Mrs. Elysia was the Lugar family''s go-to fashion consultant.


    As for custom tailoring and all that, Ste didn''t really have a clue. Back when she was with the Quinn family, all those bespoke outfits weren''t something she had to worry about. Usually, it was Ronald, Mrs. Elysia, or Yvonne who picked out her clothes. She just wore whatever they handed her.


    But now that she was living on her own, she simply bought whatever caught her eye. Whether it shed with someone else''s outfit was thest thing on her mind. Yvonne teased, "So, have you gotten used to living so inly?"


    Ste was taken aback. inly?


    "Do you have some kind of misunderstanding about normal life? I think it''s pretty great."


    When she was with the Quinn family, everything from what she wore to what she ate was decided for her. She only had a limited range of choices, and she picked what she liked within those constraints.


    But now, out in the world, everything was up to her good or bad. For instance, when it came to food and clothing, there were so many options. When she was with the Quinn family, there was a certain protocol to follow. But out here,fort was the priority.


    Yvonne scoffed, "Seems like you enjoy life out there so much you forgot how toe home."


    Ste replied, "It''s not like that."


    She wanted toe home; she just wanted to show them that her life outside wasn''t as bad as they imagined, especially with the Larkin family.


    During one dinner, her mom seemed convinced that the Larkins were treating her poorly, but that wasn''t the case. The Larkin family might not have been kind, but Ste wasn''t one to take it lying down.


    In a word, the Larkins had messed with her, and she hadn''t let them off the hook either.


    Before Ronald even arrived in Portis City, Ste had already used her connections to make things difficult for the Larkin Group. Otherwise, how could Ronald have taken them down so easily?


    Yvonne huffed, displeased. "You say it''s not like that, but you didn''t even call me.'' Yvonne was particrly miffed about Ste disappearing without a word.


    Ste sighed, "That was when Xander... Oh, it''splicated."


    Back then, Xander seemed to be in a constant battle with Ronald, and Ste didn''t want to make any risky moves.


    The mention of Xander made Yvonne''s expression change. "That shameless guy. At first, I thought he was insanely doting on Regina."


    Regina Schultz, Xander''s sister, had always had a thing for Ronald. But she never seemed to realize that someone with her background wouldn''t be epted by the Quinn family.


    Hearing Regina''s name made Ste''s eyes flicker. "What''s going on with Regina now?"


    "She''s in prison, crippled," Yvonne said with a hint of satisfaction. "Serves her right."


    They spent another half an hour going through jewelry and attire for Ste. There were still more.


    Ste found herself too exhausted to


    stand. They selected the jewelry batch by batch, and she figured all the boxes wereid out. However, Yvonne kept bringing out more from storage.


    "Here, try these too."


    Ste was stunned, eximing, "I like them all."


    Yvonne insisted, "Try them all on."


    Ste joked, "How many stones did you actually snatch from them?"


    Yvonne responded, "I''ve told you, I bought them, bought them! Get it?"


    Just as Yvonne was about to say something else, her phone rang. With a nce, she quickly hung up.


    But it rang again.


    Ste noticed the name "Shawn Schultz" on the screen. Wasn''t he Xander''s cousin?


    Yvonne answered with a hint of annoyance. "Hello?"


    "Yvonne, you need to run. Xander''s on his way to find you."


    Yvonne uttered, "What?"


    Ste was frozen at his words.


    Yvonne nced at Ste, confused. "Shouldn''t he be looking for Ste? Why


    After all, Xander was technically


    Ste''s fiancé. Now that she wamet


    back and her romance with Ronald was clear, Xander was bound to lose it


    Yvonne recalled Xander''s recent visit to her mother, after which her mom seemed deeply troubled. It seemed Xander wasn''t ready to give up on his engagement to Ste.


    Oh boy... This whole situation was such a mess.


    "No, he''s definitelying for you."


    Yvonne was incredulous. "What did I do to him? Is it because I beat him up? He


    deserved it! Did I injure him or something?"


    Clearly, Yvonne wasn''t grasping what Shawn was trying to convey.