Ch. 2701..2710

The Day I Kissed An Older Man Chapter 2701-Sherman turned toward Rita and said, "Has anyone ever told you that displaying vulnerability at the right moment can yield greater results with less effort?"

"Why are you telling me this too? Is my character too hard-headed?" Rita responded with a helpless smile, but it seemed to strike a chord within Sherman. He had to stop for a moment and blink quickly to dispel that sudden surge of emotion.

Rita's smile was captivating, and he felt as though he would willingly relinquish all the treasures of the world just to witness her smile more often. It was no wonder that she remained an elusive person. She had the kind of smile that would forever be etched in the memory of those who saw it.

"A friend of mine said the same thing before I came to this dinner. I thought my attitude and character were pretty decent," said Rita. She soon noticed Sherman spacing out and asked curiously, "Mister Sherman?"

Sherman finally snapped back to his senses, much to his own embarrassment.

"Ah…where was I? I was lost in thought for a moment because I remembered a pending issue at the company. Sorry about that." It was the first time he had been so distracted in the presence of a woman, and he felt very awkward as a result.

"Oh, don't worry about it," Rita reassured him. "I'm just surprised you and my friend were able to characterize my personality so accurately. Perhaps you know me better than I know myself. I didn't think I'd be this stubborn. I thought I wasn't that difficult of a person to talk to."

Rita's perplexed expression elicited a chuckle from Sherman. "Perhaps what we perceive as being a headstrong attitude isn't necessarily a flaw. But if your aim is to navigate around this family intrigue, then being vulnerable in front of your father might prove to be more effective. Men have a savior complex, you know.

That includes me."

"Really? I never thought someone like you would think this way. But since you and my friend have said the same thing, then I'll adjust my approach next time,"

Rita responded earnestly.

At that moment, Vince approached them with a displeased expression, while Sadie remained beside him with reddened eyes. Even a dunce could see that Sadie had complained to Vince.

It became evident to Rita that she needed to alter her tactics. She could not allow Karen and Sadie to maintain the upper hand indefinitely.

"What's going on, Dad?" Rita inquired innocently.

Vince's anger became muted in Sherman's presence.

"Is something the matter, Mister Vince?" Sherman asked.

"It's nothing serious. Sadie's feelings seemed to have been hurt, so I came to ask Rita if she knew anything about it," Vince replied as he forced a smile while facing Rita and Sherman's innocent expressions.

"In that case, you probably won't get the answer you're looking for if you ask Miss Rita about it, Sherman interjected smoothly. "She and I were having a pleasant conversation earlier."

A look of surprise was plastered all over Vince's expression. He did not expect Rita to have charmed the most important guest in attendance.

If she could maintain such a rapport and take their relationship further, he would be quite happy to have.

Sherman as a potential son-in-law.

"I see!" he exclaimed. "You must have a lot in common, then. If things are hitting off for the two of you, I wouldn't mind if you two decide to excuse yourself from the banquet and continue your conversation elsewhere. A banquet like this is more of a middle-aged thing. I imagine youngsters like yourselves probably won't be so comfortable in this sort of event."

Vince's intentions were plain to see, and Rita was flustered by his suggestion.

"Dad," she stopped him hastily. "You don't have to worry about us. Please go and attend to the other guests. I'll keep Mister Sherman company here."

The Day I Kissed An Older Man Chapter 2702-Rita had interjected to stop Vince from saying any more nonsense. She admired Sherman, but admiring someone of the opposite gender did not mean it should always lead to romantic feelings or marriage. The older generations tended to talk about the kind of things that always left a sour taste in her mouth.

Furthermore, Sherman could see through their family's scheming behavior, and Vince's attempt to set them up would only reflect poorly on the family.

Sherman maintained his characteristic faint smile throughout the conversation, yet his decision to never cooperate with the Russells again became more resolute. Vince's machinations were utterly excessive, and Sherman would have left long ago if he had not gained a better second impression of Rita as a person.

The entire situation felt unbearably tedious.

Once Rita managed to persuade her father to depart. She apologized to Sherman, "I'm sorry about that. By the way, didn't you mention having matters to attend to at the company? You can leave if you need to. I can deal with my dad."

Sherman arched an eyebrow. "Are you sure? Won't your father create more problems for you if I leave?"

Rita did not expect him to have seen through it all, but she nevertheless nodded resolutely.

"I can handle it. It's nothing serious, anyway." The longer he stayed there, the more chances he would get to see her family make a fool of themselves. Rita did not usually hit it off with other people so easily, and she did not want him to suffer in the banquet.

Sherman did not insist on staying either. After all, he had only met Rita twice, and he was not prepared to burden himself for her sake by lingering in such an uncomfortable situation. His status afforded him the luxury of leaving whenever he wanted without facing any objections from anyone.

Once Sherman left, the dinner dragged on for what felt like an eternity for Rita, whose frown only deepened when she received the occasional disapproving glares from her father.

As the evening drew to a close, an unexpected incident occurred. Karen exclaimed that the bangle she had received as a gift had gone missing.

"You must've just misplaced it. We'll search for it once the guests have left,"

Vince said. His gaze warned her not to cause a scene. Karen's reaction was incredulous, more so if she acted as if she wanted to do a body search of the other guests. Her tantrum was unwarranted at a banquet where all the guests could afford such jewelry.

The guests exchanged unpleasant gazes with each other, as Karen had spoken as if her bangle was something that all the guests coveted. Everyone who was in attendance there could afford whatever jewelry that was priced in the tens of thousands.

Despite their displeasure, no one wished to speak too harshly or Karen out of respect for the hosts.

Gina, who knew Rita's mother in the past, was the first to take the initiative and speak up. "Don't be offended. I'm sure she's anly raising this while we're all here because the bangle has significant sentimental value to her. Seeing as how over important it is to her, why don't you search us before we all leave? I'm sure she'll have some peace of mind if we manage to find it. It must've slipped accidentally in between the cushions."

Although Gina's words seemed to show concern for Karen,they only exacerbarted Vince's discontentThose words might as well havebeen a slap to his face.

The Day I Kissed An Older Man Chapter 2703-A missing bangle should not be that big of a deal for the Russell family. Vince felt that Karen had lost her mind to publicly bring up the subject on such an occasion. Vince mustered a smile and said, "That won't be necessary, Gina. It's merely a bangle. There's no need for everyone to get so worked up about it.

"In any case, our banquet today has come to an end. It's getting late, and we really appreciate your presence with us today. We wish you all a safe journey home."

He wanted nothing more than to expedite the departure of the onlookers.

Otherwise, the Russells' reputation would be marred by the incident in social circles the following day.

Unexpectedly, Karen burst into tears and turned to Gina. "So, you do understand how important it is to me! That bangle was a memento left by my late mother-in-law. I wouldn't have made such a big fuss if it was any old bangle.

I understand that everyone here has no reason to take it, so I know it must've been misplaced somewhere. Since you're all still here, why don't you help us to search for it? We'll find it faster if we have more people looking for it. You agree, don't you, dear?"

Karen seemed determined to keep everyone there. Vince maintained his smile, but he approached Karen and warned her, "Stop this nonsense."

Everyone felt that it would be improper to leave after Karen brought the sentimentality of her late mother-in-law into the picture. Despite their displeasure, everyone there acknowledged Karen as Vince's wife and felt obliged to show her due respect.

Meanwhile, Rita held a glass of champagne with a composed expression and refrained from getting involved. She had hoped to avoid drawing any unnecessary attention to herself. Who knew what sort of schemes Karen had planned that evening?

The family home had been married with discontent ever since Karen came. She frequently maintained a facade of kindness before Vince, but her true nature surfaced when he was not around.

Rita recalled the harsh words Karen said to her while she was still a child. At that time, Rita genuinely thought that she would have a new loving mother, but Karen smiled and said to her, "Your mom's dead. You should keep quiet if you know what's good for you."

Rita was still young then, and she had been so eager to make the new family members feel at home. Alas, her kindness was met with the most hateful remarks she had ever heard. Later on, she realized that Karen was not a good person and not someone she would want to be close with. It was unfortunate that her father was blinded by Karen's deceit, and Rita's hesitance to build a relationship with Karen was seen as being ungrateful.

Sadie stood to one side and observed carefully. By lowering her gaze slightly, her demure demeanor projected the stately image of being the Russells' second daughter, enough to fool those who were unaware of her true nature.

Rita knew what kind of person Karen was, but she could not discern the motives behind those actions. It had been grossly inappropriate for Karen to choose such a time and place to assert the loss of her bangle. As significant as it was to her,, ou questioning its disappearance in the presence of guests was an ill-timed move.

All the guests found themselves compelled to witness the unfolding drama, while the Russells' servarn immediately began their search. Some of them checked the surveillance system, while others eline Scoured every inch of the villa in search of the missing item.

Despite Vince's mounting frustration, he continued to force a smile, m becausehg knew that the situation would grow worse if he were to show his displeasure.

Vince breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh? Is that so?"

At that moment, a servant announced a breakthroygh "Weve recoyered footage related to Madam Karen's bangle."

"I'm sure she just misplaced it somewhere. Told you she was forgetful," Gina quipped.

Karen bit her lip and offered no response. The tablet played the footage, revealing that/Bitathad m epterectherdom where the bangle.

had been last seen. When she exited, the bangle was conspicuously absent from its position on the table.

The Day I Kissed An Older Man Chapter 2704-Tears streamed down Karen's face as she glanced at Rita. Her voice trembled with emotion as she asked, "Why would you do this, Rita? This bangle might not hold much value to you, but it's the last memento I have of my mother. I'm sorry if I have done anything wrong to you in the past, but this bangle is precious to me. You can't use that to play one of your jokes on me. Please give it back."

Before Rita could firmly grasp what was happening, her grip tightened around the champagne flute. She offered a shocked smile. "What are you talking about? What bangle are you referring to? I didn't see any bangle."

Sadie added fuel to the fire. "Did you do it because I offended you? If I have, then I apologize too. This bangle is very important to my mother. Return it right

now. We're family, and we should resolve any differences between us through discussion, not this sick practical joke."

Had it not been for the presence of so many guests, Rita would have erupted in anger. Sadie's statements contradicted their actions, and it seemed that she and Karen were putting on an elaborate performance to besmirch her reputation.

"That's enough. Rita wouldn't do such a thing. There has to be some misunderstanding here." Vince's voice softened, and he instinctively reached out to comfort Karen when he saw her crying.

"I'm not making accusations out of thin air. The surveillance footage speaks for itself. I don't know what happened between me and your daughter, but please help us resolve this quickly. This bangle means a lot to me!" Karen pleaded.

Gina was not happy with the development. She crossed her arms and asked coldly, "Rita's not that petty. Besides, are we supposed to treat that surveillance as evidence that cannot be questioned? Who's to say that it hadn't been tampered with?"

Seeing the three of them conspire against Rita elicited a pang of sympathy for her late friend's daughter. Rita's mother probably never would have imagined that Rita would be alone in having to endure the treatment from them.

Some of the quests spoke in Rita's defense, while others sided with Karen. Based on that situation, it was clear that the outcome would tip in Karen's favor. To an outsider, Rita had fallen out of favor with her father Vince, or he would have intervened to help salvage what remained of her dignity.

"You're being too biased, Gina. This incident occurred so suddenly that there couldn't have been any time to tamper with the footage and whatnot. Besides, isn't it obviousnet that Miss Rita has a strained relationship with her father? She could've gained some Dutch courage and acted impulsively to seek revenge on Madam Karen," remarked a guest.

Gina leveled a stern gaze at the speaker. "It's not your place to say, anything I will vouch for Rita, and I know the accusations about her aren't true."

"Your words are worth nothing. 1, too, can say that I vouch for Madam Karen. The surveil lan cefootagelis likely real Miss Rita destroyed the keepsake because she isn't on good terms with Madam Karen," another guest retorted.

Gina chuckled softly and glanced stade my fate store for the nevi halftyear as collateral to vouch for Rita. Are you brave enough to match that?"

The Day I Kissed An Older Man Chapter 2705-The person did not expect Gina to support Rita in such a manner and declined to take up that challenge. After all, the stock market was unpredictable, and no one could share the same level of confidence as Gina when it came to that.

"We've known each other for so many years, Vince. Let's leave today's events as it is. Rita would never stoop to such a level, and you should at least try to trust your daughter a little more," Gina implored. Vince knew that it was a gentle reminder from one of his first wife's closest friends. Gina only said that because she acknowledged that her best friend once loved that man.

However, Karen was crying incessantly, leading Vince to wonder if the bangle truly held that much sentimental value from her late mother-in-law.

Vince looked at Rita hesitantly. "Be honest, Rita. Did you do it? I promise I'll trust whatever you say."

Rita stared at her father in disbelief. He said he would believe her, yet his act of posing such a question in public had amounted to a blatant distrust.

After a prolonged silence, she offered a bitter smile and replied, "What sort of answer do you want from me?"

"I just want to know if you entered Aunt Karen's room and whether you ever laid hands on the bangle. It's really important to her. Even if you don't like her, you can't-"

"I can't, what? You're already assuming I did it even before I've explained myself. What else do you want me to say? You'll always be my dad, but do you see me as your daughter?"

Gina could not bear to see it anymore and pulled Rita to her side. "There are other ways to investigate this. Rita might not have been there at all. If you want to investigate, then make sure you do it thoroughly.' Others lowered their heads and dared not say a word. They had just witnessed the dispute between Rita and Vince, It was becoming เวน increasingly evident that Karen and her daughter would be the ones controlling the direction of the Russells in the future. It such a far fall from grace for Rita.

Having a mother, or in this case, not having one was all that made the difference. Rita knew that and felt that deeply. She was left to wonder if Karen and Sadie slandered her simply because her mother had passed on.

Even if they did that, there was no reason for Vince to distrust her. She was his biological daughter yethe chose tolsidelwith Karen and Sadie. It was almost as if she was their enemy, whom they had no hesitation casting aspersions upon in front of so many outsiders.

Even though her mother was no longer alive, Rita had never doubted her father's love for her. She had a happy childhood and fimmly believed she grew up in a loving environment.

As she grew older, however, she began to doubt her initial judgment.

She started to question if her past.

was an illusion and if everything that she understood was merely a figment of her imagination.

"I know that you have a close relationship with Rita, Aunt Gina, but the evidence from the surveillance vided is dear enough. You can't argue that it's not," said Sadie. She We're

then turned to Rita and said net family. We can put this behind us as long as you return the bangle.

The Day I Kissed An Older Man Chapter 2706-Sadie pretended to be magnanimous and considerate, which only disgusted Rita further.

"I'm only going to say it once: I didn't do it. Even if you and your mother want to falsely accuse me, I didn't do it. I don't know how you managed to retrieve this surveillance footage, but Dad, I'm telling you, I didn't do it. If you want to suspect your own daughter, then I guess nothing I say can ever change your mind," said Rita.

She looked squarely at Vince, giving her father one last chance.

Since Rita had said so, Vince had no choice but to brush the matter aside quickly. After all, there were so many people watching their family's drama.

"Alright, maybe you accidentally misplaced the bangle somewhere? Maybe it got knocked under the table accidentally? Quickly have the servants search for it. Everyone, there's no need to stay here. This is just a joke between my wife and daughter. Goodbye, now."

He could not wait to send the guests away. After all, if they lingered any longer, who knew how much gossip would arise in their next day's idle chatter?

However, Karen was not going to let the matter go that easily.

"Vince, I'm not asking for much. I just want Rita to apologize. Is that so hard? I know I'm her stepmother, and no matter how much I do for her, others will only say I'm just a stepmother. But haven't I been good to her? Why does she treat me like this? Since I married you, I've been enduring one grievance after another. Even my daughter has no choice but to swallow her pride like me. I've endured everything until now, so are you really going to force me to swallow the loss of my mother's heirlooms?"

Karen cried pitifully in Vince's embrace. Any man in his place would be moved.

Not to mention one who was getting on in age like him. The older he got, the more he needed to feel like he was needed. "Rita, your stepmom is right! Come over and apologize to her right away. As for the rest, we'll discuss it later," said Vince.

Gina was simply stunned, thinking, 'Is this how this man usually handles things at home?' She could not imagine just how much Rita had suffered over the years.

"Vince, aren't you being a little unreasonable? How can you force Rita to apologize just because your wife throws a tantrum? It hasn't even been confirmed whether Rita really did steal the necklace, and you're forcing her to apologize? Isn't that a bit too much?"

Gina, with her affluent background and long-standing acquaintance with them, spoke bluntly, but Vince was somewhat unable to bear being embarrassed in front of so many people.

"That's enough, Gina. This is a family matter, so butt out," Vince said, his face slightly flushed.

Karen, nestled in Vince's embrace, flashed a smug smile.

Gina wanted to offer a few more words of defense, but Rita grabbed her arm and gave her a reassuring smile. "It's okay, Miss Gina. You don't need to speak for me. I know you care about me." However, when Rita looked at the seemingly 'loving' couple, her expression darkened.

"Karen, I may not be as good at y

acting as you, able to shed tears so effortlessly in front of so many people. But I am not someong who would fake jit. l'lenever admit to something I haven't done, no matter how much others try to force me."

After saying this, Rita ignored her father's displeased expression, turned to the other guests, and offered some comforting words with alsmile Im sorry for making everyone witness such a farce. We'll handle the rest ourselves. It's getting late, so everyone should hurry home. Go back to your husbands, or have them come pick you up."

The Day I Kissed An Older Man Chapter 2707-All the guests were all somewhat surprised. They had not expected Rita to smile and carry on with such ease and humor after experiencing such a situation.

They could not help but feel that she truly lived up to the status of being a wellbred young lady of the Russells.

In contrast, Sadie was fuming in the background. 'Who does Rita think she is to steal the spotlight like this? What a shameless, despicable person! She had been accused of stealing Mom's bangle, yet she could still smile. This chick's mental resilience is remarkable.' "Rita, are you trying to get away by changing the topic? You haven't given Mom an explanation yet," said Sadie.

It was no wonder the others thought Sadie was a less well-bred version of Rita.

The guests could not help but wonder if they needed to stick around and wait for them to resolve the matter. Even if Rita did break Karen's bangle, so what?

What did it have to do with them?

They had shown enough face to the Russells by staying this long. Rita had graciously suggested they leave, yet Sadie decided to stir up trouble again.

"I think that's enough," said Camille, Rita's longtime friend. "So what if Rita, the prestigious scion of the Russell family, broke her father's mistress' bangle? It's not really that big of a deal."

Originally, Camille wanted to speak up for Rita, but she had been constantly silenced by Rita. It was only then she found an opportunity.

Immediately, Vince's and Karen's faces darkened. Sadie, on the other hand, began to clamor at her like an angry hen with its tail feathers on fire, disregarding the refined image she usually maintained as the second Miss Russell.

"How shameless. What nonsense are you spouting there? Who do you think you are? How dare you speak like this? Who gave you the right to appear in our house!"

Rita stepped forward to shield Camille, but before she could retort, she heard her father scolding Sadie.

"Who taught you to speak so rudely? Camille's the eldest daughter of the Buckley family, and of course, I invited her!"

The Buckley family was even more powerful than the Russell family. The Russell family's business with the Buckley family would have long been severed if it were not for the friendship between Rita and Camille. Russell Thus, there was no way family could afford to the Buckley family.

'All this girl knows how to do is cause trouble for our family!' thought Vince of Sadie.

Sadie's face turned red, unable to utter a word. How could she have known that Camille was the esteemed eldest daughter of the et wahet Buckley family? She could not imagine why Camille would be friends with someone like Rita, let alone step forward to defend her!

"Mister Vince, you're really lucky. Not only do you have a daughter who brings in business for you bufalso a stepdaughter to speak up for you.

Sigh! I'm pretty sure my family will be even more rich by now if my dad has the same luck as you."

Camille was not someone easy to deal with; she always spoke her mind regardless of the time and place.

"You jest, Camille. This is completely Not

Sadie's fault for not knowing who you are. You know, she only moved here with her mother when she was in her teens. She doesn't know a lot of people yet. I'll make sure to discipline her so things like this won't happen in the future again," said Vince.

Vince's words were like a slap to Sadie's face. She had been utterly humiliated in front of so many m people. liven if she wanted to pretend that she was familiar with the guests there, deep down, everyone knew who it was that had struck it rich.

In other words, she was an outsider who did not belong to their circle. Sadie felt like she had been slapped hard in the face. No matter how hard she tried, she could not blend in.

The night's party had many heirs and heiresses from various families attending.

They could not help but turn their heads away and chuckle when they saw Sadie's face turn as red as a cooked shrimp.

The Day I Kissed An Older Man Chapter 2708-"Camille, how can you say that? She has a good mother who's ambitious. Even if Sadie wasn't born a Russell, she can still rise in the world."

The guests were quite audacious. After all, they were all from more powerful families than the Russells.

Rita had not expected things to escalate to this extent.

Camille fell silent.

"Alright, how long do we have to keep up this farce? Please, go home, all of you," said Rita. Sᴇaʀch Thᴇ FindNøvᴇl.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Vince remained silent with a grim expression while Rita attended to the remaining guests. Karen, on the other hand, was too ashamed to lift her head.

Even her carefully prepared tears had dried on her face. Having shared a bed with Vince for so many years, she knew that the thing he cared about the most in the world was his reputation.

When Vince first moved Karen and Sadie, he was still in his honeymoon phase, unable to think clearly. However, after years had passed, he finally came to his senses. He knew that many people in his circle sarcastically called him a 'savior' for marrying Karen.

Outwardly, he always pretended not to care. Deep down, however, he cared very much indeed.

Thus, no matter how affable he tried to appear, he could not help but feel a surge of anger inside when someone exposed him like this in front of everyone in a dinner party he hosted in his own home. 'This is all Karen and Sadie's fault!' thought Vince.

After all the guests had left, he chuckled coldly and asked, "Do we still need to look for your precious bangle?"

Karen felt a chill run down her spine, and she forced herself to say, "Forget it.

Even if it's an heirloom given by my late mother, it's not as important as Rita's reputation. Surely some naughty kid must ve taken it out to play and misplaced it. I't go back and have the family look for it again properly. What if it's just tucked away in some corner?"

"Hmph, blaming it on the children's mischief? You must've misplaced your brain somewhere, too! You just had to go looking for that worthless bangle of yours in front of so many guests. Did I not buy you enough jewelry? Did I not wire you enough money? Why did you have to embarrass me in front of all of the guests?"

"Vince, you're mistaken. I didn't mean to embarrass you. What if it was one of the guests' kids who took my bangle away for fun?"

"Even if your bangle is precious, you can't just announce in front of so many guests that they should stay to help you find your stupid bangle! You've embarrassed me. Do you think I'm your broke ex-husbandnet

The Russell family is wealthy, and your bangle is just chump change to us! We don't want or negd your m money. gowhatif you lost a bangle?

I Cán buy you ten or even a hundred bangles, but what you shouldn't have done is cause a scene at the dinner party!"

It was only then the realization hit Vince of how stupid he was to let Karen do whatever she wanted with the guest. He should have been firmer and let the guests go. He truly regretted his decision.

"Rita, you too. Even if you hold grudges toward Karen, you shouldn't have caused a scene. You sngula know very yell that Your stepmom is someone who can't control her temper. Look at how ugly things have become now. The guests will probably be laughing about us tomorrow!"

Rita was not even surprised at

Vince's reproach. She scoffed and said, "Dad, if your wife can't stand any sort of injustice, then what makes!

you think loan?"ve already said I didn't take the necklace, and if you don't believe me, fine. I have work tomorrow, so I'm not going to stay here and continue on with this farce!"

The Day I Kissed An Older Man Chapter 2709-"Huh? Did I raise you just so you could talk back to me like this? And don't get me started on your job! It's not even a proper job! You're just exchanging five or six hours a day for a monthly salary of four hundred dollars! What's the point of that?

"And what's even worse is the whole world now knows I let my daughter go work as an errand girl! Do you know what my friend Neal said to me the last time we had coffee? He said that no matter how busy I am with my career, I should take good care of my daughter. I shouldn't let you run around and do this kind of work. I didn't know how to respond to him. Should I have said that my daughter was eager to experience hardships?"

Rita knew where her father stood in society. He would not be particularly understanding of the work of grassroots journalists like her, but she never imagined that her father would think of her like this.

"I'm doing the work of a journalist; it's a legitimate job. If you have nothing good to say about it, you can just keep quiet. I don't expect you to understand me anymore. Instead of wasting time thinking about all that, why don't you focus more on finding out why your wife and her daughter are so hellbent on wrongly accusing me of stealing a bangle? Dad, you really disappoint me."

After saying that, Rita did not even look back. She just left the mansion.

Vince, holding back his anger, had nowhere to vent, so he could only ret angrily scold Karen, "Did you baselessly accuse my daughter? From the day you moved in here, warned you not to have any ulterior motives toward her!

After living a comfortable life for so many years, have you forgotten how you crawled out of that slum back then? Let me tell you: if I could bring you out against all odds back then, I can also put you back in that place now."

Karen cried pitifully. "Vince, what are you saying? How can you suspect me just because Rita said a few words? Today's dinner party is so e important, so how could I do such a childish thing? I'm not a child, you know? Have I ever made any mistakes in all these years I've been married to you? And now just because of what your daughter said, you turn and suspect me…"

Feeling annoyed by her tears, Vince did not console her. He stormed back into his study. When he was alone, he carefully took out a framed photo he had kept for a long time from the drawer.

In the frame was an old photo of him and another woman. The woman's face looked familiar, and upon closer inspection, bore some resemblance to Rita.

When Rita was born, Vince decided to include the syllable 'Ta' from his wife's name in her name. That was just how in love vinde and Taya were inflove with each other. He had hoped that his daughter would resemble her mother more, but he never thought Rita would lose her mother forever at such a young age.

"Taya, is it because I am an Them

irresponsible father, and that's why our daughter has grown up to be so rebellious? Recently, I kept asking, myself whether I should've married l Karem in the first blace. Do you blame me too? I just wanted Rita to have a mother, but I did a poor job, and she still refuses to call Karen 'Mom'. If I hadn't done this, maybe Rita wouldn't be so rebellious."

This woman was his first wife-Taya Rose.

The Day I Kissed An Older Man Chapter 2710-"I always feel like every decision I've made since you left has been wrong. But no matter what, I can't go back to the past. It would've been so much better if you were still here. No matter how many women I meet after you've gone, they can never compare to you… Taya."

Karen had followed Vince upstairs, intending to explain a few things. She did not expect him to be reminiscing about his late wife in the study.

Sadie, standing beside her, asked with a worried look, "Mom, what you did tonight was risky. If it weren't for the lingering feelings between you and Dad, he might've been very angry. Why didn't you discuss it with me first? We could've used the matter better to our advantage! It's such a pity that Rita was able to get herself off the hook so easily."

"I didn't have time to think it through. Didn't you see how Sherman and Rita spent a long time together in their own little world? Vince looks satisfied with Sherman too. What if he has ideas about matching them up?"

Sadie asked suspiciously, "I don't think Sherman has any interest in Rita. After all, he comes from a prominent family. Even the Russells can't compare to it, so why would he lower himself to pursue such a woman? Mom, you worry too much for your own good. Thankfully, Dad didn't hold you accountable for today's incident. Otherwise, saying in front of so many people that the bangle was mine would've been embarrassing for you."

At the same time, Sadie was relieved that Sherman had left early. She would have been frustrated if he had seen her mother acting so petty.

"Enough. Why are you always nitpicking at me? Everything I do is for you, isn't it? Let's go, the romantic fool is reminiscing about his late wife. He won't bother with us right now." Karen's tone remained disdainful. She just could not understand these men. They did not cherish what they had when they had it, but once it was gone, they pretended to miss it.

'Does he think I didn't know he had been secretly keeping their photo in the study?' thought Karen. She just could not be bothered to make a fuss about it.

The relationship between her and Vince had always been one of mutual exploitation. Ever since she decided to use him to change her life all those years ago, she had been very clear about this. She was not the kind of young woman whose whole life revolved around love; she wanted much more. However, she was not against letting Vince think that she loved him deeply.

The driver dropped Rita off at her house. After thanking him, she slowly opened the door. She turned on the lights before she turned them off again, one by one.

This house had always been so empty Sometimes, Rita could not help but feel lonely. Sᴇaʀ*ᴄh the FindNʘᴠᴇl.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

She took off all her jewelry and looked at the young, beautiful woman in the mirror. She could not help but feel as if she could not recognize herself anymore.

"Mom, did you know? Dad accused

me again today because of that woman who somehow got hold of the surveillance footagg and claimed I hid their bangle. But ive never been in her room, and Dad believed her!

Sure, he scolded that woman eventually, but he still doubted me. I'm so hurt.

"Mom, I miss you so much. Why won't you come visit me in my dreams? Is it because in too weak?

On is it pécause youve forgotten about me? Mom, I miss you." After repeating her longing for her mother again, Rita finished getting ready for bed.