Being upright was a good thing for the people but a bad thing for the opponents.

“Do you worry about other people’s business at such a young age?” Odalys asked, smiling as she cupped Freya’s face in her hands. She leaned close to her ear and whispered, “Why are we talking about such heavy topics? Let me tell you something awesome.”

She was trying to avoid the topic of Officer Hersey and didn’t want to continue the conversation.

Freya was stunned. When she heard what Odalys whispered in her ear, she almost jumped up and exclaimed in disbelief, “What? Edie’s villa was sealed up? Dam. That’s fucking awesome! What goes around comes around!” Freya’s eyes were red with excitement.

After all, she had always been suppressed by Edie when she grew up. Edie had even tried to harm her many times.

She had never swallowed her anger. Now that she heard something had happened to Edie, she was happier than anyone else.

“Let me check the news,” Freya said, immediately taking out her phone.

Sure enough, it was all over the news headlines. There were even live broadcasts. All was about the seizure of the villa in the East District. It even involved some parents selling their daughters.

“Seventeen pairs of parents sold their daughters to get money for their sons to marry or buy the houses? It’s insane.” Freya was so angry that her chest hurt.

Freya thought, ‘I’ve seen people who favor boys over girls, but I’ve never seen anything so blatant. It might have been understandable in the last century when people were so poor that they couldn’t even afford to eat. It’s the 21st century, and there are still parents who are willing to sell their daughters to use the money to buy houses for their sons or get their sons married, resulting in their daughter’s disappearance or tragic death.’

“What’s going on?” Selah ran over with a hot dog.

She ate as she approached them. Selah felt a pang in her heart as she read the news on Freya’s phone.

As women, they could empathize with the victims.

The men, engaged in their conversation over drinks, were interrupted by the commotion. Francis got up and walked over, asking, “Who died tragically?”

“It’s always men!” Selah retorted.

Freya, seizing the opportunity, chimed in, “Why should your happiness as men come at the expense of us women? Are we born inferior to you?”

“Exactly! Who do men think they are?” Selah exclaimed, taking a swig of her drink.

Freya took the bottle from her and gulped down a mouthful.

“Right! Let me tell you, Francis. Don’t think you men are so great. Do you think we women are pushovers? If you think you can sell us off to get money to marry and buy a house, we’ll kill you first.”

Selah listened, nodding repeatedly.

“Chop you up and feed you to the dogs. Its outrageous,” Selah added in agreement.

Stellan also strode over, dragged by Selah to stand shoulder to shoulder with Francis. Then, she called Callum over as well.

The three men stood in a row, subjected to a barrage of criticism from the two tipsy women.

They looked helplessly at Percival, who was sitting there with his gaze fixed on Odalys.

Then, Percival got up and walked toward Odalys, holding out a skewer of barbecue in front of her. Odalys didn’t take it. Percival’s heart skipped a beat, and a sense of panic welled up inside him.

Percival said, “Odalys, the idea of favoring sons over daughters should never exist. Men exist to pave the way for women. Even in poverty, they shouldn’t let women sacrifice for them, right? If a man can’t provide happiness for a woman, he should let her go and not let others bully her.”

Percival’s voice was deep and steady, but there was a hint of anxiety and unease in it.

Odalys sat there, took the skewer he handed her, and ate gracefully and methodically. Her eyes were always calm, and she didn’t answer him. Percival’s fingertips turned white.

Freya and Selah’s curses were still ringing in his ears.

He vaguely felt their curses were extremely vicious, even going as far as to drag their ancestors through the mud.

Evander and Dorian pretended to have eaten too much. They helped each other up and walked into Magic Entertainment. After entering, they didn’t forget to quickly bolt the door behind them.

Percival added, “If I had a daughter, I would spoil her, love her, and make her happy. Even if I had a daughter, I would still put my wife first. If there was no wife, where would the children come from? Neither a wife nor a daughter should be sacrificed for the sake of the family.”

Percival’s voice was low and hoarse as if he was panicking.

The corners of Odalys’s mouth curled into an arc, but her face remained expressionless as she sat there. Her fingertips gripped the hem of her clothes tightly to prevent herself from laughing out loud.

Percival continued, “I can swear I am not someone who favors sons over daughters. Moreover, the Stewart family has been passing down the lineage through only one son for generations and has few offspring. If a daughter were to be born into our family, let alone my grandpa, I’m afraid even the ancestors of the Stewart family would be overjoyed. The children of the Steward family are only to be cherished and would never be sold. Even if something were to happen, it would be men who should take responsibility, and women would never be implicated.”

The more Percival spoke, the less confident he became. He saw her looking down at her food, seemingly having no intention of paying attention to him.

Percival held his breath. Usually, negotiating deals and securing billion- dollar projects never fazed him, but he felt utterly unsure of himself in this situation.

He even regretted not stopping Freya earlier when she brought up those topics.

The fuse was lit with one sentence.

He was already imagining Odalys wanting a divorce the next second, maybe even wanting nothing to do with him. She would embrace the idea of a strong, independent single life.

Should he stay or leave? Should he keep her by his side or set her free?

The thought of a life without her and of her wanting a divorce brought a flicker of confusion to Percival’s eyes. For the first time in his life, he felt a sense of helplessness, followed by a wave of panic and fear.

It was as if all his life had been drained from even though Odalys hadn’t left yet.

“Odalys,” Percial suddenly reached out, his large hand enveloping her small one, gently caressing it. “What I just said wasn’t just talk. I swear at everything the Stewart family stands for that those were my true feelings.”

The corner of Odalys’s lips twitched as she abruptly looked up, meeting his panicked gaze.

Odalys couldn’t hold it any longer.

She couldn’t help but laugh softly. Looking at Percival’s nervous look and the cold sweat constantly oozing from his forehead, she said impatiently, “What are you talking so much for? Didn’t we get married to dispel bad luck? We didn’t sleep together. We are a fake couple. How can we have children?” Odalys reminded him with a chuckle.

Her words made Percival’s face pale.

The thought of her saying they were a fake couple who didn’t sleep together made him feel as if he had lost all his strength.

“I…” Percial felt a huge blow to his heart.

He never thought of them as a fake couple from the beginning.

Percival treated her as his wife in his heart although he never thought of forcing her to sleep with him. He never thought of divorcing her, let alone her divorcing him.

Now, what she said about the fake couple hit the most vulnerable spot in his heart.