Kyle parked the car and looked around hesitantly, fearing his car would not be safe there.

Antonette read Kyle's mind, though, and tried to comfort him, "Take it easy. People here are too shy to touch your car. They've never seen anything like it."

That much was true. Kyle felt quite relieved.

Then Antonette walked Kyle to the residential building where she lived. His face twisted in pain when looking at the ground covered with trash and dirt.

"This place is going to be renovated, right?" Kyle asked, straight out.

Antonette glanced at him and nodded, "Yes. After demolition, we'll get a large sum of money to relocate and move out of this hellhole."

Kyle was absorbed in thought, before asking, "So marrying into money would help you get out of here?"

"No, it's a change rather than an escape. Same as you are longing for the top position in the William family, that is also a change."

Kyle didn't express an opinion on her words but raised his eyebrows.

Walking along, they stopped in front of one of the least run-down houses. Antonette looked at the house for a while and then turned to Kyle, "Here we are."

Kyle was still hoping for a way out of the situation, but once Antonette had entered the house, he had to follow.

There was a strong smell of damp in the dark corridor. Dust and spider webs were everywhere. The banister beside the staircase was rusted to the point that it could barely support any weight.

Finally, Antonette stopped in front of a green iron cage protecting a stained, white door. Then she took out her keys to open the many locks.

As they entered, Antonette shouted out a cold greeting, "Mum, I'm back."

Kyle stayed at the doorway, wondering how to introduce himself.

"I thought you'd forgotten your own home. Did you come back to check if I was dead?" A shrill, rasping voice came ringing out from the other room.

Was that Antonette's mother? Kyle remained hesitant.

At the same time, Antonette produced a scathing grin as she shouted out, "I brought my boyfriend to see you."

A clatter of noise sounded from the other room, and a small, thin woman came out. She wore an old corduroy skirt, her face framed by shoulder-length, blonde hair. It was clear that she had been a beauty when she was young, but now there was a malicious quality to her.

"Nice to meet you, madam. I'm… Antonette's boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?" Antonette's mother let out a sneer, "You must be a gigolo that this wicked girl hired, right? How could a liar like my daughter get a boyfriend?"

"Mother!" Can't you stop badmouthing your own daughter?!"

"Excuse me?" Antonette's mother looked sharply at Kyle. Her viperous glance struck him deep in his soul.

"He doesn't love you at all. One glance is enough for me to know that. Look at him; he can't even bring himself to enter the house."

Jenny was very observant, for indeed, their relationship was different from that of a normal couple.

Kyle didn't expect Antonette's mother would be such a creature. All he could do was wait to see how Antonette dealt with the situation.

Antonette felt too ashamed to show her face now. She bit her lip and struggled to say, "So what? We have an arrangement. And he is very wealthy. But I can accomplish what you couldn't! I'm better than you, mother!"

"A deal?" Jenny burst out laughing at hearing her daughter's words, "Do you think you are clever? Such 'cleverness' will always come undone!"

After that, she looked back at Kyle and questioned him, "What's your name? She says you're rich, so what family are you from?"

Kyle had never been treated in this way. He winced with dissatisfaction.

"Have you ever heard of the William family?"

"The William's?"

All of a sudden, Jenny's complexion changed completely. She stared at Kyle as if he were a piece of shit. "Who is Simon William to you?" she hissed venomously.

"To me?" Kyle looked at Jenny with suspicion, "He is my uncle. Do you know him?"

"Uncle. Hahaha. He is your uncle!" There was a weird expression on Jenny's face.

Antonette also realized something was wrong with her mother, but before she could react, her mother rushed to Kyle and pushed him away.

"Get out! The William family is not welcome here!" she shouted.

"What are you doing?" Antonette lost her temper as well and dragged Jenny White away.

Out of nowhere, Jenny White lashed out and slapped Antonette's face hard as she tried to grab her hands.

The sound of the slap echoed through the apartment.

Kyle was in amazement. This mother-daughter relationship was utterly abnormal! He adjusted his tie and tried to slink away without being noticed.

"Hang on, Kyle!" Antonette was going to pursue him, but Jenny White pulled her back.

"Where do you think you're going?!" Jenny screamed at her daughter.

Antonette got crazy with anger and fiercely pushed her mother away.

"You are jealous of me for finding a rich man?!"

Without hesitation, Jenny gave Antonette a second, fierce slap to the face.

"Antonette White, are you that cheap? Why did you have to get into a relationship with the William family?"

Antonette covered her face as tears filled her eyes.

"Why am I not allowed to do that? I just love money…"

Suddenly, a distant memory struck Antonette after seeing the despair on her mother's face.

After a long time, Antonette struggled to say, "The man…the man you told me about is…"

***

"Yes." Jenny White ground her teeth in resentment, "It was Simon William."

The realization felt like a bomb had exploded in Antonette's mind. She flopped down to the ground.

Was her mother, Simon William's mistress? Antonette was dumbstruck.

But her shock soon turned to joy as she murmured, "Simon William is my father, that means I'm one of them! If I return to the William family, I can get whatever I like!"

Crack!

Yet another heavy slap came raining down on Antonette.

"Don't talk nonsense!" her mother yelled.

"I know Simon William didn't accept you, but I am his daughter. He has to accept me. I'll try every means to get back into that family, and there's nothing you can do about it!" Antonette stood up and stared at her mother in the face.

Leaving her words to linger, Antonette picked up her bag and rushed out without a backward glance.

Antonette ran out to the street but found Kyle's car had already pulled away. She was running as fast as she could but couldn't catch up with him.

With no other option, Antonette hailed a passing taxi and gave the driver Kyle's address.

She was not allowed to marry Kyle, but she had a bigger chip in her hand now.

What Jenny said did make sense. However, once she proved her identity to Simon, her father, he would have to admit the truth.

As for how to reveal her identity, she needed Kyle's help.

Meanwhile, Kyle was extremely angry; he had never expected it would be such an ordeal for him to visit Antonette's home.

The car shot down the road at high speed, until gradually Kyle calmed down. As he did so, a thought suddenly occurred to him.

Why did Jenny White reject him after she knew he was a William? Could it be that she had some kind of relationship with his family?

Thinking of that, Kyle parked his car and called Antonette.

Antonette was in the taxi, burning with anxiety. When her phone started to ring, she was slow to answer but seeing Kyle's name appear on the screen, Antonette was ecstatic.

"Kyle, I have something important to tell you."

Kyle replied coldly, "I need to ask you something. See you later."

Saying just that, Kyle hung up.

The sudden hang-up held Antonette in a trance. She gritted her teeth and swore that she would succeed and become a member of the William family this time. After that, nobody would dare to look down on her!

When they met back in Kyle's grandfather's residence, Kyle was still indifferent towards Antonette. In fact, after today's incident, he despised her even more.

Kyle despaired at women such as Antonette and her mother. No matter what, a woman should remain elegant. Behaving like a lout and being violent couldn't settle anything.

And it seemed that Antonette was very much like her mother, a mean, shameless tart.

"What do you want?" Kyle grunted.

His contempt put Antonette immediately on edge.

"There are good reasons for me to quarrel with my mum. Don't think badly of me, please."

"Oh, don't worry, I understand who you are. And I don't care about you one bit," Kyle said coolly. "The only reason I agreed to see you is that we have a deal."

Hearing that, Antonette didn't get angry, but let out a fake laugh.

"You still don't see me as your ally. Even after we had s.e.x and now…"

"Shut up!" Kyle chided her, "Talking about what happened between us as I wanted it. Do you have any self-respect?"

"Kyle now is not the time to be pure and lofty. If you want to inherit your family fortune, some questionable methods will be needed. And that's why I'm here."

"What kind of dirty tricks do you want to play this time?"

Antonette grinned, ready to play her trump card.

"Kyle, maybe you don't know, but I'm Simon Williams' illegitimate daughter."

"What?" Kyle was startled. "You can't joke about this kind of thing."

"Simon William had many relationsh.i.p.s with women of his age, one of whom was my mother. So it's possible that I'm his daughter," Antonette explained.

"Where's the evidence?" Kyle was still unconvinced.

Antonette let out a sigh, "That's the point. He had so many lovers when he was young. It is very likely that he has many illegitimate offspring. But why haven't they revealed that fact? I believe he rejected the chance to have a relationship with them and simply bought their silence."

"Get to the point," Kyle interjected.

"My mother wouldn't lie about this. What I need now is enough public opinion to push my way into the William family. Otherwise…"

There was a sinister look on Antonette's face.

"Otherwise, what? Don't you ever get tired of scheming?"

"Who are you to look down upon me? In fact, we are in the same boat. Maybe the discrimination you have suffered from the William's is no less than what I have. How is Brian's attitude towards you? How about the William family in general? How does that make you feel?"

Antonette's words hit right on Kyle's biggest insecurities. Immediately, his face turned dark.

"I don't need you to remind me!" His facial muscles contorted in anger.

Seeing Kyle was wavering, Antonette continued to exert herself.

"Kyle, if you want to make something better in your life, I can give you a hand, as long as you help me to prove my identity. I guarantee I'll support you to contend with Brian for the position of heir to the William throne.

"Enough with this, it's all empty promises." Kyle slowly turned around. Only indifference was left on his face.