Chapter 7 The Birthday Banquet
Holly was stunned as well.
All these luxury cars were worth 50 or 60 million.
Miah walked over casually and opened the boot of one of the cars at random, only to discover that it was filled with astonishing items.
“Antiques from the Ottoman Empire. One kilogram of saffron.”
Miah listed each item one by one.
Sweeping her eyes around, she caught sight of a royal blue jewellery box at the centre of the items.
When she opened it and looked inside, she saw a magnificent diamond crown.
Each diamond on the crown shone brilliantly, untouched by the passage of time.
“This crown was custom-made by the world’s best jeweller for Queen Sylvia and is priceless. It’s so beautiful!” Miah couldn’t help exclaiming in admiration at this item.
When Eliza saw this, her eyes turned green with envy.
She had received a lot of gifts over the past few days which allowed her to gain some pride before her friends and family.
But right now, her gifts were simply a pile of rubbish when compared with the proposal gifts before her.
All of her gifts combined were still inferior to any one of Miah’s items!
“Why? Why does this village girl have it all!” Eliza thought, fuming internally as she gnashed her teeth.
Miah closed the trunk lightly.
She knew that there was no need to look through the other items.
If the car she had randomly opened already contained such valuable items, the rest would surely contain equally extravagant and priceless items too.
Turning to Emilio, Miah said, “Please thank Mr. Gallagher for me for his trouble.”
Emilio smiled, having grown accustomed to Bobby’s way of doing things. “Mr. Gallagher has said that as long as the future Mrs. Gallagher likes something, he’ll personally obtain it for you, even if it’s the moon in the sky.”
Miah smirked.
Emilio was trying to gauge her intentions.
The underlying meaning of his words was that once she and Bobby were married, there was no limit to what she could have.
However, if she didn’t marry him, it would be a different story.
Miah’s fingers tapped lightly on the cover of the car boot and just as she was about to speak, Grandma Sampson came running out.
“O-Oh! Oh my!
“Heavens me!
“Look Miah, look at all this! That saffron earlier is the rarest spice in the world!
“What are you waiting for, accept the gifts! Hurry up and thank Bobby and Mr. Emilio too!”
Even if Grandma Sampson disliked Miah, she wanted the saffron for herself.
But just as she was about to open the boot, Emilio pressed down on it with one of his hands.
Grandma Sampson looked up, stunned. “What are you doing, Mr. Emilio?”
Emilio kept a polite smile on his face as he spoke formally. “Mr. Gallagher was unable to make a personal appearance today, but he did ask me to pass on a message on his behalf.
“All of these items are for Ms. Sampson and Ms. Sampson alone.
“In other words, other than Ms. Sampson, none of you can touch them!
“Mr. Gallagher also said that his family doesn’t typically expect a dowry from the bride’s family, but it doesn’t mean that they will permit the future Mrs. Gallagher to suffer any bit of grievance.
“Therefore, the 10 million that was left behind by Jasmin Meyers must be returned in full to Ms. Sampson. Otherwise, don’t blame him for no longer being courteous to your family.”
The Sampsons all gasped upon hearing what was said.
Any one of the items in the car that was part of Bobby’s proposal gift was easily worth more than 10 million dollars.
It was obvious that he didn’t want the 10 million for himself, but rather he wanted to protect Miah.
At this point, no matter how biased Dylan was, he could only bite the bullet and say, “We understand Mr. Gallagher’s message. Please inform him once you’ve returned, Mr. Emilio, that if things work out between our two families, the 10 million dollars…
“…will be given to Miah!” Dylan gritted his teeth and forced himself to utter the last part.
“It’s great that you were able to come to a decision, Mr. Sampson.” Emilio smiled. Then, looking at Miah respectfully, he asked. “Any opinions on this matter, Ms. Sampson?”
Miah played with a strand of her hair as she responded, “No objections.
“Since we’ve reached a consensus, let’s announce this during my grandmother’s 70th birthday banquet that will be taking place in a week. With so many friends and family as witnesses, there would be no need to worry about anyone playing tricks on each other.”
“As for these gifts,
“please have Mr. Gallagher take care of them for me first. Once the matter of the inheritance has been settled, we will immediately register our marriage together!”
…
A week later on Grandma Sampson’s 70th birthday.
Many people had gathered at the Sampson family’s villa today, among which were some of their business partners.
While everyone had come with the intention of celebrating Grandma Sampson’s birthday, they were also curious about the Sampsons’ eldest daughter who had just returned and wanted to see what kind of person she was.
Currently, Eliza had locked herself in her room upstairs and was refusing to come out.
“Open the door, Eliza! All the guests have arrived; it’s just you left!” Holly was trying to persuade her to join the festivities downstairs.
“I’m not going!” Eliza shouted angrily. “The money that was supposed to be mine is going to be given to that b*tch Miah, so what’s the point in me showing my face? Just to humiliate myself?”
Looking around to make sure there was no one else close by, Holly said, “Are you stupid!
“Your father dotes on you so much, how could he possibly give the money to that good-for-nothing Miah? Do you really think that she went missing all those years by chance? It was…
“Forget it, let’s not talk about the past. Your father had no choice but to say what he had said to Mr. Emilio that day after hearing Bobby’s message!
“He’s already told me that eight out of the ten million will be yours, or at most the money will be split in half between the both of you, which will still be enough for you to further your studies!
“So dress yourself up a little prettier today and just find any young man downstairs to date. Once you’ve gone abroad in future and have found yourself a rich man to marry, do you really need to worry about how you’ll be living for the rest of your life?
“Just hurry up, go downstairs, and wait for the show!”
Holly’s words gave Eliza hope again.
Their voices weren’t loud and there was no one around them, so Holly and Eliza both thought that the content of their conversation was known only to them.
Little did they know that Miah had long had the entire villa under secret surveillance.
In a different room upstairs.
Miah, who was sitting crossed-legged and dressed in a luxurious black gown and high heels, had clearly witnessed Holly and Eliza’s exchange from a screen.
Looking at the screen, she sneered as she easily made a copy of the recording and then headed downstairs to the banquet hall.
…
“Are you sure you don’t want to let everyone know you’re here, Mr. Gallagher?”
“Not necessary.”
On the surface, he had rejected the invitation to the Sampson family’s banquet, but in actual fact, he had discretely arrived at the Sampson family’s villa.
Reason being he wanted to see for himself the Sampsons’ true attitude towards Miah.
Bobby sat in his wheelchair in a secluded corner on the first floor.
Emilio knew that this was the best place to oversee the festivities while remaining unnoticed.
The Sampsons every word and movement were all within Bobby’s grasp.
The hall was filled with a lively atmosphere when Dylan picked up the microphone.
“Dear esteemed guests! Today, there is another cause for celebration that I would like to announce!
“That is, I’ve found my long-lost biological daughter!
“Let’s all give a loud round of applause to welcome my eldest daughter,
“Miah Sampson!”
