The Second Life of a Discarded Heiress

The moment Vester entered, every pair of eyes in the hall turned to him.

Whispers rippled through the crowd, no one bothering to lower their voices.

"Isn't that the third son?"

"Third son? Please, he's just the bastard's kid. Everyone knows Mr. Archer can't stand him."

"If it weren't for that mistress of his dying and leaving him without a guardian, there's no way Mr. Archer would've brought him back into the family. A bastard born to a mistress-what a disgrace for the Archers."

"And on top of that, the guy's crippled. A total waste. Mr. Archer treats him like a stray pet-barely worth the trouble to feed."

"I heard his mother was the one who crippled him. Do you know why? She broke his legs just so Mr. Archer might pity her enough to see her one last time. Pathetic, isn't it?"

"Honestly, what's he even doing here tonight? Just an embarrassment."

Mr. Archer's face was practically green.

of praise in these circles—young, brilliant, a prodigy

the only thing people remembered was his affair and

could he not resent

spent a lifetime building,

was wrong, his expression calm, as

ice-cold, his jaw tight with contempt. "What's that cripple doing here? On a night this

a look of pure disgust, she muttered,

to the hatred in his brother and sister's eyes. He nodded

his eyes made it clear he felt anything

through clenched teeth. "What are you doing here? Get out. This is

flickered across his lips. "Sorry,

so hard he was close to shattering his own teeth. "Filthy brat. You're just

flash of something feral flickered in Vester's blue eyes, but it vanished

up at his father,