At the Walter family's dinner, three generations of the family were gathered around a lavish table and there was a sumptuous meal spread on the table.
“Where did they come from? They look so cheap and dull," someone whispered right across them.
Kohler sat silently, looking like a total mess. Her dress was still rumpled from her earlier meeting with Quincy. She sat at the table beside her mother silently and didn't make eye contact with anyone or speak to them. She still felt shaken by the news that she would have to divorce her husband.
It was time to eat, and Kohler stretched her hands to pick up some vegetables from the tray. But her aunt, Deborah snapped at her.
"You're so mannerless and rude! Can't you see that no one has started eating yet? Why should such a poor and worthless thing like you be the first to touch the meal?"
Deborah spat angrily, her chopsticks striking Kohler’s fingers and making her cry.
Beverly glared at Deborah, offended that she would do that to her own niece.
"You're treating your niece in such a trashy manner?"
She asked softly, but Deborah sneered at her, "Oh please! I’d rather not have such an ill-behaved niece.”
Deborah rummaged through the food and picked out a burger, intended for the servants and valet. She tossed it at Kohler. "Here! You should eat something like this. That's what you really deserve."
Vincent, Deborah’s husband, picked up the burger and sneered.
"Nevermind, you don’t even deserve to eat this. Your husband is worthless, and you shouldn’t mix with the Walter family," he said, then tried the burger to the ground for dogs to eat.
Kohler felt her heart shatter, she couldn't believe that her family was treating her so poorly, just because of her mother's current status.
She could understand why it was so important for girls to marry into well-off families… and she had to find a way to raise their position in the family’s eyes once again.
Beverly placed her hands on her daughter's shoulders and tried to console her.
“Don't cry… You have to be strong.”
Kohler knew she was facing this trashy treatment because of Quincy. She loved Quincy and wanted to be with him… and that's why the entire family was now turning against her.
They couldn't stand her and her mother anymore. "They're treating us like we aren't worth anything at all.”
The entire room was decorated beautifully, but no one paid any heed to the mother and daughter. Kohler wiped her tears, and decided to put up a nice face for the gathering.
“Today is about grandfather, I have to be polite," she reminded herself.
It was her grandfather's 70th birthday, and the entire family had come together to celebrate.
When it was time for the gifts to be presented, Aunt Deborah and her husband, as well as other family members stepped up with luxurious and expensive gifts. Deborah bragged that her gift was worth thousands of dollars, and each one was met with approval and praise. Finally, it was Kohler's turn.
She stepped forward with a basket of fruits. "Happy birthday," she said tentatively, handing it to her grandfather.
Deborah and others were absolutely livid to see it.
"How dare you present a basket of fruits to grandfather?! Can't you see the type of gifts that others brought?" Deborah snapped at her.
"I don't...I can't afford such a fancy gift, I've been trying to save up money for Quincy's treatment. I came here, hoping that grandfather could even help me out… maybe, I could borrow some money from the family to make sure he gets better medical attention," Kohler said helplessly.
Her grandfather's face twisted in anger. He snatched the basket of fruits from her hand, and threw it straight to the ground.
"You came here with a basket of rotten fruits that aren't even good enough for the dogs, and you want to borrow money?!" he snapped. "Even if you kneel and beg me, I would never give you a dime!”
Kohler stood there, dumbfounded as grandfather's angry words hit her like a wrecking ball. She felt like she would fall to her knees any minute, unable to hold in the tears.
"I have had enough of your nonsense! You will divorce that good-for-nothing Quincy and get married to Charles, or else! You will no longer remain a member of this family! Do it today!" He commanded.
But Kohler couldn't say anything in her defense, she simply stood there, sobbing hopelessly.
"Get out of here! You don't deserve your grandfather's pity!" Someone shouted.
As the gift presentation ceremony came to an end, the banquet began and food was being served. But Kohler and Beverly stood awkwardly in the center of the hall, not having a place to sit.
“Move out of the way! Ugh, you are such a disgrace. It's basic decency to bring a proper gift for anyone who has invited you to a party, and then, this is your own grandfather! Ah, you are just shameless… Why are you even here, just get out! We don't have any food for people like you!”
One of Kohler's cousins sneered.
“No! Wait, Kohler," Amanda, another cousin, said. “At least take an empty bowl from the kitchen, it'll be useful when you are begging for food on the roadside! Thank me later, okay?”
“Oh come on, guys, don't be so rude." Alisha chimed in. “Don't worry, Kohler, don't take their words seriously. After all, we can't possibly eat all this food right? We don't want to be a fat whale like you, after all… So maybe we will be generous enough and save you some of the leftovers?”
"Only if she begs! So, Kohler, you can come back in an hour to find out if there are some scraps left for you. Till then, get out and don't forget to take your pile of rotten fruits, okay?”
Kohler and Beverly stood in the center, with everyone's gazes boring into them and their heads bowed with embarrassment.
Even the seating arrangement was designed to humiliate them, and the seats were assigned according to the gifts that each person had brought.
The front row was for those who had gifted the grandfather items worth 1 million dollars and above, and the second row was reserved for those whose gifts were more than 100,000 dollars. The last row was for those whose gifts were worth at least 10,000 dollars, and that was all. There was no place for Kohler and Beverly.
Dejected, Kohler started to walk towards the last row of seats, hoping that they would at least leave them alone now. But contrary to her expectations, her family wanted to remind them about their status every second of the day.
"Excuse me! But where do you think you are going? Don't you know the seating attachment yet?”
One of Kohler's aunts, Janine interrupted her.
“These seats are for important people… so beggars like you and your mother will probably have to sit on the floor with the dogs."
Janine’s husband taunted them.
Kohler stood up from the seat, disgraced and rejected. It seemed like, just because she had brought a basket of fruit instead of some extravagant gifts… she wouldn't be allowed to sit throughout the banquet.
In this party thrown worth millions of dollars… there was still no food to spare for Kohler and her mother. In fact, they were just being mocked relentlessly.
Even though they hadn't done anything bad to anyone, they were being punished and humiliated… and everyone else was having fun with it!
But suddenly, an unexpected guest made an appearance, drawing the attention of everyone. Who was it, arriving so late at the party after the time for gifts was already over?
It was none other than Quincy who walked into the hall leisurely, and shocked everyone as he asked casually,
"Where is the seat reserved for those with gifts worth one billion dollars?"
The entire hall fell silent for a moment, until Mr. Walter strode up to Quincy, his eyes blazing with contempt."You! How dare you show up here, with your empty pockets filled with so much attitude! You are so arrogant, and yet we all know that you aren't worth anything!"Quincy simply looked at him with a bored expression, he didn't want to go into a banter with him."Are you so sure of that?" He asked with a smirk.Mr. Walter was even more pissed, as he shouted;"Don't try to boast here, you bastard! I know very well, that you are just as worthless as Kohler and her useless mother!"He then added with a smirk;"And I'm confident enough that I'll even challenge you openly. If you can show me that have 10 million dollars on hand, then my position will be yours!"Deborah joined the fray as she directed one dirty look towards Quincy, then turned her nose away."Don't waste your breath on him, Walter! This man is worth absolutely nothing, so what's the point of you putting your position
Kohler shook her head violently, a nasty scowl twisting her face. "I will never marry someone else!" she spat. "My husband is right here, he's fine now and he's back for me." she said defiantly. Beverly's eyes narrowed with fury. She lashed out, slapping Kohler harshly across the cheek. "Who asked you to speak? Do you even have any idea what is good for you?!" she shrieked.Kohler recoiled, clutching her reddened cheek in shocked disbelief. How dare her own mother lay hands on her like that?Quincy swiftly moved to shield his wife, glaring at his mother-in-law. "This isn’t the way to treat your daughter, doesn't she have a say in the matter? This is about her lifetime partner! "he demanded loudly.Beverly scolded him to stay off her daughter, she didn't want her to say anything. All she had to do was shut up and marry Charles, "She has to get married, stay out of this, Quincy! Your time in this family is numbered!" She snapped. Kohler pressed herself against Quincy's back, seeking h
Charles yelped in pain and quickly moved away, cradling his throbbing arm. He had clearly underestimated Quincy's strength and agility, despite the man's recent coma."How dare you touch me?' Charles sneered angrily at him. But Quincy's gaze was sharp, his expression one of pure hatred. "You never should have laid your feeble hands on me," he replied.Grandmother noticed that both men were going to get into a fight soon if she didn't do anything about it. She stepped in and stopped Quincy before he created a scene. "You won’t tolerate such middle-class behavior in this banquet!" She shouted and told both men to step away from each other. "I have already made a plan to choose who will be the next CEO, so don’t bother fighting for it," she said firmly.Quincy couldn't help the smirk that tugged at his lips. He was glad the opportunity was open to all - it gave him the perfect chance to ensure Kohler's rightful place. "I will make sure no one else takes it," he declared confidently. "Koh
The lady looked at him skeptically. Wondering if he could ever have the number of the COO of the company. She looked down on him and turned her lips down. "Sir, I didn't know that you were here, I apologize for any inconvenience," the COO said.Quincy didn't mince words. "I'm not going to wait here a second more," he replied impatiently.The COO quickly backtracked, pleading with Quincy to hold on as he would be out shortly. Quincy ended the call, turning his attention to the receptionist.The woman let out a mocking laugh. "Why are you trying to sound important by making a fake call?" she sneered.Quincy didn't indulge her at all. He looked at her impatiently and then at the staircase that led up to the offices within. The lady was still taunting him, asking him how he could possibly have the COO's number."You think I'm playing tricks here?" Quincy asked coldly, unable to help himself. Her shrill voice was beginning to upset him even more. He couldn't hold in his anger at her disre
As Quincy stepped into the COO's office, he was ushered to a seat across the expansive desk. The man quickly apologized for the delay, inquiring if he required anything."Can I get you some water, and coffee, Mr. Chen?" the COO asked deferentially. Quincy shook his head, he was very concerned about getting the proposal done with and getting out of there, he had a lot on his plate to handle and Herbal Corps was only one of such issues.He had a plan that he knew would get the attention of the COO at once. He has to make sure his proposal is foolproof and one that the man would be unable to refuse. Coffee or water wasn't his concern, he wanted to get right down to business."No, I'm fine, let's get right to business," he replied instead and laid out the briefcase that he had arrived with on the desk. He pulled it in open carefully and then handed out the plans and visions that he had for the new herbal products line."This is quite genius, how did you come up with something so unique!"
Quincy left Herbal Corp feeling more enthusiastic than when he had first arrived. Not only had he secured a lucrative deal with the COO, but he had also thoroughly humiliated Charles, his uncle, and the saucy receptionist.The proposal document in his briefcase felt heavy, but he knew it was the first crucial step towards setting things right. To his surprise, the COO had been remarkably receptive to his pitch - far easier than Quincy had anticipated. He had expected that he would somehow be skeptical, after all, it wasn't very easy to find someone who wanted to just invest in a strange company and not just bring the Ideas but back it up with the money too. "That was easier than I thought," he admitted to himself as he strode out of the office. The COO was very understanding - too understanding actually. He seemed rather impressed and overly excited to work with him. He wanted to have Quincy invest his money in the company and he just couldn't wait to get his hands on the novel idea
Beverly stood fuming in the living room, Grandmother beside her seething with rage. "I told you, you shouldn’t have brought this thing you call husband here,” the older woman snapped. "He is nothing but trouble."Kohler averted her gaze, folding her hands defiantly. "He isn't the one who caused the problem," she retorted. "He was just here to tell me the good news, and Charles showed up out of nowhere, with his goons to fight him. I suppose you wouldn’t care who started it, because Charles is clearly your favorite." Beverly snickered, "I won't tolerate this anymore! If Charles can't have you as his wife, then the least you can do is respect him, you have no right to embarrass him in the Walter family home," she berated her.Quincy stepped forward, placing himself between his mother-in-law and Kohler. "He arrived here trying to fight me," he argued. "I had to defend myself. This isn't Kohler's fault. If anyone should take the blame, it's Charles."Beverly bristled, her lips curling in
Chapter 11Quincy was in the room, thinking about all he had managed to achieve so far, since he had regained his consciousness. Although, there was a little thorn in his side. A little problem which nagged at him continuously. Quincy knew that Kohler’s family were among the spiders which had spun a web of darkness over his family, making everything tumble into destruction, yet there was Kohler. Even though her family treated her wrong, and did the worst things she didn't deserve, he knew that there was no way she wouldn’t have even a little atom of love for them. Family always had that bond that seemed to stay connected, even though a million things went wrong. And that brought him to his current dilemma; he couldn’t predict what kind of punishment would be perfect for them, without hurting her badly, and he still had that nagging fear that she herself would end up turning towards her family to support them.While lost in the multitude of his thoughts, he didn't notice Kohler stop