“Well, this whole mess is my fault.” He let out a heavy breath. “I practically forced you to marry her. I know you resent me for that. 

“Honestly, you were never good enough for Tess. If you’re so into that Charlotte lady, maybe you should just divorce Tess. 

“Actually, I don’t even want you as my grandson anymore. Once you divorce her, you can pack your things and get out of the Ziegler family. From now on, Tess will be my granddaughter, and I’ll find her a man who actually knows how to treat her well.” 

Ethan was rendered speechless. He wondered if the man before him was really his grandfather. He sprang to his feet, furious, and snapped, “You wish!” 

It wasn’t clear if his retort was about divorcing Tessa or cutting ties with David. After all, there was no way he was talking about agreeing to let David find Tessa a new husband, right? 

However, Tessa was unaware of all this and had no interest in it. She was busy researching the details of the cornea donor. 

Her eye condition had worsened. The time she could see was getting shorter with each passing day. 

Tessa was afraid that if she didn’t act fast, even if she found the donor, she might not get a chance to have the surgery at all. 

Fortunately, anything could be achieved with enough money. After offering a generous reward, she finally found out that her cornea donor was a nine-year-old boy named Callum Moore. 

His mother, Elyse Molina, worked as a waitress and was scheduled to work at an event that night. 

Tessa decided to attend the event, hoping to meet Elyse and figure out why they had backed out of the donation. She wanted to see if there was any chance she could convince them to reconsider. 

The odds were slim, but she refused to give up without trying. 

At 8:00 pm, Tessa arrived at the event, dressed in a sleek white mermaid dress. 

Unfortunately, she ran into Charlotte and Jennie Scott before she could find Elyse. 

Jennie was the eldest daughter of the Scott family. Before the Langford family hit rock bottom, people often compared her to Tessa. 

But no matter how hard Jennie tried, she couldn’t hold a candle to Tessa in looks, poise, talent, or knowledge. That always rubbed Jennie the wrong way. Whenever they were in the same room, they would inevitably clash fiercely. 

After the Langford family’s fall, Tessa was rescued by Ethan and, by a twist of fate, became his wife. She rarely appeared at social events, choosing instead to focus on being a devoted housewife. 

That left Jennie, who had been eagerly waiting to mock her, with no chance to do so. When she finally saw Tessa, she immediately approached her. 

“Well, well, well. Look who it is. Isn’t this Tessa Langford, the daughter of that unscrupulous doctor, Adam Langford, and the so-called top socialite?” 

Jennie’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “Not to be rude, but Tessa, how do you still have the nerve to show your face here? 

“Your father did so many awful things. I thought you’d be too ashamed to go on living and would just end it with him. But I guess you’re shameless enough to still hang around, huh? Are you doing okay? Does your conscience hurt?” 

Tessa had dealt with Jennie enough times to know the drill. The more she engaged with her, the worse it got. Jennie wouldn’t let it go. 

Tessa was there that day with a purpose and had no time for pointless arguments with Jennie. So, she just ignored the latter, acting as though Jennie was talking nonsense. Without missing a beat, she turned to find Elyse. 

Unfortunately, while she wanted to avoid conflict, there was always someone who wouldn’t let her. 

“Ms. Scott, you shouldn’t talk to Ms. Langford like that.” Charlotte suddenly appeared, seemingly defending Tessa. 

“Ms. Langford may not even be aware of her father’s actions. It’s unfair to judge her like that.” 

After delivering her holier-than-thou speech, she turned to Tessa, smiled, and said, “Ms. Langford, I’m sure you’re here to find Ethan, right? But I’m afraid that you might have wasted your trip. He’s not here today. 

“After you disappeared at the amusement park, Ethan seemed pretty upset. If you want to apologize, I can pass the message along.” 

Tessa, looking at Charlotte’s delicate face, felt nothing but disgust. 

“Who do you think you are, Charlotte? Ethan is my husband. If I need to say something to him, I’ll say it directly. There’s no need for you to play messenger. 

“We’re not even divorced yet, but you’re already so eager to announce to the world that you’ve been eyeing the position of Mrs. Ziegler? Is that why you’ve meddled in our marriage and stirred up trouble between us? Was it all to force me into divorcing him and fulfill your so-called love? 

“Most mistresses try to hide their affair, but you’re flaunting it like a badge of honor. You’ve really taken boldness to a new level!” 

Tessa, Ethan, and Charlotte’s relationship wasn’t exactly a secret in their social circle. But there was a big difference between what was whispered behind closed doors and what was said out loud. 

Now, Tessa had just exposed everything for all to see. 

Charlotte’s face immediately reddened with embarrassment. She looked like she wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear. 

Nevertheless, she weakly attempted to defend herself. “You’ve misunderstood, Ms. Langford. Ethan and I aren’t what you think we are. There’s nothing between us.” 

“Really? Then why are you calling him ‘Ethan’ so familiarly? Why not just call him ‘Mr. Ziegler’? Does that title burn your tongue?” 

Charlotte was completely taken aback, unable to respond as the people around them all threw her mocking glances. She felt like she had been stripped bare and put on display in front of the crowd. 

Embarrassed and angry, she quickly covered her face and spun around, fleeing the scene. In her rush, she collided with someone. 

The crash was followed by the sharp sound of a wine glass shattering. Wine splashed all over Charlotte, and she instantly exploded in fury. 

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! Are you alright?” 

Hearing the apology, Charlotte looked up and realized that she had bumped into a woman in a waitress’ uniform. 

Seething with anger, she saw an outlet for her frustration. Without hesitation, she slapped the woman across the face. 

She roared, “Are you blind? Watch where you’re going! If your eyes don’t work, you might as well donate them! What a waste to keep them in your face!” 

The waitress clutched her cheek but didn’t dare to lose her temper. Even though she was the one who was bumped into, she was the one apologizing. 

“I’m sorry. I genuinely didn’t mean to. I’m so sorry.” She tried to wipe the wine off Charlotte’s dress with a napkin, but the latter smacked her hand away. 

“Get away from me! Don’t touch me with your filthy hands!”