Chapter 63

“She said she had some experiment to do at school and would be back later. She should be home soon,” Janice said, glancing at the clock on the wall.

Ross wasn’t in a hurry. He was very patient when it came to waiting for his sister. “I brought her a bunch of gifts.”

“Well, Sheary’s definitely going to be over the moon,” Janice said with a smile. “A couple of days ago, Joshua gave her a really nice sports car to celebrate her return.”

Ross wasn’t surprised–he had known about it. He had been surprised back then, though.

He hadn’t expected Joshua to value Shermaine so highly–generous enough to give her a gift worth 150 million dollars. If he didn’t know Joshua wasn’t the type to get tangled up in romance, he might’ve thought the guy had feelings for his sister.

“My gifts are just as good as Joshua’s, if not better,” Ross declared.

Janice teased, “What’s with you, big brother? Competing with your future brother-in-law now?”

Ross thought, ‘Of course, I have to compete with Joshua. Shermaine is my only sister.’ It was the first time he realized he could be so obsessed with his sister.

Wendelyn, sitting nearby with her head down, had tears in her eyes.

Ever since they were kids, she’d always adored Ross because he was so exceptional. When she told others he was her brother, many girls would look at her with envy, even going out of their way to get on her good side.

But Ross had always been distant with her. It meant that, to him, she was never really his sister–just someone he barely acknowledged.

She had spent fourteen years trying to win his favor, but after all this time, she still meant nothing to him–nothing compared to Shermaine, who shared the same blood as him.

She couldn’t figure out why, even after winning over Ruth, she still couldn’t win Ross’s affection.

After a while, Ross said, “Grandma, you went to Sheary’s parent-teacher meeting today, right? How did it go?”

Janice replied, “Her classmates absolutely adore her. The teachers and parents couldn’t stop praising her, saying she’s top-notch. But can you believe it? Someone actually reported her for cheating on the midterms. Luckily, the school expelled that troublemaker. Serves her right!”

She added indignantly, “Anyone who’s been trying to bully Sheary better think twice. She’s not someone to mess with.”

Ruth’s face darkened. She felt a sting, as if she’d been indirectly criticized.

But she wasn’t the only one feeling the sting–Wendelyn felt it too. Her plan to ruin Shermaine’s reputation hadn’t just failed; it had almost backfired.

She never imagined that the so-called cheating scandal was nothing more than a malicious rumor spread by a jealous high school girl. The whole thing started because Ruth had Leslie tutor Shermaine.

But what Ross said next sent a chill down Wendelyn’s spine.

“I agree, Grandma. If anyone wants to mess with Sheary, they’ll have to go through me first,” Ross said with a warm smile. “Besides, University spread nasty rumors about Sheary on the school forum. I’ve already contacted the school, and she’s been expelled.”

Janice furrowed her brow. “Is that so?”

“Yeah,” Ross replied. The girl he mentioned wasn’t Erin; it was Yvonne. Since Yvonne had the guts to take the blame, she’d better have the courage to face the consequences.

Wendelyn bit her lip, and before long, the taste of blood spread in her mouth. “Ross, it’s all my fault. I never expected Yvie would do that.”

Janice’s cold gaze fell on her.

Ross chuckled and subtly scolded, “I’m not sure what you said to your good friend that made her think you’ve had it so rough in this family."

“But as far as I can tell, you’ve been treated pretty well, having had everything handed to you since you were little. I thought you’d know better than make things up and cause trouble.”

Wendelyn kept her head down, tears streaming down her face. “I’m sorry. I swear I didn’t say anything bad about Shermaine, I had no idea Yvie would misunderstand me like that.”

Quite protective of Wendelyn, Ruth stood and snapped, “That’s enough! It wasn’t Wendy who framed Shermaine, so why are you blaming her?”

Ross smiled without saying anything.

“Mom, it’s fine. Ross has every right to criticize me. After all, this whole thing started because of me,” Wendelyn said.

“You’re defending him? He won’t appreciate it anyway,” Ruth retorted sharply.

“Mom…” Wendelyn begged.

Ross saw through her act and grew impatient. Turning to Janice, he said, “Grandma, go ahead and continue.”

“Okay,” replied Janice.

Meanwhile, Shermaine was in the car, on her way to the Jean residence. She had a personal driver to take her around.

As they were about to arrive, Shermaine thought to herself, ‘Tonight, I need to find a way to sneak a hair from Ruth for a DNA test. I have to confirm if my suspicions are correct.’

Just then, the driver said, “Miss, we’ve arrived.”

“Got it. Thank you,” Shermaine replied, grabbing her backpack and stepping out of the car.

The night was cold, and the wind rustled the fallen leaves on the ground.

As Shermaine turned around, she noticed a Mercedes parked outside the Jean residence. Then she saw a woman lean in to kiss a middle-aged man, who appeared to be her father, Jameson, if she wasn’t mistaken.

She wasn’t wrong–it was indeed Jameson. When he got out of the car and saw Shermaine, his expression changed slightly but quickly returned to normal.