had given her was bought with his first pot of gold, with special significance.
Easton now felt like he had punched a cotton ball, extremely frustrated. “I feel the same way. She’s deliberately doing this to anger us.”
Sylvia, listening to their conversation, bit her lip.
Sure enough, Lila’s tactic of advancing by retreating was working. She couldn’t let that woman succeed.
Sylvia held the box, weakly saying, “Max, Easton, have I done something wrong again? How could I possibly take Lila’s most precious things? What should I do?”
Damn Lila for digging this pit for her!
Easton straightened his face. “Since it’s her apology gift, you should keep it! I bet she’ll regret it in three days.”
Hmph, he was waiting to see Lila’s regretful face. When that time came, he would definitely ridicule her thoroughly.
Max spoke gently, “Let’s do this, Sylvia. You hold onto the box for Lila for now, and when her anger subsides, it will be fine.”
Lila had thrown tantrums before, but hadn’t she always gotten over them?
He didn’t believe Lila truly didn’t want these gifts.
“Alright, I’ll take good care of them.”
Sylvia revealed a soft, obedient smile.
Max sighed. Once upon a time, Lila had been this obedient and well-behaved. He hoped she would grow up soon.
He looked at the obedient Sylvia beside him and showed a satisfied expression. At least Sylvia wasn’t like that.
After returning to her room alone, Lila lay down. Perhaps she had caught a chill after falling into the water; her head was very dizzy.
She closed her eyes as soon as she lay down.
She needed to think about how to leave the Landon family and earn money to live independently!
In her previous life, after the college entrance exam, her scores would have qualified her for a prestigious university, but because of a single sentence from Easton, she had applied to Sylvia’s ordinary school.
She had been like Sylvia’s mother at school, taking the blame whenever Sylvia made mistakes.
If she disobeyed, her credit cards would be frozen. Despite being a wealthy young lady, she lived worse than impoverished students.
In the end, Sylvia even stole the thesis she had worked so hard on, and Lila was falsely accused of plagiarism, receiving a demerit and being expelled.
This time, she absolutely would not repeat those mistakes.
She would go to an Ivy League university!
As for tuition and living expenses, she could participate in team competitions for prize money.
With her gaming skills from her previous life, she should still be able to make a living this way.
After the party ended, Max came to the second-floor bedroom.
He hesitated before knocking, but there was no response from inside.
The door was locked.
“Max, Sylvia seems to have a fever. Come quickly and take a look.”