THE FAKE LADY AND THE PASTRY SHOP 

I remembered that Viscount Charles was originally Gwen’s fiancé. For some reason, he later made this woman his mistress.

Rumor had it, it was because she got pregnant before marriage?

I looked at the child she was holding and suddenly laughed.

I heard she had a criminal record and had been in prison.

She frowned sensitively: “What are you laughing at?”

“I visited the prison a few days ago. Guess what I saw? Your child here looks exactly like a prison guard in there!”

I purposely exaggerated, just wanting to make her uncomfortable.

Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, the mistress’s face changed drastically.

And the stoic Charles, who had been standing next to her, seemed to notice her abnormal reaction. Thinking of something, his expression turned ugly as he glared at her.

The mistress felt guilty: “Miss, please watch your words!”

Charles seemed to want to interrogate her, but hesitant due to the crowded restaurant, he snorted coldly and turned to leave.

Lady Gwen walked in at this exact moment.

The two crossed paths. I saw Charles’s body tremble violently. Finding it quite interesting, I couldn’t help but look a few more times.

“Gwen…”

“Viscount, please conduct yourself with dignity.”

Gwen replied coldly. When her eyes swept over me, they lit up: “Celine?”

The mistress’s expression changed: “You two know each other?”

Pausing for a second, she seemed to realize something and shouted angrily: “Gwen, you broke your promise! You promised not to say anything!”

Only after saying that did she realize she had accidentally revealed a secret.

But Charles had noticed the abnormality. He turned back to look at her, then at Gwen: “So… you knew the truth all along?”

“I don’t understand what you two are talking about.”

“You knew!”

Charles backed up two steps in disbelief: “Do you hate me that much? Letting me suffer this injustice for so long…”

Seeing that this family was about to cause a scene in the restaurant, I waved for the manager to come over.

“Please escort them out, and from now on, anyone bearing the Prime Minister’s family name is banned from entering here.”

Hearing this, Chloe laughed out of sheer anger: “You think you can kick us out just by saying so? Is this your restaurant?”

I smirked: “Actually, yes, it is.”

Chloe’s smile froze. While being thrown out by the restaurant staff, she still screamed unwillingly: “Victoria! So what if it’s yours? Do you know how powerful my family is? You dare treat me like this today; tomorrow I’ll make sure your restaurant can’t survive in this capital!”

I didn’t care in the slightest.

The Prime Minister’s family might be powerful, but could they override the Crown Prince?

My Celine brand was funded by the Crown Princess. Otherwise, how could I have easily opened such grand establishments in the capital?

This was a connection I had worked extremely hard to establish.

The Crown Prince was famous for loving his wife dearly. Furthermore, this time I had indirectly helped the Crown Prince cut off one of the Second Prince’s right-hand men. He would protect me at all costs.

 When I led Mia to my doorstep, I ran into the three members of the Vane family.

“Why are you all here?”

“Victoria…”

Mrs. Vane reached out to hold my hand, but I batted it away in disgust.

I heard from Gwen that, according to the law, the men of this family were supposed to be exiled to the frontiers, and the women sold as slaves. But considering I had merit in reporting them, and they were, after all, my biological family, the judge only confiscated all their assets.

Tsk, they really benefited from me.

The eldest son of the Vane family glared at me: “We are your flesh and blood, what kind of attitude is this!”

“Flesh and blood my ass.”

I laughed coldly, dropping the pretense, looking at them with contempt: “Since you weren’t exiled, just obediently live out your miserable days. Stop coming to my face to make me sick. Otherwise, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”

“You unfilial daughter! How dare you speak like that!”

Mr. Vane coughed violently in anger.

Mrs. Vane looked at me tearfully, trying to hold onto a thin thread of familial affection: “Victoria, regardless, we are blood relatives; you can’t just leave us to die, right? Now the Vane family has nothing. I heard that you don’t just own a pastry shop, but the boss behind the Celine restaurant chain is also you…”

“It is mine indeed, but what does that have to do with you? Blood relatives? Don’t you find it hilarious saying that?”

I looked at them coldly: “Back then, when I came to you empty-handed, how did you treat me? Seeing me covered in wounds, you still heartlessly drove me out.”

Mrs. Vane’s face stiffened: “About that year… it was indeed our mistake, and it is only right that you hate us. But you were pregnant at the time, and we were afraid of societal gossip…”

Her voice grew quieter as she spoke, eventually changing the subject and pointing at Mia: “Your child is perfectly safe now, isn’t she?”

“You have no right to mention that!”

Speaking of this, my emotions almost slipped out of control, but in the end, I managed to restrain myself.

I called Lucas out.

“Chase them far away, and forbid them from ever coming near here again.”

Once they were out of sight, I took Mia’s hand and entered the door. Just as I turned around to close the door, I unexpectedly bumped into someone.

Maximilian.

When he arrived, and how much he heard, I didn’t know. He just stood there frozen a short distance away, looking at me in shock, unmoving.

I frowned, a trace of inexplicable panic rising in my heart.

Just as I was about to slam the door shut, he seemed to teleport, a large hand suddenly blocking the door.

“Don’t you feel you should explain something to me?”

His eyelashes trembled, intense emotions surging in his eyes, the corners of his eyes red.

“I have nothing to explain. Does Your Grace know that your current actions constitute illegal trespassing?”

“Is she my daughter?”

“Your Grace’s imagination is incredibly rich, I admire it.”

“Celine! At this point, how long are you going to keep lying to me?”

I felt a bit helpless. Why was this guy so persistent now…

“It’s too late today, I’m sleepy. I’ll explain it to you tomorrow.”

I suddenly yielded, making him hesitate: “Really?”

I nodded: “Yes. Really. But if you keep badgering me and refuse to leave now, I will never tell you the truth in this lifetime.”

Maximilian was still unwilling, but after a moment of hesitation, he finally let go: “Alright, I will come find you both tomorrow morning.”

Before leaving, he crouched down to look at Mia, forcing what he thought was a gentle smile: “Mia, see you tomorrow, okay?”

Mia was frightened to tears by him.

Maximilian’s face froze. When he stood up to leave, his back looked somewhat lonely and disappointed.

He didn’t know that as soon as he was out of sight, I hastily woke Mia up, called Lucas, and fled the capital overnight.

Originally, I hadn’t planned to stay long upon my return. Once the plan to overthrow the Count’s manor was complete, I intended to retreat immediately. Now, I was just leaving a few days ahead of schedule.