My Dreamy Old Husband

Sophia was also beginning to understand Anne. She was nothing more than a naive little girl who saw the world through rose-colored glasses, and her delusions belied her sheltered upbringing. She’d never had to endure life’s many cruel punches, and she was clueless as to how vicious mankind could be—she didn’t know how ruthless it was out there in the real world.

Sophia hadn’t wanted to be too hard on her, but as of now, she had to be cruel to be kind. “So, Miss Osborne, it seems as if you’re set on marrying my father.”

Anne was determined. “You have no right to interfere with our plans to get married.”

With a low chuckle, Sophia cast a fleeting glance at Sandra, who was practically buzzing with anticipation, and sneered, “Anne, I think it’s time you get that brain of yours checked.”

Sophia cut her off mercilessly, ready to burst the girl’s bubbles. “Oh dear, Miss Osborne, it seems as if you’re far too naive to understand what’s going on. You speak as if you are Young Lady Yard, and I bet you’ve thought about how you’d be a princess if we were in ancient times. But think about it, Anne, what happened to the rest of the Yards? The Yards were a clan before this, and now look at what’s left of them! Have you ever wondered why they were so desperate to claim you back as their own even after you’ve taken on a different surname?”

She did not wait for Anne to respond. “Are you really that stupid, Anne? Your Aunt Anna and her sons killed off the entire clan! That was her whole family—people who shared the same blood as her—but your aunt spared none of them!”

Anne began to falter. “Shut up!” she cried, panicked.

But Sophia did not shut up in spite of Anne’s obvious distress and continued sardonically, “Didn’t you know that your aunt is renowned as a bloodthirsty tyrant? She killed off the uncles and sisters who helped her climb up the family throne, and she spared none of those who came from the branch family—that’s the reason why she and her sons are the only ones left! My dear lady, do you understand what I mean by ‘branch family’?”

refused to believe in these ugly lies. She was a princess, and she wanted nothing to do with any of these, but Sophia’s voice grew menacing as she went on to say, “Much like yourself, the branch family consisted of those who were collateral descendants and had no rightful claim on the Yard family fortune! As far as your aunt is concerned, you are not of direct descent, and that means you’re worthless! She and her sons are lineal descendants of the Yard family, and only they have a rightful claim

and pointed a finger toward Anne. “If these were the ancient times, you would be the type of ‘princess’ who got married off to some old fart in another reigning family, and once he died, you’d be forced to marry someone else in the same family—you’d just be traded around from one man to another like a wh*re! Right now, you’re just a lowly dog in the Yard family, and your aunt could just as easily get rid of you as she did with the others. What’s sadder still is that you actually believe you have far more value than that. You thought you could fit in with the rest of them, but you can’t change the fact that

her hands and

in Ronney Group, thereby securing control over the board of directors and gaining power within the family. The three of them hold 20% of shares each, and the remaining 1% is held by General.” She paused, looking at Anne with a thoughtful gaze.

was no use trying to block out Sophia’s words. By the end of it all, Anne could feel herself fall apart in shock and despair; her dreams of becoming a real-life princess were shattered before her

being over the moon when she first heard that she was a long-lost relative of the Yard family. She had thought

destroyed everything she

shareholder in Ronney Group, while Anne had nothing! She

sobbed piteously on the bed as she felt her pride and faith

the Yard family had made her lose

powerful woman she was by eradicating the whole branch family—the people who, like Anne, had no direct claim on the Yard

had once told her to not get too close to her Aunt Anna, and had cautioned her not to go after any part

benefiting from it. Can you imagine how difficult it must have been for them to eradicate the entire Yard clan, and the price they had to pay in order to wield power over Ronney Group? The honor and glory are theirs, and theirs alone—you have no right to any of it. You are nothing but a tool in the Yard family’s shed. You’re no different from a princess in the ancient times who were married off against her own will, be it for in-breeding or

was trembling under the sheets, feeling as if she’d just been gutted. She stammered pathetically, “Stop