"Miss Piper... you're back..." The maid at the door looked a bit flustered upon seeing Piper Gates.
Piper nodded and stepped inside, but the maid rushed over and grabbed her arm, causing her to stumble. "You can't go in there!"
Piper's expression turned icy. "Step aside."
She was well aware that in the Gates Family, she was often bullied, but she never expected a mere cleaning maid to lay hands on her like this!
To her surprise, the maid stood firm, arms outstretched to block Piper's path. "Miss, the third young lady has instructed that you cannot enter!"
Another maid nearby sneered, "Let her in if she wants! It's not like this is the first time. Cisco doesn't want her, but she insists on chasing after him!
"Oh, this is just too pathetic. Back in our day, we wouldn't have let anyone treat us like that!"
"I really don't know how that late lady raised her. Clearly, she taught her to have no shame!"
These maids, who had been working in the Gates Family for many years, had grown accustomed to mocking Piper whenever they had a dull moment.
Piper Gates knew she was seen as weak and easily bullied; she would never fight back.
Seeing the familiar expressions on their faces, she realized these people had been gossiping about her mother. With a swift motion, she raised her hand and slapped the servant standing in front of her.
"Ah!" The old woman fell to the ground, her voice trembling. "You... you..."
Once the timid Piper Gates stood in the sunlight, her demeanor sharp and her gaze cutting like a knife. "I will say this only once, so listen carefully."
"I am the eldest daughter of the Gates Family, and my late mother was the legitimate wife of the Gates Family. If I hear you gossip about her again, I will slap you again until you learn your lesson! Do you understand?"
Her commanding presence frightened the few servants who were used to bullying the weak, and they nodded repeatedly. "We understand... we understand..."
"Move aside!" Piper's sharp command made the servants quickly step aside, no longer daring to block her path.
As she entered the villa, she immediately bumped into a couple in the living room, lost in their own world.
It was none other than her younger sister, Michelle Gates, and the man Piper had loved deeply—Cisco Gustin.
Upon seeing Piper, Michelle showed no sign of embarrassment. Instead, a glint of challenge flickered in her eyes.
Michelle Gates stood there, trying to compose herself as she smoothed out her clothes. With her head bowed, she said in a sweet, innocent voice,
"Sister, you're back. Cisco and I aren't what you think we are. We... we..."
Her half-hearted explanation and hesitant tone made it sound as if she were the one wronged, playing the victim in this situation.
Piper watched Michelle Gates with a sarcastic expression, and the silence in the living room made Michelle feel increasingly awkward.
Michelle quickly ran over to Piper, grabbing her hand with urgency. "Sister, please don't misunderstand! It's really not what you saw..."
Her words trailed off abruptly as she took a good look at Piper, her eyes widening in shock. "Sister, why are you dressed like that? Where did you go last night?"
Cisco Gustin finally took a closer look at Piper. She was wearing a man's suit jacket over a dangerously short nightgown, and her exhausted expression suggested she had spent the night out.
His pride as a man flared up; Piper was still his fiancée, and she had the audacity to sneak around behind his back!
"Piper Gates! Where were you last night?" Cisco asked, his face darkening with anger.
Piper Gates looked indifferent, completely unlike her usual self when it came to answering Cisco Gustin's questions. Instead, she coldly retorted, "It's strange. I didn't even ask where you two went last night, so why do you care what I'm doing?"
"Sis, I wasn't feeling well last night, and Cisco took me to the hospital. Nothing happened between us, so please don't misunderstand!" Michelle Gates pleaded, grasping Piper's hand and speaking softly.
But Piper yanked her hand away. "Don't touch me. You're dirty."
"Ah!" Michelle stumbled back and fell to the ground.
"Michelle!" Cisco quickly rushed to help Michelle up, shielding her behind him. Anger flared in his voice as he confronted Piper. "Piper! How can you be so cruel? If you have a problem, take it out on me!"
Michelle, hiding behind Cisco, sniffled pitifully. "Sis, even if you're mad at me, you shouldn't treat yourself like this! How can you be so reckless?"
She looked just like a heartbroken sister mourning for her wayward sibling. With such acting skills, she really should be in movies!
Piper Gates let out a cold laugh. "Even if I were reckless, it wouldn't compare to your habit of stealing other people's fiancés!"
Cisco Gustin held his distressed girlfriend tightly, glaring at Piper. "Enough! Piper Gates, I'm telling you, I will never marry anyone but Michelle! Stop making a scene! You need to find a time to talk to my family and make it clear that our engagement is off. From now on, we'll have nothing to do with each other."
Piper felt a sharp pang in her heart, an emotion she couldn't control. She frowned, realizing it was the original owner's feelings surfacing. She looked at the man she once loved deeply and asked," what is your reason?"
Cisco scoffed, "What more reason do you need? This has always been one-sided on your part!"
"Besides, the Gustin family is a prestigious lineage, and the wife I'm going to marry is a true lady. With that ugly scar on your face, do you really want to bring shame to the entire Gustin family?"
Piper sneered inwardly. If the original owner's memories were correct, that scar was a result of her protecting Cisco during a car accident, caused by shattered glass. At that time, Cisco had sworn he would never look down on Piper, but in the blink of an eye, he was devoted to Michelle instead.
"Cisco, don't treat my sister like that…"
Michelle Gates smugly leaned against Cisco Gustin, casting a somewhat provocative glance at Piper Gates. She could easily imagine that with Piper's infatuated and clingy personality, it would be a miracle if she didn't cry and make a scene today!
Everyone in Swansea City knew that the Gates family's ugly duckling was hopelessly in love with Cisco Gustin. She would do anything just to be with him!
But Cisco Gustin was most annoyed by Piper Gates's constant pestering. Once Piper started crying, she had already lost half the battle!
Piper Gates glanced at the two of them with a calm expression. Her gaze made Cisco Gustin momentarily freeze—clear, bright, cold… even disdainful?
She nodded slightly. "Alright, let's do it this afternoon. I'll go with you to call off the engagement."
"Piper, please don't be upset! You… what did you just say? Call off the engagement?"
Michelle Gates' voice took a sharp turn, even cracking a little. This wasn't the reaction she had expected from Piper!
Shouldn't she be throwing a fit, crying, and making a scene? Shouldn't she be lamenting how her years of deep affection had been betrayed? Why was she agreeing so cleanly and decisively?
Piper Gates nodded, "Do you need me to repeat myself? This afternoon, the engagement is off, and I agree."