"The choice is in your hands, Mrs. Kane."

Sophie Shaw finished speaking and turned to the full-length mirror. While adjusting her collar, she watched Bianca Kane’s expression in the reflection.

After a moment, Bianca’s expression softened a little. "As long as you can secure this deal, the Heart of the Ocean is yours."

"You promise?"

"That depends on whether you have what it takes to close the deal."

—

「Noon.」

Sophie Shaw, dressed in an elegant, pink, tweed-style suit, followed Bianca Kane and Joseph Shaw to The Grand Fortune Hotel.

The private room had been booked in advance. Alaric Blackwood, his father Quentin Blackwood, and his mother Mandy Halloway were already there.

The two families had done business together before, so they weren’t strangers. They greeted each other with polite, modest smiles and shook hands.

It wasn’t Bianca Kane’s first time meeting Alaric Blackwood. They had last met several years ago, before Alaric went abroad for his studies.

After a few years, the man had grown more mature and steady. Dressed in a sharp suit, he exuded a noble air—handsome, capable, the very picture of a business elite. The more she looked at him, the more she liked what she saw.

’Originally, she had wanted to set up her own daughter with Alaric Blackwood. But Alaric’s reputation was too poor, and Vianne Kane wasn’t interested. Besides, just like her mother, she’d fallen for a dirt-poor nobody...’

She glanced sideways at Sophie Shaw, who sat with perfect posture. The thought that today’s lunch was to discuss the marriage between Sophie and Alaric Blackwood left a sour taste in her mouth.

’Who knows what kind of connections Sophie’s deceased mother had? To actually be on good terms with the Blackwoods and arrange such a glorious, ancestor-honoring childhood engagement for Sophie.’

’Once Sophie marries into the family, even if she isn’t favored, she’ll still be Mrs. Blackwood. For the sake of the Blackwood Family, I’ll have to show Sophie some respect.’

’Even Joseph Shaw—I’d have to start treating him with more respect.’

"Sophie, you’ve grown more and more beautiful," Mandy Halloway said, her face wreathed in smiles.

She looked at Sophie Shaw, her voice exceedingly gentle. "I wonder if you still remember me?"

"I do."

’She remembered her well.’

’Mandy Halloway had been her mother’s best friend. At her mother’s funeral, Mandy had cried her eyes out.’

’The strange thing was, while she remembered Mandy Halloway, she couldn’t recall Alaric Blackwood at all.’

"When you were little, you loved to follow Alaric around, calling him Alaric..." Mandy Halloway said, her tone shifting.

Sophie Shaw’s cheeks instantly flushed red.

She shot an embarrassed glance at Alaric Blackwood, unable to believe she had been like that as a child.

In contrast to her discomfort, the man was far more calm and composed. The corner of his lip quirked up slightly as he asked Mandy Halloway, "Mom, have you picked an auspicious date?"

"I have. I had a master pick it out specifically."

As she spoke, Mandy Halloway took a consecrated sachet from her purse. Inside was the auspicious date calculated by the master.

"I had the master read both of their birth charts, and they’re an incredible match." Mandy Halloway took out the yellow paper with the date written on it from the sachet. She glanced at the date and said with a smile, "It’s the thirtieth, at the end of this month. It’s a bit of a rush, but it’s a very lucky day."

"Isn’t that too soon?" Bianca Kane calculated the days. "That’s only two and a half weeks away. Is that enough time?"

"It’s enough time. I’ll handle all the wedding arrangements myself."

Mandy Halloway usually delegated such tasks, but she was bored sitting around at home anyway.

Her son was finally back after so long; she had to get the wedding settled quickly to prevent any unexpected complications.

"Well... all right, then."

Bianca Kane forced a smile. She could tell from the way Mandy Halloway looked at Sophie Shaw that she was extremely fond of her.

"I got the rings back," Alaric Blackwood said.

He took the custom-made matching rings from his suit pocket. In front of both sets of parents, he took Sophie Shaw’s hand and slid the ring onto her finger.

Sophie Shaw had chosen the ring herself. It was very understated, with a tiny diamond.

Mandy Halloway couldn’t help but shoot Alaric Blackwood a look. ’This boy,’ she thought, ’how could he be so cheap?’

She felt a little bad about it. The dishes hadn’t even all arrived yet, but she was already pulling the red envelopes she had prepared from her purse. She handed one to Quentin Blackwood, and together they presented them to Sophie Shaw.

"This is a small gift from us for our daughter-in-law."

Sophie Shaw quickly stood up and accepted the red envelopes with both hands.

"Thank you, Uncle and Auntie."

The words had barely left her mouth when Joseph Shaw, sitting beside her, gave her thigh a hard pinch under the table. She realized this so-called "small gift" was for acknowledging them as her parents, and she immediately corrected herself. "Thank you, Mom and Dad."

"Such sweet words." Mandy Halloway was beaming so hard her face could have split.

As she smiled, her eyes grew moist.

She thought of her ill-fated best friend and couldn’t stop herself from shooting Joseph Shaw a vicious glare.

Joseph Shaw noticed the hostile gaze, silently averted his eyes, and picked up his cup to take a sip of hot tea.

The dishes were all served, and the two families ate and chatted.

When the topic of the dowry and betrothal gift came up, Sophie Shaw learned that after all of Joseph Shaw’s "pillow talk," the fabulously wealthy Bianca Kane—worth over a hundred million—was only putting up two million for her dowry.

The Blackwoods were very generous and didn’t care at all about the paltry sum from the Kane Family. They offered a betrothal gift of ten million right off the bat and even asked Sophie Shaw if that was acceptable.

GULP—

Sophie Shaw swallowed hard. "That’s more than acceptable."

’Ten million... What does that even mean?’

All the way until the end of the meal, Sophie Shaw was still in a daze—a dizzying, disoriented daze. She felt so light-headed it was as if she were floating on a cloud. When she stood up, she even swayed a little.

She had had a few glasses of wine at the table, so Alaric Blackwood thought she was drunk. He gently supported her back with his arm. "Is your tolerance really that low?"

"No, I’m not drunk."

"It looks like you’re floating when you walk."

Sophie Shaw steadied herself on the round table and, with Alaric Blackwood’s support, sat back down in her chair. "I... I think I need to rest for a moment."

Mandy Halloway, ever perceptive, immediately linked arms with Bianca Kane and said with a smile, "Bianca, do you have plans this afternoon?"

"Nothing in particular."

"I’ve invited a couple of friends to play mahjong, and we’re short one player. Bianca, would you care to join us?"

"Let’s go."

The chance to play mahjong at the same table as Mandy Halloway was more than Bianca Kane could have hoped for. She completely forgot about Sophie Shaw; she didn’t care how long Sophie needed to recover and simply followed Mandy Halloway out.

Before leaving the private room, Mandy Halloway shot a meaningful look at Quentin Blackwood and Joseph Shaw. The two men took the hint and left the room one after the other.

In the blink of an eye, only Alaric Blackwood and Sophie Shaw were left in the spacious, luxurious VIP room.

The man poured a cup of hot tea and placed it by Sophie Shaw’s hand. "Do you want some water?"

"No, thank you."

"If you can’t hold your liquor, you should drink less next time."

In reality, over the course of the meal, Sophie Shaw had only had three glasses of wine, each filled to just a third of the glass. Besides, the wine they’d chosen today wasn’t very strong.

"I’m really not drunk."

She was just stunned by the Blackwood Family’s generosity.

She sat in her chair, leaning against the soft cushioned backrest. Remembering the red envelopes Alaric Blackwood’s parents had given her for addressing them as ’Mom’ and ’Dad’, she immediately took them out of her bag and opened them.

Inside each was a bank card with the PIN written on the back.

"How much money is in here?"

Alaric Blackwood glanced at the cards and smiled nonchalantly. "Five million."

"Each?"

"Mhm."

"..."

’Ten million for the betrothal gift, another ten million for calling them Mom and Dad, and Alaric Blackwood had also given her a card with no credit limit...’

"There are also two apartments in the city center, but since the wedding is a bit rushed, the property deeds will be transferred over after the ceremony."

The happiness came on too suddenly. Sophie Shaw felt a wave of dizziness and collapsed forward, her head hitting the table.

"Hey!"

Alaric Blackwood was startled. He reached out and gently patted her cheek. "Don’t faint..."