In the living room, the quarrel between the two grew heated.

Hearing the raised voices, Eva Snow came down from upstairs and cut them off sharply. “What are you arguing about? Is it really worth fighting over?”

She walked over to Fang Lin, noticing that Fang Lin was trembling with anger. Gently, she patted her back, signaling her not to get so worked up.

Zoe Carter glared at her furiously. She’d been unhappy with Fang Lin since stepping through the door—did Fang Lin think she was better than everyone else? Who did she think she was?

With her arms crossed over her chest, Zoe Carter fixed Eva Snow with a mean, sharp look, perfectly embodying the stern mother-in-law.

Eva Snow refused to back down. “This is the Xue household. If you want to cause a scene, do it elsewhere. Don’t come to my house to throw a tantrum.”

“You—” Zoe Carter was so angry she couldn’t even get her words out.

Yvonne Sung’s face fell as well. “Eva Snow, this is my mother you’re talking to. Can’t you be a little more respectful?”

He was used to people fawning over him. Yana Quinn had been that way, and so had Lauren Shaw in the past. Naturally, he expected the same from Eva Snow.

But what he forgot was, Eva Snow didn’t care for him at all—in fact, she wished she could strangle him.

She snorted. “Respect? Yvonne Sung, did you actually think marrying you makes me your wife? I’m the eldest daughter of the Snow family. Who do you think you are, to try and bargain with me?”

Standing to the side, Dean Sullivan watched all this with a deep sigh. There was no sign these two were about to be married. They looked more like sworn enemies, ready to tear each other apart.

Unwilling to stay in the Xue house any longer, he shot Yvonne Sung a glare and said in a cold voice, “I don’t care why you’re getting married or what you want out of this. I won’t be attending tomorrow’s wedding, and don’t come to me with your problems in the future. I can’t help you.”

With that, Dean Sullivan left the Xue house, his expression darker than ever.

On the day of the wedding, Old Master Xue was nowhere to be seen. It was said he was resting at home due to ill health, but the truth was, he couldn’t bear the loss of face.

The guests had all received their invitations in advance—back when the groom was Mo Qinglin. Now, seeing that Yvonne Sung had taken his place, people couldn’t help but gossip.

In her room, Eva Snow sat with finely applied makeup and a snow-white wedding dress, beautiful and graceful as a swan. Yet she couldn’t muster the slightest bit of joy.

Shen Siyi pushed open the door and came in, her expression downcast—whether for Eva Snow or herself, it was hard to say.

“Cousin,” she called quietly.

Hearing the voice, Eva Snow looked over. Despite Shen Siyi’s scheming, she genuinely cared for her cousin, and now she took her hand, guiding her to sit by the bed.

“I heard what happened,” she said gently. “Aunt must have her reasons for what she did. Don’t blame her too much.”

Her words were heavy with comfort. Shen Siyi nodded, then gritted her teeth, “It’s all that Lauren Shaw’s fault—that jinx! Every time I think of her, I could just—ugh!”

Just the thought of Lauren Shaw made her furious, jaw clenched tight.

At that moment, the door opened again. This time, it was Sean Snow.

His face lit up when he saw Eva Snow in her wedding dress. “Yueyue, congratulations! You’ve found yourself a fine man.”

He’d been abroad on a business trip. Unaware of the drama at home, it was only when he heard about Eva Snow’s wedding that he rushed back.

But Eva Snow didn’t return his smile. She glared at him, full of grievance. “A fine man? Don’t make fun of me.”

Sean Snow’s smile froze; he couldn’t understand why she seemed so upset. “Come on, this is supposed to be your big day. Why so gloomy?”

Shen Siyi interrupted him, “Cousin, don’t tease her. She’s had it rough enough today.”

“What’s so bad about getting married?” Sean Snow still had no idea about her marriage to Yvonne Sung.

“You—you get out! What are you doing in my room, barging in like this?” Eva Snow snapped, shooing him out so he wouldn’t add to her frustration.

As the wedding went on, the guests were all abuzz about the absurdity of it all.

“The Snow family sure is something—swap out the groom at the last minute!”

“Isn’t that right? And I hear today’s groom is just a live-in son-in-law. Will he be able to handle Miss Xue’s infamous temper?”

“If you ask me, this new groom isn’t any good either. He knew she was already engaged and still got involved. Just shameless!”

Nearby, Zoe Carter’s face turned green with anger. She couldn’t help pointing at their noses and shouting, “Who are you calling shameless? I think you’re the real shameless ones!”

The women didn’t know who Zoe Carter was, but seeing how riled up she was, they decided not to argue. Most of the guests at the banquet were high society types from An City, and none of them wanted trouble. They just gave Zoe Carter a strange look and edged away, resuming their whispered gossip.

Claire Xu, watching the scene, stifled a laugh and messaged Lauren Shaw on her phone.

She hadn’t really wanted to come, but curiosity got the better of her—she had to witness the ‘happy’ couple with her own eyes.

With the New Year approaching, the studio had already gone on break. Lauren Shaw was out shopping for holiday gifts with her colleagues, Yancy Shaw too busy with work to accompany her, so Yuan Ran went instead.

At the mall, Lauren Shaw wanted to check out some brands, so she let Yuan Ran pick out presents while she rode the escalator upstairs.

Sure enough, a message came from Claire Xu—she knew it’d be wedding gossip.

Claire Xu wrote: [Shengsheng, if you could only have seen Yvonne Sung’s mom’s face—she was livid. Absolutely priceless!]

That’s exactly why she’d gone: to enjoy the drama. Most of the guests at this wedding were just there for the spectacle, and Zoe Carter herself felt so stifled it was worse than at the Xue house.

After leaving the store, Lauren Shaw bumped into a familiar face—Yana Quinn.

Even with makeup and a baseball cap, Lauren Shaw could still see the exhaustion in her eyes. Yana Quinn looked much thinner these days, frail and delicate; yet Lauren Shaw remembered how forceful she’d been that night, beating up Eva Snow.

Lauren Shaw averted her gaze, about to pass by, but Yana Quinn stopped her.

“It’s been a while, Lauren Shaw.”

Lauren Shaw paused, then replied coolly, “Better if we never meet again.”

She wasn’t a saint—no way she could treat Yana Quinn like an old friend. Far better to consider her a stranger.

Yana Quinn’s face stayed calm, undisturbed by Lauren Shaw’s chilly words. She gave a light laugh, “Did you know Yvonne Sung’s getting married today?”

“What’s that got to do with me?” Lauren Shaw shot back. He could do whatever he wanted; she had her own life to live.

Yana Quinn said quietly, “You’re really good at letting go. It’s like none of this ever mattered to you.”