"Where did you acquire this?"

In Lina's entire galleria, she only displayed artwork, sculptures, structures, and everything that the eyes could see. Not a single passage or poem was found in her galleria, except two. There were no remnants of Lina's background as a Yang, except these lone words.

Lina stopped beside a couple. She stared the single phrase in the eye. A melancholy washed over her. They said she was much like her predecessors. The Yang family always cherished their daughters, seldom the sons.

Lina's attention swept to the first piece.

'From a grandfather to granddaughter he raised: Xiao Fei, don't fly away from the nest so quickly.'

Then, Lina's attention went to the second.

'From a grandmother to a granddaughter she sold as an animal: Darling, you have such a pretty face, make me proud.'

"These words, I have once told you," Rina commented whilst tightening her scarf shawl around her frail shoulders. Her eyes were glued to the paper.

The irony of this situation was far too much for her. None of the onlookers would truly understand the meaning and profoundness of the writing—no one except the Yang family.

"Have I made you proud, grandmother?" Lina asked in a frigid voice enough to turn water into ice. She didn't even glance at the woman. In her youth, Rina's words were good as law. Her grandmother raised her to be a proper young lady suitable for marriage.

Rina sold Lina like a livestock. Had it not been for Lina's strength to break free from this family, Lina would've been trapped in a loveless marriage with Everett. The man was long dead now, a bullet in the skull from either Atlantis or Kaden. Shot and murdered.

"Do you even need to know the answer?" Rina muttered, almost in disapproval. There was no remorse in her voice, just regret. "You've made a career out of something beyond your face."

Lina said nothing. She glanced at Lawrence, her grandfather. How many years has it been since she last spoke? On the day she walked out on him and resigned from the Yang Race of Heirs, she had never once looked back. She never tried to contact the man that wiped her memories and forced her to learn everything he couldn't get to do.

"I never said that to you," Lawrence finally told her, referring to the first piece. "That quote, where did you find it?"

"In the journal entry of the wife to one of the Yang family's most successful and amiable marriages," Lina murmured. "Our precessors had lovely children who knew how to cherish their sons and daughters, it is a shame their hard work went to waste on you."

Lawrence grimly smiled. He turned to her. The two of them lacked protection, despite being one of the most powerful couples in the entirety of Ritan. Rina was rarely allowed out without a team of bodyguards.

"You have flown far from your nest, have you not, my dear girl?" Lawrence fondly asked. "This job will never let you taste the glory of being one of the first female chairwomen of Yang Enterprise. Are you ever going to be satisfied with that?"

Instead of responding, Lina glanced at him for a split second. In the five and a half years that went by, Lawrence had changed. The large shoulders she used to sit on had become small and brittle. He was brimming with health, but she saw how age had taken a toil on him.

"I've built a successful art gallery. I'm working a job I love and fulfills me in every aspect. I'm dating a man that I'm willing to spend the rest of eternity with. All of the stones have been turned. Do you think I'm not satisfied?" Lina asked.

Lawrence let out a small hum. "You were always made for greatness, Lina. Is this greatness to you?"

"Yes," Lina answered in a heartbeat. "It is and always will be."

Lawrence smiled to himself. Then, he glanced in the direction of the galleria's exit. "As long as my granddaughter is happy, so will I."

Lina almost laughed at his statement. Instead of responding, she tightened her grip behind her back and continued staring ahead—at the phrases.

"What have you really come here for, grandfather?" Lina asked him. "Surely it is not to speak riddles?"

"We wanted to give you our proper blessings," Lawrence stated. "Before you are a married woman."

Lina dryly glanced at him. Shameless, through and through. "Blessings?" she echoed. "Out of everyone on this earth, I do not need it from you."

"We will give it to you regardless," Lawrence said, just as Rina stepped closer.

"For a successful marriage, you must be blessed by a couple who has one," Rina stated despite her hypocritical smile. "Though you already know the history of your grandfather and I's marriage, we are blessed with sons."

"You will never see my children," Lina abruptly told them. Finally, she turned to face them.

Rina softly gasped.historical

"I will never bring them to see you," Lina continued. "I never wish for them to lay eyes on the people that have treated my life as a pawn. You've attempted to corner me into a loveless mariage, you've attempted to put me into the same shoes as you, this generational trauma ends with me."

Without another word, Lina raised her had and saw Estella in the distance. The two shared a silent conversation. The eldery couple was to be escorted off the premise immediately.

Rina turned to her husband, almost expecting him to say something. Lawrence simply waved his hand, his cane becoming more prominent to Lina. Lina glanced and saw how tightly he was gripping it for support. Her grandfather could barely stand, and she only realized it now.

"And what of your children?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" she responded.

Lina could've sworn he was getting dementia too. Estella had reached them by now.

"If your children want to meet their only great-grandparents?" Lawrence asked in an almost humored tone.

"When that time comes, I'll make a decision. Until then, goodbye." With that said, Lina walked off, leaving them in a wake of her thudding high heels. She had entertained them enough. Yet another chapter in her life was closed today.. leaving the beginning of a final one before a new volume—her life with Kaden.