Chapter 476: Marriage Discussions for Seraphina (Part 8)

Chapter 476: Chapter 476: Marriage Discussions for Seraphina (Part 8)

To make matters worse, Seraphina Sterling had just publicly declared she was a narrow-minded person. This was an impossible hurdle to clear. Since it was too difficult, they simply gave up and planned to quietly slip away from the crowd. However, the moment they shifted their feet, Seraphina spotted them. "Shelby Fenton, Miss Hale. What’s this? Are you leaving before the matter is settled?"

The two of them stopped in their tracks, their faces flushing with embarrassment. Facing the crowd’s scrutinizing gaze, they put on a brave front and retorted stubbornly, "Who said we were leaving? Why would we leave? We may have been a little thoughtless just now, but the fault isn’t entirely ours!" Jacinta Hale valued her pride above all else. You could ask her to do anything, except lose face in public. Even with things having come this far, she was still desperately trying to salvage the situation.

"That’s right! Mom’s right, why should we leave? You’re the one who didn’t reveal your identity, which caused the misunderstanding. What does that have to do with us? For all we know, you did it on purpose, setting Mom and me up! You’ve always been the most manipulative one, after all. This is exactly the kind of thing you would do!"

Shelby Fenton had perfectly inherited Jacinta Hale’s obsession with saving face. Today was Master Hale’s birthday banquet, and nearly everyone from high society was present. If she were to apologize to Seraphina Sterling in front of all these people, how could she ever show her face in this circle again?

"Oh? So you’re saying it’s my fault now?" Seraphina truly began to doubt their intelligence. "Mr. Hale, what do you think? My grandfather is here, you know. If these two don’t give me a satisfactory explanation, I have no intention of letting this matter rest today."

Seraphina had cleverly played the grandfather card. There was an unwritten rule among the great families: no matter how much the younger generation squabbled, it was their own business. As long as no lives were at stake, the elders were not to interfere. But Mr. Sterling was right here. Who would dare bully his granddaughter right in front of him? That would be a death wish.

Justin Hale was already cursing Seraphina up and down in his head. ’She just loves putting me in a tough spot!’

But Justin Hale was no hot-headed youth. He had been seasoned by the cutthroat business world. While the situation was tricky, it wasn’t impossible to handle. It simply meant one party was bound to be offended. And between offending the Fenton Family and the Sterling Family, Justin didn’t need to think twice.

"Aunt, Shelby, you are in the wrong here. You should apologize to Miss Sterling. Nobody’s perfect, and everyone makes mistakes. What’s important is admitting it and learning from it. Apologizing is not a shameful act." Although Justin Hale had sided with Seraphina, he was also offering Jacinta and Shelby a way to save face.

But the mother-daughter duo remained motionless. Getting two such prideful people to apologize in public was proving to be quite difficult.

"Mr. Hale, it seems your words don’t carry much weight." Seraphina’s bright eyes twinkled as a dazzling smile spread across her face. ’Just as I said: the higher you stand, the harder you fall.’

"Aunt!" Though Justin Hale’s expression remained mild, his voice had dropped, carrying a heavy tone of warning. He knew that if Jacinta apologized, Shelby would surely follow.

Jacinta Hale glared fiercely at Seraphina, wishing she could devour her whole. She, Jacinta Hale, had always been a winner in life. And now she was being told to apologize to a junior? The thought was more unbearable than death. Never before had she been so utterly humiliated in public.

Just then, Zane Fenton caught wind of the commotion and hurried over. He knew his wife best. ’She’s so proud, there’s no way she’d apologize in public! Even if she were truly in the wrong, she would never admit it at a time like this!’

"Miss Sterling, my wife is a bit thin-skinned. Allow me to apologize to you on her behalf. She had a slight misunderstanding earlier. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive her."

’I didn’t expect Zane Fenton to intervene,’ Seraphina thought. But since he had apologized, the Fenton Family had shown their stance. If she kept pressing the issue, she would come off as petty and unforgiving. "You’re being too serious, President Fenton."

Zane Fenton frowned slightly. He’d met his share of arrogant people, but he’d never seen a member of the younger generation act so haughty. "However, Miss Sterling, perhaps you shouldn’t conceal your identity in the future. It would be best to avoid similar misunderstandings."

’Another troublesome one,’ Seraphina thought, one of her fine eyebrows arching. ’It seems President Fenton wasn’t too happy about that apology. In a single sentence, he managed to shift the blame back onto me. And what’s with that expression? As if I’m some unreasonable child and he’s the magnanimous elder tolerating my antics!’

Seraphina was thoroughly disgusted. "I never hid my identity. Back at The Gilt Alley, a shop owner told Mrs. Fenton and Miss Fenton that I was Miss Sterling, but they refused to believe it. What was I supposed to do? Show them my birth certificate? I imagine even if I had, they would have just claimed it was a forgery."

Seraphina wore a look of utter helplessness, which made Jacinta Hale and Shelby Fenton grind their teeth in fury.

"Why is everyone gathered here?" Zion Hale said as he walked over. "Mr. Holden is giving a live calligraphy demonstration for Grandfather. Would anyone like to go watch?"