Revenge Of The Jilted Bride

Jilted Bride 57

Chapter 57

Harry's fists clenched in anger, mirroring Nathan's trademark scowl. The family resemblance was undeniable.

Seizing the moment when no one else was around, Harry leaned in, his voice dripping with venom. "Mom was right about you. You're nothing but a curse. Grandma died the day you were born. Dumping you was the smart move."

This was the first time Ophelia had heard these words in either of her lives. The smile faded from her face, replaced by a glacial stare. Her suspicions were true. She wasn't switched at birth - she was an abandoned baby, discarded by the Hastings. Even when they'd reclaimed her years later, it was just to use her as a pawn in a marriage of convenience. Their eyes didn't lie. The contempt and disgust they felt for her was as real as it gets.

Ophelia didn't believe she deserved to be thrown away or left to die. She quickly regained her composure, her smile never faltering.

"You'd better keep your distance from now on," she said sweetly, or you might find yourself in deep trouble. Oh, and congratulations! Dropping over 70 million dollars on a piece of land - that's certainly Hastings Group style. And here I thought you could only afford a measly two million dollars."

"You..." Harry glared at her, his face turning red with anger.

Ophelia's smile grew even brighter as she watched Harry's frustration. She turned and walked away with effortless grace.

Christopher, following close behind, couldn't resist twisting the knife. "Congratulations, Mr. Hastings." The seemingly polite phrase stung Harry's ears like an insult.

Now Christopher finally understood why Ophelia held such deep animosity towards the Hastings family. It was hard to believe that someone could willingly abandon their own flesh and blood. No doubt, Hastings Group's business practices were equally ruthless and devoid of humanity. Christopher felt grateful that he had met Ophelia. Otherwise, he might have, ended up working for the Hastings family.

Ophelia slipped into the car, her face still a mask of indifference. But her tightly clenched fists betrayed her true emotions. She couldn't help but scoff at how foolish she was in her previous life. She had actually believed she was switched at birth. "Miss Spencer, where would you like to go? I can drive you," Christopher asked.

"No need. Just drop me off at the next intersection," Ophelia replied with a shake of her head. She wanted to walk alone for a while.

Christopher furrowed his brow, concern evident in his voice. "It's not easy to get a cab around here. If you want to check out the area, I'd be happy to show you around. Then I could drop you off wherever you need to go next." Ophelia shot Christopher a sidelong glance. "Have you finished all your work? Or perhaps you've already taken care of your sick mother? You seem to have a lot of free time on your hands."

words caught in his throat. He wisely chose to stay quiet. Despite her youthful appearance, there was something about Ophelia that exuded an intangible pressure.

pulled over, and Ophelia got out of

to speak but thought better of it, not wanting to risk another verbal lashing. Glancing around, he noticed a few taxis passing by and decided against saying anything more, so he simply drove away. Fall had arrived, and a cool breeze blew in from the sea. Ophelia walked slowly along the shore, heading towards the slums. As she passed a beachfront café, an abrupt commotion erupted

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in her forties kept bowing her

the janitor and insisted

wiped the shoes, enduring disapproving looks

the slums should stay in your filthy gutters where you

discriminatory. The prejudice in the air was palpable, more blatant than

a man at a nearby table muttered, loud enough for others to

be locked up there. Keep them out

chatter continued, growing more venomous with

with a look of disgust, covering his nose and mouth as if the janitor were a pile of garbage. Head bowed, the janitor silently continued cleaning the woman's shoes, seemingly accustomed to such treatment. Only after offering a series of groveling apologies did she

containers and tattered cloth. They were living in the same city, but those in

knew that even if she stepped in to help now, it would only be a mere band-aid on a

shoreline, watching as the crisp ocean breeze gave

A child in tattered clothes trailed behind an elderly person, both picking up discarded bottles. This area was

lowest-paying jobs. They earned half of

words "West End Slums" on their ID cards might as well have been a

two young men snatched a bag of plastic bottles from an old lady

and his hair a thatch of sun-bleached straw, swaggered over. "Hand it over,"

burst into terrified sobs. "Bad guy! Give back the bottle! Give it back