Chapter 3

Amidst the applause, Hannah walked up to the front of the stage, where William sat with a big smile on his face.

Just as Hannah was about to take the glass of wine from the hostess to offer it to William, William's daughter, who was standing behind the hostess, gave her a sly shove.

The hostess stumbled and spilled the wine all over Hannah.

Hannah, who was already arrogant, was so furious that she didn't care about anything anymore.

She slapped the hostess right across the face in front of everyone. She snapped, "You useless idiot! Do you even know how much this dress costs? It's worth more than your whole life!"

Instantly, the whole room went dead silent.

To Hannah, her dress was priceless, but to everyone else in the room, it was merely a dress, nothing special at all.

William looked embarrassed. He gently pulled Hannah's arm and said, "Hannah, there are a lot of people watching. Mind your manners."

In my previous life, I'd gone through the exact same ordeal.

But I understood that, as a member of an elite family, every action was watched closely. The most important thing was to stay poised and dignified, and to treat others with magnanimity.

If I messed this up and embarrassed William in front of everyone, things would only get worse for me.

On the other hand, if I used this moment to show my compassion and generosity, everyone here would think more highly of me.

Back then, I simply grabbed a napkin, wiped myself off, and reassured the hostess, "Don't worry about it. It's only a dress. One wash, and it'll be fine."

Afterward, William said I handled it like a pro and complimented me for being so mature.

But Hannah clearly wasn't done stirring up drama. She practically wanted to shout to everyone that from today on, she was the untouchable heiress nobody could afford to cross.

She shook off William's hand and started whining loudly, not caring about the crowd. She said, "Dad, this is the first dress you ever bought me. There's no way I'm letting this worthless bitch get away with it today."

Her words totally pissed William off.

William was a stickler for etiquette and always kept his kids in line.

He had a reputation for caring about the poor and needy.

But now, Hannah was publicly humiliating the hostess and cursing her out right in front of everyone.

William shot Hannah a cold glare and snapped, "Don't call me Dad! Don't forget, before you became my adopted daughter, you were no better than her!"

With that, he got up and stormed out of the ballroom.

Hannah stood there, watching William's back as he left, completely lost and unsure what to do.

She couldn't understand how William, who'd been so affectionate mere moments ago, could suddenly go cold on her out of nowhere.

I let out a wry smile. I never expected Hannah to land herself in trouble so quickly.

For someone like William, reputation was everything.

He made Hannah his adopted daughter only to show everyone he was a warm and grateful man.

Hannah was so naive, thinking William treated her like a treasure simply because she was charming.

The show had barely begun, and already she was causing drama. She was definitely in for a tough time ahead.

The adoption ceremony may have been pretty awkward, but at least it wrapped up in the end.

Although William was clearly displeased, out of courtesy, he still put me and my parents up at his home, saying he wanted to give us a proper tour.

I knew William making Hannah his adopted daughter was already the talk of the town, but I never expected such a tiny incident to get picked apart and gossiped about by so many people looking for drama.

Just a few days later, the whole party fiasco was spreading like wildfire. Everyone had something to say. Most of it was people complaining about Hannah.

"Seriously, someone like her gets to be William's adopted daughter? What was he even thinking?"

"William must be out of his mind. At his age, risking his reputation for some spoiled brat."

"Who knows. Maybe Hannah is actually William's secret love child."

It was all merely rumors, but gossip spreads like wildfire and can ruin anyone's reputation.

William, always quick to catch wind of gossip, heard about the rumors in no time.

He flew into a rage and sent the antique vase in the living room crashing to the floor.

Hannah stood off to the side, scared stiff and not daring to make a sound.

From that day on, William, already upset with Hannah, never showed her a kind face again.

To make sure she wouldn't embarrass herself in public anymore, William put her through a never-ending list of etiquette lessons.

Hannah had to study everything from wine tasting to table manners, and even practice her posture and expressions.

William warned her that she wasn't allowed to set foot outside the house until she'd mastered it all.

Hannah thought she'd be living the high life. She couldn't handle this kind of grind at all.

Every day, she was either goofing off or simply lazing around.