Carly was furious. "Adam, look at her!" Celine had turned the tables on them, humiliating everyone who had come to mock her. How outrageous!

Adam watched her slender figure disappear, his expression unreadable. After a moment, he pressed his lips together. "Enough. Stop making a scene."

Carly fell silent, suppressing her anger. "Adam, you said you'd introduce me to Allie tonight. Where is she?" She hadn't forgotten her objective: marrying Adam as soon as possible.

Adam had seen Hailey earlier. He said softly, "I'll go find Allie."

Carly quickly handed him a limited-edition handbag. "Adam, give this to Allie. She'll love it."

Noticing Celine's prolonged absence from the restroom, Hailey felt uneasy and went to look for her. Adam called out, "Allie!"

She ignored him and turned to leave, but he stepped in her path. "Allie, you're becoming increasingly impolite. Are you ignoring me?"

Actually, Carly and Melody hadn't discovered that Hailey was James' daughter; she used her mother's surname. This is why their investigations were unsuccessful. As the youngest child, born late in James' life and with a birthmark, Hailey was adored by the entire Lambert family, including Adam.

She glared at him. "Adam, how could you treat Celine like that? Do you know how badly she fell ill after the divorce? She had a 107-degree fever for seven days. She was crying even while unconscious!"

His sharp eyes flickered. He interrupted, "Enough. Don't say another word!"

She froze.

Expressionless, he said in a low, magnetic voice, "We're divorced. I don't want to hear anything about her anymore."

She was shocked by his heartlessness.

He handed her the limited-edition handbag. She frowned. "What's this?"

"It's a gift from Carly."

"What?" Hailey tossed the bag back. "Take it away! I don't want anything from a mistress!"

He said, "Allie, don't be unreasonable. Carly genuinely wants to be your friend. For someone as proud as her, she's tried very hard. You should at least try to befriend her."

"She's the one trying to please me. I never asked for it. I'm not going to be friends with someone like her!"

He pressed his lips together. "Allie, I'm planning to marry Carly. She'll be family."

Hailey's pupils shrank. "Adam, you're marrying Carly right after divorcing Celine?"

Carly had always been his intended wife, but an accident and subsequent coma had led to his relationship with Celine, a brief interlude.

He nodded. "Yes. I'm going to marry Carly."

Hailey was speechless. After a moment, she relented. "Give me the bag."

He handed her the bag. She sighed, her tone resigned. "Fine. If you're dead set on marrying her, then she'll be family. I'm willing to befriend her."