The Day I Kissed An Older Man by Cher the Cherished

Vince continued, "I wouldn't have organized today's banquet if I didn't care for you. I'm doing this to get you acquainted with everyone so they recognize you as the true heir of our family." Sadie and Karen exchanged a puzzled glance at that declaration. They wondered what he was implying by that.

Karen smiled naturally as she gracefully stepped forward and hooked her arm around Vince's. "Listen to your father, Rita. He's spent a lot of effort to make this banquet a success. He even managed to invite Mister Sherman over! We know you don't like these sorts of events, but you need to understand your position as our family's eldest daughter. You need to serve as a role model for your sister. We can't have you ruining the family's reputation."

Rita found those comments laughable. It was not Karen's place as an outsider to make comments about the Russells, not least when Karen was never accepted by Rita as part of the family.

"I'm already here. No need to waste your breath," she retorted defiantly. "It's not my place to set an example for your daughter. I think she should set an example for me. I'm dying to know how she's still a student at Morning Glory University even though she practically fails all her subjects."

Sadie shot Rita a glare. She had carefully concealed her academic shortcomings from Vince because he had a particular dislike for uneducated and uncultured people. It would be exacerbated due to the fact that she was not his biological daughter.

for her? Why haven't you gotten to it yet? Her grades weren't good enough to be accepted into the university.

listen to Rita's

exam. I've already arranged for a tutor

and her grades have

a lot already, even though it's

never worried about Rita's studies because she always received scholarships. Our family might be rich, but we need to maintain some measure

the last thing on her mind after seeing Sherman earlier. She had been consumed by thoughts of him since their

someone so handsome among

fact, Vince was quite handsome too, and that was partly why Karen was drawn