?Chapter 17:


    Between heavy sobs, she dered, “Dad, I will be a good daughter to you. I’ll take care of you when you’re old!”


    Katrina dabbed at her eyes with a tissue in a theatrical disy of emotion and remarked to Alexander, “Look at the touching bond between father and daughter!”


    Alexander stayed quiet throughout this exchange.


    Joyce wiped away her feigned tears and turned to Alexander with a coy smile.


    “Alexander, when do you think we should get married?” Alexander’s expression remained unreadable as he spoke in a t tone.


    “I’ll need to take this up with my family first.”


    Joyce’s smile briefly wavered, revealing a flicker of disappointment before she rposed herself, donning her charming mask once again. With a soft, reassuring smile, she murmured, “Alexander, I’ll do anything you ask—I’m here for you.”


    After Alexander stepped out of the hospital room, Joyce hurried after him, her posture meek, radiating a timid and vulnerable charm. Her eyes, reddened from emotion, conveyed a blend of sorrow and distress.


    “Alexander, is it because I’m not my father’s biological daughter that you hold back? Is that the real reason you won’t marry me? Do you scorn me like the rest?”


    In her gestures and tone, Joyce mirrored Katrina, possessing an aura that seemed out of ce among refined circles. Her eyebrows arched slightly in a manner that seemed contrived, her voice overly sharine.


    Alexander studied her face in contemtive silence for a long moment before he finally responded, “The audio and surveince footage weren’t tampered with. I’ve had experts verify their authenticity.”


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    Joyce froze in ce. She had not anticipated that Alexander would delve into the investigation himself.


    She had assumed his unwavering support would shield her, never imagining that the erased footage might be restored.


    She had underestimated Dani.


    Yet, with the truth nowid bare, denial was futile.


    “Alexander, I’m begging you, please believe me—I had no other option!” Joyce implored, her hands concealing her tear-streaked face. Her voice quivered with desperation.


    “Dani knew about my feelings for you and took delight in tormenting me behind the scenes. She branded me a misfit brought in by a stepmother, and mocked me for aiming too high, thinking I could ever aspire to be with someone like you. It drove me to the brink, and in a moment of sheer rage, Ished out. I had no idea Dani would stoop so low as to record everything. Alexander, I swear, I was driven to the edge.”


    Alexander’s gaze fell on Joyce, her cheeks glistening with a cascade of tears.


    He kept his thoughts to himself, his voice low and steady.


    “Now that you’ve seen Dani’s true colors, be more vignt.


    You’re already under scrutiny. Don’t make things harder for yourself.” With that, he turned and walked away.


    Joyce watched his departing figure, her eyes narrowing, a frosty expression settling over her face.


    “Joyce, what’s happening?” Katrina’s voice broke through as she emerged from the hospital room.


    “I had the perfect strategy lined up, but Dani came up with evidence. I totally underestimated her. Never mind—she’s out of Alexander’s world, and my path to sess is just starting to clear.”


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