The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

A flash of fury flickered in Fiona’s eyes, piercing through Jeffrey like an unseen gust of frosty air, so cold it was almost freezing.

Jeffrey jumped, a bit cowed. “I was just asking for your input, you know?”

Heloise stepped in to smooth things over. “Fiona, your brother didn’t mean anything by it. Don’t be mad.”

Fiona picked up her tablet again, saying indifferently, “I want to launch my latest design at Grandpa’s birthday bash.”

At this, the others in the household perked up.

Fiona was the head of the jewelry design department at the company.

Richard greatly valued her work, so her family branch received many privileges.

However, it had been a while since Fiona had released a new design, leading to a bit of a slump in sales.

Now, she planned to unveil a new collection at the birthday bash, which could certainly help cover the deficit!

“That’s my girl,” cooed Heloise, “Don’t overwork yourself. I’ll go fix you some supper.”

“Yeah, sweetheart, have something to eat. Don’t tire yourself out. If this works out, I’ll buy you that sports car you’ve been eyeing,” Henry said.

Henry and Heloise could not be happier. They were ready to give Fiona the moon and the stars if she asked for them, let alone cars and suppers. All that mattered was for their family branch to shine in front of Richard.

Used to her parents’ doting, Fiona retreated to her room with her tablet to continue her work.

This design had consumed all of her time and passion, yet she felt it still lacked something compared to master Jessica’s work.

Jeffrey felt a twinge of jealousy.

It was just jewelry design. They had all studied art; it was nothing special.

But if Fiona wanted to grab the spotlight, he was not about to be left behind.

He needed to ensure Vivienne got a taste of her own medicine at the party, or else Fiona would hog all the attention.

Richard’s birthday bash was fast approaching.

It was a big deal for the Ellington family, and Percival was swept up in the preparations.

of everything, even making sure to handpick the

forward to making a grand entrance with his

Vivienne. “Grandpa has a few

help but laugh

tomorrow, so just wait for me at home. I’ve

by the mention of

closely linked with ours. Why

reached out a few days ago, wanting to discuss

Vivienne raised

seem genuine, and it would be rude not to

complain about having

all

had, the tighter her hold on

massive loss if she

since he had nine meddlesome ‘brothers-in-law’ dreaming of

mention that

Perez family could be good partners,” Vivienne

was delicious. But too much sugar was not good. For Mr. Wolf’s health, he should not have too much sweetness. So, the unhealthy indulgence would be her burden to bear. After all, being ten years younger, she could afford to shave a

was a thoughtful

could only

Too

Perez family is a solid partner, but their animosity towards me, especially Jasper,

Vivienne blinked, “What animosity?”

Had her intelligence dropped?

had not noticed any hostility from Jasper towards Mr.

just laughed. “Maybe they think I’m not good enough for

Vivienne was speechless.

that really what they

Wolf been spending too much time with Leopold, picking up

the birthday bash, things might get a bit turbulent for the Ellingtons. Keep a close eye out, along with Dorian

“Sure,” Vivienne nodded.

things. Now, she just wanted to

be left to Mr. Wolf. She had heard the food at the bash was

…

day of the

personally drove to