Chapter 5 $77.77 Million As A Gift
Viola became increasingly excited as she spoke, "A friend of mine got an apartment there from her family! We're all green with envy over her."
"Okay! You'll get one, too." Edith said it without hesitation.
Viola kissed her mother on the cheek happily and said, "Great! Thank you, Mommy. I love you so much! I'll throw a party for my friends after I move in there. They'll all be jealous of me!"
Adeline frowned as she heard her sister's words and couldn't stop herself from feeling sad, although she wasn't surprised by that.
Everyone in the family thought Adeline should give her sisters whatever belonged to her.
They would accuse her of being ungrateful and cruel to her family if she said no.
Seeing Adeline's head bowed caused Curtis such profound sadness that he thought his heart might actually stop. He had violent fantasies of whipping everyone who had ever hurt her.
But he couldn't. He had to act like a gentleman at all times.
Curtis took a file from Steffen and gave it to Phillip without losing his temper.
"How about I give you some more land as a gift? I'm not sure how much to give you. How about 77.77 million dollars? That sounds like a lucky number, doesn't it?"
Phillip's eyes widened in surprise after hearing his words, and both Edith and Viola became excited.
None of them could have imagined that Adeline, a neglected child, would bring them so much money!
Adeline squeezed Curtis' shoulder in shock.
Curtis took her hand and rubbed it twice in his own before she could say anything. He said, "You don't have to say anything else, Adeline. Your father is right. I should give your family money as a gift if I marry you. If I didn't do this, everyone in town would laugh at me."
Phillip asked, glaring at Adeline, "Did you hear what he said? You should listen to him. Of course, as someone from a decent family, he knows he should give us gifts according to custom. Are you trying to ruin his reputation?"
"So, Mr. Burton, how much will you give your daughter as a wedding gift? I don't anticipate receiving much money from you. You can feel free to give her something in return," Curtis asked, nodding slightly,
"You're right. How about I give her a few antiques as a wedding gift? You gave us over seventy million dollars, but it would be inappropriate for us to give you some of the money back." Phillip nodded, pointed to the living room, and said.
What Philip meant was that he didn't want to give Curtis his money back after he got it. The Burtons had nothing to give her as a gift, but these antiques were the only things of value in their house. Philip had spent a lot of money on them, so he put them in the living room to make his guests think he was rich.
"Do you like these antiques?" Curtis asked Adeline.
A porcelain vase was the first thing Adeline noticed, which was an antique Phillip bought from an auction, and it was his favorite one.
Philip once warned her not to touch the vase after noticing her staring at it for a while. He said that the vase would shatter if she touched it since she was an unlucky child.
When Phillip noticed the vase in the direction Adeline was looking, his heart skipped a beat. He was about to say something when Adeline pointed to his precious vase and said, "I think that one's just fine."
Curtis frowned slightly to show his discontent, but he still asked Steffen to bring the vase over to Adeline. He asked, "Is there anything else you like?"
Adeline became so excited when she noticed her father's hesitation that she quickly pointed out a few more antiques.
Curtis said, shaking his head, "No offense, but you don't have a good eye for antiques. I'll teach you how to appreciate antiques in the future. Come on, Adeline! Smash it! Let's start with the one you're holding."
"You're going to smash it?" Adeline looked surprised at Curtis.
Curtis nodded, then reached out and knocked the one she held in her hands to the ground. With a loud crash to the floor, the porcelain vase shattered into shards.
Philip frowned. He had a feeling that it was not his antique that turned into pieces but his heart.
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