The True Heiress's Return

Yvette's face turned pale as snow, and her smile was barely holding on.

She initially aimed to seize the opportunity to put Shakira down But to her surprise, Cody's boomerang attack came back to

hit her.

People on the table fell silent. Yvette tightly pressed her lips together and lowered her head, not daring to take a deep breath.

Because Shakira hit the nail on the head. Yvette kept saying she would work hard in the future to earn money, be good to her parents, and buy gifts for her brothers, yet over the years, she continued to spend the Nelson family's money extravagantly. Similarly, she used the same lines with Lago and Jessie. Before Lago ran into trouble, he had given her quite a bit of spending money.

Cody's expression darkened significantly, unable to find the words to refute, as nothing he could say would be right.

He looked down on Shakira, believing she could never afford such expensive brandy by herself.

But he forgot that Shakira had a gift for design, and just one sketch sold to a studio could earn her a considerable sum. He Iwas totally embarrassed.

Felix gave Shakira, who effortlessly silenced everyone with just one sentence, a deep look. He spoke casually, breaking the awkward silence, "Thanks for your gift."

With dinner nearly over, Mitchell, who had been waiting all evening, was starting to feel restless. He quietly urged, "Dad, shouldn't we talk about the important stuff now?"

"You brat, why the rush?" Cody scoffed, adjusted his expression, and finally looked directly at Shakira.

He spoke with the composed tone of an elder, casually starting the conversation, "We heard from Mitchell about the trap Lago and his wife set for you the other day. Hope you're alright now." Shakira smirked and said, "It's been so long, I've almost forgotten about it."

Cody said, "I'm glad to hear that. With Mr. Lopez stepping in to help you out and even making you the largest shareholder in Lago's company, you should have vented all your frustrations by now." Shakira silently sneered and said, "Then why pretend to care, Mr. Nelson? Isn't that hypocritical?"

Cody's expression changed immediately. He thought, 'How dare she not appreciate my rare act of kindness and concern?' He was about to get angry, but Mitchell called out to him softly, and Cody held back with effort. Cody looked at Shakira with a gaze of supposed benevolence.

He said, "Mitchell told us a lot about what you went through at the Smith family. You had a tough time there; they didn't treat you sincerely or raise you right. Now that you've cut ties with them, you shouldn't go back. If you had been a bit wiser before, you wouldn't have fallen for their schemes.

"It's understandable to have some distance and conflicts with us. We can overlook your previous reckless behavior as long as you listen and make amends. There's still time for you to change your ways.

"As for Mr. Lopez, you already have an engagement with him. I won't stop you from being together, but you must cut off any inappropriate ties you've made at the Smith family. Forget all the flirtatious tricks you learned there to impress Mr. Lopez: When you return, your mother will personally teach you how to be a good high-society matron, so you can represent both yourself and the Nelson family honorably at the Lopez family." BBB.

It was the first time Cody spoke so much to her in one breath, and Shakira was taken aback. The more Shakira listened, the closer she was to bursting into laughter.

She was still too naive, thinking Cody was pretending to care about her... But in reality, they couldn't even be bothered to fake it.

She thought, 'After one scheine set up by Lago and Jessie, they assumed that I had been completely ruined by the Smith family.

'Do they think that I can live well after leaving the Nelson family and stay at the Lopez family only by selling myself?'

In the end, she couldn't hold back a laugh, resting one hand on the table and throwing her head back.

She thought Lago and Jessie were the most shameless parents she had ever met, but it turned out that Cody and Rebecca were nothing but trouble.

Cody slammed the spoon on the table, feeling utterly humiliated by Shakira's reaction.

Cody was boiling with authoritative rage and he said, "Shakira, what's with your attitude?"

Shakira wiped the corners of her eyes with her fingers. Her eyes were wet with tears from laughter.

Shakira ignored Cody, turning instead to look at Mitchell, who was equally stunned by his father's outburst.

The sarcasm in her eyes deepened further. "You asked me here for dinner, so I came. Now that I've finished eating, can I leave?"

Cody was furious and completely ignored, "I told you I'd only give you one chance, Shakira! Are you really that stubborn?" Even Rebecca stood up with disdain and said, "At the end of the day, she was raised at the Smith family. She's been influenced for years, and the bad in her nature can't change!" Mitchell was on the verge of breaking down. "Dad! Mom! This isn't what we agreed on in the beginning!"

Cody tightened his expression, frustrated, "How foolish you are! You were deceived by her! Do you believe everything she says? Do I have to let this brat tread all over me to make you happy?"

Rebecca tried to reason with him, "Son, what kind of spell has she put on you? Yvette is the one who truly belongs in the Nelson family; she's the sister who deserves your protection. Shakira never considered us family, let alone you as a brother. She's just using you to disgrace our whole family!"

"You're right." Shakira stood up, took the napkin off her lap, and tossed it onto the table.

"I honestly don't want anything to do with a family like this. If your son hadn't insisted I come, I wouldn't have bothered with your nonsense." Shakira spoke with a cold voice as she walked towards the door. Before stepping out, she remembered something and turned back to say, "There's one thing Mrs. Nelson got right, Yvette truly fits your family's mold for a daughter."

With a smirk, she articulated each word clearly, "Because you all share the same... disgusting traits." With that, Shakira turned around and left without looking back. The remaining family members were left to fume and curse behind the closed doors of the private room. Cody smashed several bowls in frustration, still seething with anger. Pointing at Mitchell, he yelled, "Look at the mess you've made! You've ruined your brother's welcome banquet, and Shakira has once again mocked your sister. Are you happy now?" Finn stood up and stopped him. "Dad, Mitchell just hopes our family can be okay."

Mitchell looked dazed, as if he'd just been totally overwhelmed. Why do you insist on saying things like that?"

He said, "Can't you realize how hurtful those words were?

"Shakira was used by the people at the Smith family. She didn't want that. How can you accuse her of using unfair means to be with Walter?"Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.

He stood up too, the corners of his eyes slightly red. "You're all being totally unreasonable!"

Cody retorted, "You little punk, what do you know? Birds of a feather flock together. Do you think Shakira could stay clean after being with the Smith family for so long? If she didn't have tricks, would she have been able to fool you into arguing with us?" Mitchell said, "But it's us who let her down!"

Rebecca choked up, "What's there to let her down? The mix-up was an accident, what could we have done!"

Mitchell clenched his fists, and just then, a message came through on his phone: [I found the nurse responsible for the babies back then!]