Chapter 11: How Dare You

Words : 1818 Updated : Oct 23rd, 2025

"W-What's up?" The street vendor eyed the young man in a tailored suit with open suspicion. In his line of work, people often sold him something only to come back and try to take it back. "Excuse me, sir. Did you buy a fake porcelain vase earlier at Denford Villa?" the suited youth blurted. "Don't worry. I really need it. I'll buy it back. Name your price, anything!" The vendor blinked. Wasn't the kid talking about the very vase he'd just sold to that naïve youngster? "I never bought anything like that. I deal in antiques. Why would I take in junk?" He wasn't about to trust the boy's story. He'd seen too many stunts like this. The young man grew urgent. "I really need it. It's not worth much. Just tell me your price. I'm sure you took it." He pulled out a wad of cash and pressed it into the vendor's hand. "Is this enough? You can keep it." Seeing that stack of bills, the vendor figured the kid was unlikely to start a fight over one item. Besides, he'd examined that vase carefully; it was no antique. He hesitated, then said, "I sold it to a young man just now." "Sold it? Do you know where he lives?" the youth asked, tense. "No idea. I sell things. I don't go checking people's IDs or addresses." The vendor rolled his eyes. Hearing that, the youth stopped arguing and stood there, thinking hard. "Young man, why not check the security cameras? You might find him. The kid looked familiar. If it's that important, he'll probably give it back," an old gentleman nearby offered. "Yes, the cameras! Thank you, sir!" The youth's face lit up. He dashed off toward the market office, leaving the vendor staring after him in shock. "He gave me all this just for saying that?" the vendor muttered, staring at the cash in his hand. A middle-aged man next to him said, "It looked to me like that kid was the Denford family's son. I've seen him on TV." Meanwhile, at Ades Villa, Madison lay on her bed, simmering as she thought of the traditional medicine books Gabriel had bought and that vase. Three years into the marriage, Gabriel had treated her well. No matter how cold she was, he never wavered. But marriage wasn't just about being nice. Among her close friends, every boyfriend or husband was successful. Only Gabriel stayed home all day doing chores and chasing pie-in-the-sky ideas. ***** Gabriel checked the time, then stepped out to the garden behind their apartment complex. It was shaded and rarely visited. He chose a secluded spot, set his stance, and began working through a set of palm strikes. At first, his movements were slow, then grew quicker and sharper, until the fallen leaves around him whirled as his aura whipped them up, spinning into a rustling wall that circled him. All at once, Gabriel drove his palm into the trunk of a nearby tree. With a deep crack, the tree snapped clean through. He looked at the broken trunk and nodded, satisfied. He'd finally regained the Martial Grandmaster realm. Thanks to the martial technique in the jade pendant, he believed he would soon reach Martial Peak. Even as he practiced, he could feel that next realm just within reach. Back at home, after watching Gabriel leave, Lauryn went straight to his room. She opened the door, wrinkled her nose at the bare, shabby space, then started searching. At last, she found the vase Gabriel had just bought, tucked in a corner. She muttered, "Wasting money again. Watch me chuck it." She grabbed the vase and stepped out, only to run into Madison at the door. Madison frowned at the vase in her mother's hand. "Mom, why did you go into Gabriel's room without asking?" "That good-for-nothing brought home this piece of junk. If your aunt and her lot see it, they'll think we're so broke we're scavenging trash. I have to throw it away," Lauryn said, bristling. Madison sighed. "Mom, I've told you so many times. Stop hanging around with Aunt Sharon's crowd. Ever since Grandpa died, you know how they've treated us. That's not how family acts." "Don't bring up your grandfather. It makes me furious. When he was alive, he doted on you. He was even going to give you the presidency of Ades Corp. And what did we end up with? He saddled you with a useless husband." "If not for that loser, would our family be a laughingstock?" "If not for him, would your father have been sent overseas to some godforsaken backwater?" The more Lauryn spoke, the angrier she became. If she wasn't worried about cracking the floor, she'd have smashed the vase right there. Madison knew none of it was untrue. But what was done was done. What could they change? She also couldn't understand why Grandpa had arranged for her to marry Gabriel. She saw nothing remarkable in him at all. Lauryn finished, ignored Madison, and marched downstairs with the vase. Outside, she tossed it straight into the dumpster. Crash! The shards clattered, and her smile turned triumphant. She headed back inside. What she didn't know was that the vase in the trash hadn't truly broken. A few chips fell from the rim, but beneath the outer layer, a hidden inner vessel remained intact. When Gabriel came home, he didn't go straight to his room, so he had no idea Lauryn had thrown out the vase he'd bought. Only after dinner, when he finished cleaning up and returned to his room, did he notice it was gone. His brow furrowed. He headed downstairs and fixed his gaze on Lauryn, who sat on the sofa watching TV. "Where's the vase from my room?" Lauryn lifted her head and sneered. "What, you swindle the Warth family out of ten grand and now you won't even call me Mom?" "I asked you where the vase went," Gabriel said, his voice cold. "It was an eyesore in this house. I threw it out," Lauryn said, breezy and unconcerned. "You threw it where?" Gabriel asked. "I forgot." Lauryn looked at him with open contempt. She had no intention of telling him. Gabriel stepped closer. His eyes went icy. His fists clenched until his knuckles cracked. "Where's the vase?" The look in his eyes startled Lauryn. How could that loser look so terrifying? Was he about to hit her? "Gabriel, what do you think you're doing? How can you talk to my mother like that?" Madison called down from the second-floor landing. "You're yelling at her over a vase?"

Chapter 11: How Dare You

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