Chapter 3

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?"