Her Rebirth.

Time quickly passed, and it was soon the day of the birthday. Amelia wore a simple flared white gown with white stilettos. Around her neck was a white rose choker paired with little pearl drop earrings. Her hair was packed into a low bun, and overall, she looked elegant.

"Aunty, it is so nice to see you. Every time I lay my eyes on you, you seem to look younger," Amelia flattered, a fake smile splattered on her face.

"Ahh, don't flatter me. I can clearly see the wrinkles on my face," a woman dressed in complete luxury gushed, though a smile was clearly on her lips.

"Ahh, but Aunty, despite the wrinkles, you still look so young and beautiful."

Amelia already had quite a bad reputation with her relatives. She resented them because she felt they were pretentious hypocrites. While she was right, Amelia Volemont felt that she was also quite foolish. The world was filled with hypocrites, and everyone was pretentious to an extent. Fighting with the very people that you could use for your bidding wasn't the smartest thing to do. In high society, you could only grow stronger by mingling with the so-called pretentious hypocrites, and the high society of then was no different from the gatherings of elites in this modern world.

Amelia was trying to patch up the already strained relationships with the aim that it might help in the fulfillment of her goals at the banquet.

"You look quite pretty yourself," the woman said, her eyes scanning Amelia with newfound appreciation. "You've become more elegant and mature."

Amelia let out a soft chuckle, tilting her head slightly. "Aunty, you flatter me. I merely learned from observing refined ladies like yourself."

The woman laughed, clearly pleased by the compliment. "Such a sweet talker. If I weren't already engaged, I'd have introduced you to my son."

"Oh, Aunty," Amelia smiled, her tone light and playful. "If you keep praising me like this, I might start believing I'm truly exceptional."

"You are, my dear." The woman took a sip from her glass before her gaze turned slightly more curious. "Speaking of which, how is your relationship with Ace?"

For a fleeting second, Amelia's smile faltered, just the slightest tremor, barely noticeable, but enough for the woman to catch. She quickly washed away the expression, her lips curling into a seemingly serene smile. "Splendid, of course."

The woman narrowed her eyes slightly. "Are you sure?" her voice tinged with doubt.

Amelia hesitated, lowering her lashes as if debating whether she should speak. Then, she whispered softly, her voice seemingly on the verge of tears, "Aunty... Ace says he doesn't love me. The one he loves is Lilac." Her fingers lightly brushed the rim of her wine glass, as if composing herself. "I understand. It was an arranged engagement, after all. But still... I had hoped..." Her voice trailed off melancholically.

The woman's expression softened—how could she not understand? With a gentle pat on Amelia's back, she sighed, "Oh, my dear. Men can be foolish creatures. Don't let this bring you down. Everything will be alright."

Amelia looked up, her lips curving into a slightly bittersweet smile. "Thank you, Aunty. Your words mean a lot."

The woman was Marie Denver, married to the CEO of a top multinational luxury goods company, Lavienne. Marie was a third cousin to Mason Cosgrove before she was married off to the Denver heir to strengthen the ties of the Cosgrove family. However, just like Mason, Marie Denver's husband was no stranger to infidelity. It was so bad that before Marie gave birth to her first child, her husband already had five children outside the marriage.

Marie Denver, while a bit hurt, did not care. As long as her son was the heir of the Denver family, she would turn a blind eye to his affairs.

The atmosphere, once filled with lively chatter, quickly quieted down. She looked up, and from above, she saw a door open, and her grandfather, the head of the Cosgrove family, walked in.

He was dressed in a finely tailored traditional suit, his silver hair neatly combed back, and in his hand was a golden walking stick, its top crested in diamonds. Despite his old age, his posture was still quite imposing.

He walked down the golden stairs nobly and sat on the grand throne placed at the head of the hall.

Almost instinctively, the guests straightened, their expressions shifting into ones of utmost respect.

"Thank you all for coming to celebrate this old man's birthday. Though I've been out of the purview for quite a number of years now, seeing you all here to celebrate with me warms my heart. I hope you all enjoy today as much as I do."

After the heartfelt speech, one after the other, families and individuals of the upper echelon of society began to approach him, offering their greetings while presenting lavish gifts such as exquisite paintings from renowned artists, sculptures carved by master craftsmen, rare diamonds, and jades that shimmered under the banquet lights.

"Amelia!" Amelia heard a cutesy voice call out to her, which made her inwardly shiver.

Before she could respond, she felt her hand being grabbed by none other than Lilac.

Amelia felt the urge to pull her hand away, but she had an appearance she was seeking to maintain in front of Marie.

"We've been looking for you everywhere! Hope you weren't causing trouble again?" Lilac said in a scolding tone.

Amelia looked at her coldly but didn't respond. Instead, she turned to Marie, offering her a small smile, then said, "My sister wishes to steal me from you. I have to get going now."

Lilac's eyes widened in surprise, shocked that Amelia even acknowledged her as her sister in front of other people. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Marie gave her a small nod, and Amelia walked away with Lilac. Once they were out of sight, Amelia said coldly,

"Let go of my hand."

Lilac smiled, though it didn't quite reach her eyes.

"How could I, sister? I finally got the chance to hold you; how could I let you go?"

A frown formed on Amelia's face; she was getting quite annoyed.

"Don't make me say it again. Let go."

"And then what? Push me away? Shout at me? What do you think will happen?" Lilac's smile fell. "Want to test it out?"

With that statement, Lilac pulled her hand away, her body heading for the cold floor.