Free Web NovelChapter 20: Chapter 20: Shura Field
But at that point, the villainess hadn’t turned bad yet. She was mostly just scared and terrified.
After Cecilia Quincy returned home, the Quincy Family’s attention clearly shifted entirely to her. Her parents doted on her, her grandparents spoiled her, and even the usually ill-tempered Willow Quincy was gentle and patient with her.
She didn’t have to do anything to receive the attention and affection of the entire Quincy Family.
As for the villainess, although she was allowed to stay with the Quincy Family, she gradually became an invisible person. The family who once loved and doted on her no longer cared, and her brother, who had disliked her since childhood, grew increasingly harsh toward her, as if she were some heinous criminal.
Under this invisible pressure, the villainess’s psyche slowly began to warp. She started having many wicked thoughts.
And it was at this time that Cecilia Quincy made her move against her.
As the novel’s female lead, Cecilia Quincy had a very weak sense of morality. To achieve her goals, she would stop at nothing.
Framing, slander, sowing discord, and stealing the villainess’s fiancé... she was the first to inflict these things upon the villainess. The villainess was the fake heiress, sharing no blood relation with the Quincys. When conflict arose, the Quincy Family naturally chose to believe Cecilia Quincy.
Thus, the villainess became the malicious, evil woman.
Watching the Quincy Family grow to despise her more and more, the villainess worried she would be kicked out of the Quincy Family and dragged back to that poor mountain village to be used as a bargaining chip for a bride price by her biological parents.
To protect her status and the affection she once had, she had no choice but to start fighting back, using the same methods Cecilia Quincy had demonstrated to retaliate against her.
But in doing so, she fell right into Cecilia Quincy’s trap.
One wrong move, and the villainess lost everything. From being forced into villainy at the beginning to desperately courting death as if she’d gone mad... while reading the novel, Sonia Quincy had once suspected there was something wrong with the villainess’s mental state.
And all of this was Cecilia Quincy’s handiwork.
This was also why, while the novel was being serialized, Cecilia Quincy was constantly flamed by readers and even voted "The Most Disgusting Female Lead of the 21st Century."
"I heard Mr. Preston went bankrupt. Life must be pretty tough for you right now, huh?"
Cecilia Quincy’s sickeningly sweet voice pulled Sonia Quincy’s wandering thoughts back to reality. Sonia looked up at her, her eyes filled with blatant contempt.
"Whether my life is tough or not is for me to say. It has nothing to do with you, Miss Quincy."
Sonia Quincy didn’t want to get tangled up with her. Tossing out that sentence, she turned to leave.
"Hey—"
Cecilia Quincy’s two little lackeys reached out to block her at the same time. It seemed they had no intention of letting her go so easily.
"You’re just a hated impostor. Who are you trying to fool?" one of them said, grabbing Sonia Quincy’s arm and roughly yanking her a few steps back into the shop.
"Don’t touch me!" Sonia Quincy forcefully shook off her hand, taking two steps back to put some distance between them.
"PFFT!" The other lackey suddenly burst out laughing, a laugh both arrogant and mocking. "Ramona, just talk. Why are you getting physical? She’s pregnant, you know. Be careful not to hurt her, or she’ll turn around and try to extort you!"
"Oh, right!" Ramona Lawrence clapped her hands as if she had just remembered something about Sonia Quincy.
"I would’ve forgotten if you hadn’t mentioned it. Sonia Quincy is a pregnant lady now! The child in her belly belongs to Aethelburg’s famous ’bankrupt Mr. Preston’! Who in Aethelburg doesn’t know that Mr. Preston is a penniless pauper now? Now that the couple is so poor, don’t think you can just bully me and extort my money."
"Hmph..."
Ramona Lawrence’s words amused Cecilia Quincy. She walked elegantly into the store in her high heels, first sizing up the decor, then glancing at Sonia Quincy’s clothes before asking with feigned curiosity, "Sonia Quincy, what are you doing here? Shopping?"
"..." Sonia Quincy’s face was cold; she didn’t bother to reply.
She thought for a moment, then asked, "If I remember correctly, the jewelry in this store starts at five figures. In your current state, can you still afford it?"
Sonia Quincy’s lips curled into a disdainful sneer. "Cecilia Quincy, what era are you living in? Still pulling this ’innocent victim’ act? How childish..."
"Tsk, what are you talking about?"
Cecilia Quincy didn’t get angry, but her lackey, Ramona Lawrence, was the first to jump to her defense.
Cecilia Quincy pretentiously placated Ramona Lawrence. "Ramona, don’t be angry. Let’s not lower ourselves to her level. Just like in the novels, the noble female lead can’t be bothered to argue with the vicious villainess."
"She’s so down and out now. Let’s just let it go."
"Exactly," the other lackey chimed in. "She’s poor and ugly now. Arguing with her would be more humiliating than squatting on the street and fighting with a crazy person."
"If you know it’s humiliating, then why are you still blocking me?" Sonia Quincy really didn’t have time for their passive-aggressive games. She shoved Ramona Lawrence aside and started to walk away, but in the next second, she was blocked by the sudden appearance of Willow Quincy.
Willow Quincy’s cold, emotionless eyes stared at Sonia Quincy. His thin lips parted, and he coldly uttered a few words: "Sonia Quincy, what trouble are you causing now?"
"..."
Sonia Quincy was truly speechless. ’Why are all these damned people showing up in a group?’
"Brother!"
The moment Willow Quincy appeared, Cecilia Quincy’s voice instantly became several shades sweeter. She went CLACK CLACK CLACK on her high heels as she ran up to Willow Quincy, affectionately linking her arm with his. Even her tone was coquettish.
"Brother, what are you doing here? Didn’t you say you had a meeting today?"
Willow Quincy’s gaze was fixed firmly on Sonia Quincy, not leaving her for a second.
"The meeting was postponed. I suddenly had some free time, so I came over to wander around."
"Oh, I see..." Cecilia Quincy nodded, then said, "It’s almost lunchtime. Brother, let’s eat together! I want to try that new sushi place on the third floor!"
Willow Quincy: "Okay. Did Sonia Quincy bully you?"
Sonia Quincy: "..."
’All I did was come here to sell a necklace. Who did I piss off?’
Cecilia Quincy looked at her with smug eyes. "No, I just ran into her too. I don’t know what she’s doing here."
"Heh..." Ramona Lawrence let out a soft laugh. "That’s easy enough to find out. Clerk, what did this lady come to your store for? To buy something?"
The clerk had just had a sale poached by Sonia Quincy and was in a foul mood. When Ramona Lawrence asked, she spilled everything, not caring one bit whether it violated professional conduct.
"This young woman wasn’t here to buy something; she was here to sell something. She sold a secondhand necklace. The gentleman who bought it just left."
"Sold a necklace?" Ramona Lawrence was a little surprised. "Sonia Quincy, why would you sell a necklace? Are you short on cash?"
Sonia Quincy admitted it freely, "Yeah, I’m short on cash."
Hearing this, Willow Quincy’s brow immediately furrowed.
"Oh my god," Ramona Lawrence gasped, covering her mouth in mock surprise. "Sonia Quincy, are things that difficult for you now? You have to sell jewelry for cash? Mr. Preston went bankrupt and didn’t leave you a single cent?"
Sonia Quincy’s patience was worn thin by their chattering. She let out an exasperated sigh, then looked up and stared impatiently at the Quincy siblings. "This is my family’s business. I have no obligation to answer your questions. Now, please get out of my way. I need to go home! My husband is waiting for me to come back for dinner."
With that, she reached out to shove aside the blocking Willow Quincy and tried to sidle past. But he seized the opportunity to grab her wrist, domineeringly yanking her back.
"Even now, you’re still protecting Felix Preston?"
