After Divorce I Married a Tycoon-Chapter 24: Worst Comes to Worst, Mutual Destruction
Scarlett Jewel was naturally smug.
All her scheming and conniving hadn’t been for nothing...
She was one step closer to her goal.
After tearing her gaze away from Claire Mercer, she turned to Julian Mercer and Judith Caldwell with a demure look.
"Mom, Dad, I’m so lucky to have found you."
"Let’s not talk about the past. I know you didn’t mean for it to happen."
"So from now on, let’s be there for each other."
"And slowly make up for all the lost years."
Just look at her!
So sweet, so understanding.
She didn’t blame them for losing her all those years ago.
She didn’t chastise them for the mistake that left her, a small child, to wander alone for over twenty years.
Instead, she was the one gently and maturely comforting them.
Judith Caldwell pulled Scarlett Jewel into a hug, sobbing with a torrent of what seemed like genuine emotion.
"My precious, sweet daughter. Oh, my darling."
"When you went missing, I thought I’d never see you again. I was so devastated I wanted to die..."
"We’ve spent all these years searching high and low for you..."
"Now that we’ve finally found you, my life is complete."
From below the stage, Claire Mercer watched Judith Caldwell become a sobbing, snotty mess.
She showered Scarlett Jewel with terms of endearment, calling her "precious," "darling," and "my sweet girl"...
When Claire recalled the venomous, cruel way Judith always treated her, those tears became a painful, glaring sight.
Just then, Roxanne Peyton and Stella Thorne found her.
They were worried she wouldn’t be able to handle this sudden turn of events.
One moment she was the esteemed young lady of the Mercer family, and the next, she was a fake, an imposter with unknown parents and a mysterious background.
The Mercer family wasn’t some top-tier, wealthy clan, but they could at least offer her some protection in Rhonia.
And before today, she had always believed her parents were Julian Mercer and Judith Caldwell.
But now, with the truth of her identity revealed, she didn’t even know who she was anymore.
’There’s no denying it,’ they thought. ’Our friend’s life is just tragic.’
’First, her husband cheats on her, and now she finds out her parents aren’t even her own.’
Roxanne Peyton and Stella Thorne looked at her, their faces etched with worry.
"Claire, are you..."
Claire Mercer shook her head, forcing a smile.
"I’m fine. I should have seen this coming."
’In truth, she didn’t care that much about not being the Mercer’s daughter.’
’Growing up, her life in the Mercer household had been no different from that of a servant.’
’Whenever she was home, she had to serve the three of them their rice and soup at mealtimes.’
’She waited on them like a maid, only allowed to eat after they were nearly finished.’
’Judith Caldwell always told her that a woman’s duty after marriage was to serve her husband and in-laws.’
’This was just to help her practice and get used to it ahead of time.’
’But it had all just been an excuse.’
’Deep down, they had never seen her as a daughter.’
Now that she knew she wasn’t a Mercer, she felt an unexpected sense of relief.
It was as if the bitterness she had suppressed for so long was finally released.
"Claire, don’t be upset," Stella Thorne said, still trying to comfort her.
Claire Mercer patted her hand.
"I’m really all right."
’She really wasn’t that upset about discovering she wasn’t a Mercer.’
’She just found it hard to accept that the *real* Mercer heiress was the homewrecker who had destroyed her marriage.’
’What was she going to do now?’
’Even though the Mercers had treated her poorly, they had still raised her, after all.’ 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂
’If she wanted to get revenge on Scarlett Jewel in the future, would she have to consider the feelings of her adoptive parents?’
’The biological daughter stole the adopted daughter’s husband...’
’And now the adopted daughter wants revenge on the biological daughter...’
’This kind of melodrama was something you only saw in TV shows.’
Roxanne Peyton, unaware that Scarlett Jewel was the mistress, continued to comfort Claire.
"If worse comes to worst, you can move in with me. My mom adores you; she’s wanted to make you her goddaughter for ages."
Hearing this, Adrian Sutton, who was standing nearby, couldn’t help but scoff inwardly.
’Even if Claire had nowhere else to go, it wouldn’t be the Peyton family’s place to take her in.’
’Her future husband hadn’t even had his say yet.’
Claire Mercer didn’t want them to worry, so she joked,
"Alright. If I ever truly have nowhere to go, don’t blame me for coming over to steal your mom."
The words had barely left her mouth when she heard someone call out, "Sister."
Claire Mercer looked up and saw Scarlett Jewel on stage, calling to her.
’Her intention was obvious: to invite the ’fake daughter’ onto the stage and subject her to the judgment of the crowd’s stares.’
Claire Mercer didn’t move.
Her cool eyes remained fixed on Scarlett Jewel, who was still on stage.
When Scarlett Jewel saw her just staring, showing no sign of coming up to play along with her act, her expression immediately crumpled into a wounded look.
"Sister, does this mean you won’t accept me?"
"I know my sudden return must be difficult for you to accept."
"But I hope that we can be true sisters, get along peacefully, and take good care of Mom and Dad together. What do you say?"
Claire Mercer smiled.
’So gentle, understanding, and dutiful in public.’
’But behind the scenes, a manipulative homewrecker who destroys other people’s families.’
’How could one person be so two-faced?’
’How could someone be so thick-skinned? So utterly shameless.’
’She suddenly felt that Scarlett Jewel had truly gone too far.’
’Stealing Gavin Sinclair was one thing; Claire couldn’t even be bothered to fight her for that scumbag.’
’But why did she have to twist the knife in her heart in front of everyone?’
’Did she really plan to crush me under her heel today?’
’Did being the Mercer heiress really make her that brazen?’
’Was she really that eager to get me on stage?’
’Fine, then.’
’If I’m going down, I’m taking her with me.’
’After all, she’d only ever felt suppression from the Mercers, never a shred of affection.’
’And now the real heiress was being so aggressive. As someone with nothing left to lose, she had nothing to fear.’
’If I don’t teach her a lesson, she’ll really think she can walk all over me.’
After collecting her thoughts, composing herself, and making her decision, Claire Mercer took a deep breath.
With captivating grace, she smoothed her long hair, which cascaded over her chest, and began to walk slowly toward the stage with elegant strides.
The moment Claire Mercer stepped onto the stage, Scarlett Jewel, standing beside her, was instantly eclipsed, her own light dimming in comparison.
How could a tiny star hope to compete with the bright moon?
Seeing the incomparably dazzling Claire Mercer before her, the smile on Scarlett Jewel’s face nearly faltered.
’How had she not noticed how beautiful Claire was when they met before?’
’Not only was she stunningly beautiful, but she had an amazing figure, too?’
’That was it.’
’Before, she was so devoted to Gavin Sinclair, content to be his frumpy caretaker, that she never bothered with her appearance.’
’Now, with just a little effort, she was this stunning, like a completely different person.’
’If Gavin Sinclair saw her like this, would he be even more reluctant to divorce her?’
A deep sense of unease once again rose in Scarlett Jewel’s heart.
’But then she remembered she was pregnant. The Sinclair Family would never allow their bloodline to be illegitimate.’
With that thought, Scarlett Jewel instantly felt she had the upper hand again.
She maintained her gentle, sweet smile and grabbed Claire Mercer’s hand.
To onlookers, the two sisters looked very close, but only Claire knew how much force Scarlett was using to grip her hand.
"Sister, thank you for being willing to accept me."
"Even though Mom and Dad didn’t give birth to you, they raised you with such meticulous care."
"And even though they didn’t raise me, I’m grateful to them for giving me life."
"So from now on, let’s be true sisters and take good care of Mom and Dad together, okay?"
’What a master of the ’green tea’ arts.’
Claire Mercer’s red lips curled into a dazzlingly beautiful smile.
"You’re right, Sister."
"We shouldn’t just take good care of Mom and Dad together."
"It seems you’re also very eager to ’serve’ alongside me..."
Claire Mercer drew out the last word, leaning in slowly to whisper in Scarlett Jewel’s ear.
"Should I tell everyone right now that you’re a homewrecker? So many of Rhonia’s most prominent guests are right here, after all."
"Look, they’re all watching us. I bet they’d be very interested to hear about you being a mistress, don’t you think?"
