When Tristan explained who Nelly was, Alex was surprised. If Nelly were Tristan's daughter, that would mean she was his cousin.
He remembered that when he was a child, there had been a mother and daughter that had stayed with his family. He had not known at that time who they were, but, when he was older, he had asked his parents about them. They had told him that they were the girlfriend and daughter of Uncle Tristan.
He remembered his only contact with the pair. When he had finished playing outside, he had come back into the living room and had seen that an ugly little girl had damaged his toy plane.
Alex had been very angry, so he had rushed to scold her. The girl had fought back, but Alex had been stronger, so the girl had started to cry. After that, the two visitors had stayed on the other side of the villa, and Alex had never seen them again.
The little girl had been Nelly!
He thought of everything that had happened since he had met Nelly in D.C., and what a coincidence their meeting had been in the first place. He remembered suspecting at times that Nelly had a crush on him. That felt silly now.
He looked at Nelly and she gazed back at him calmly, giving him a small nod. Even in the middle of all these revelations about her family, she had still stepped up to support Alex in his time of need. More than ever, he appreciated her friendship and support.
Lincoln hesitated. He really felt a little sorry for Nelly, but he had to punish Alex. Everyone was waiting for his decision.
Lincoln thought for a moment and said, "No one can change my decision. If you don't want to accept the punishment, you can leave the Ambrose family. Only then will the punishment on your family be excused. You must decide on your own."
The Ambrose family was shocked, and there was an uproar in the hall.
This was even more serious than sixty minutes of attack. If he left, it would mean that Alex was no longer a member of the Ambrose family. The family would have nothing to do with him, and he would never have the chance to hold the position of the head of the family.
Nathan was very happy when he heard this option. He hoped that Alex would quit.
When the others heard Lincoln present this option, they wondered how Alex would decide. They thought that Alex would rather be punished than quit the family. He had a good chance to become the head of the family, which would make him more powerful than even the leaders of some countries.
Some people thought that Alex was foolish to make Lincoln angry for the sake of a mountain village girl.
Everyone's eyes focused on Alex, who had paused to think. He finally stood up and slowly faced the crowd below.
They all wondered what Alex was going to decide.
He slowly turned to look at his extended family, then his parents, and finally he turned to face Lincoln.
With a firm nod, he said, "Grandfather, I voluntarily quit the Ambrose family."
He knew that he had only one path to take.
Alex had spoken his decision quietly, but it shook the hearts of every Ambrose. Alex had always seemed to be one of Lincoln's particular favorites. It was shocking to see him quit the family.
Nelly looked at Alex, and she knew that he must feel very bitter at that moment.
"Fine." Lincoln looked at Alex. His eyes slowly welled up with tears, and the muscles on his face trembled. This was a rare expression from the old man. "If you have decided to quit, you can no longer stand here. You must pack up your things and leave. After you leave, no one will take care of you. Get out of here!"
Lincoln was really sad. Nothing like this had ever happened in the whole time he had led the family.
"Goodbye grandfather." Alex glanced at Lincoln, and then he went to say a few words to his parents, relatives, and friends. He then turned and walked out of the hall. Nelly wanted to follow him, but she was held back by Conan.
"Nelly, let me look at you!" Tristan pushed Conan away. He wanted to speak with his daughter and try to begin to make up for all the years he had been prevented from meeting her.
"Get out of here!" Nelly exclaimed angrily. She didn't look at Tristan. Her mother had told her the name of her father when she was a child, but Nelly hated him for his absence.
As she grew older, Nelly imagined her father to be a heartless man. She had thought that one day when she found him, she would kill him.
"Mom died because she missed you. Why did you leave us? You liar! I hate you."
"What! What do you mean?" Tristan was shocked and exhausted. He said in a mournful voice, "I'm sorry. I know I made you both suffer. It's all my fault, but the real culprit was him." Tristan pointed to Lincoln and pleaded, "I couldn't do anything about it back then. Could you please give me a chance to make it up to you? I'm your father."
"Go away!" she cried.
Nelly hit Tristan with her fist, and then she raised her teary eyes to look at him. When she saw the deep love in his eyes, she couldn't bear it any longer. She threw herself into his arms and cried loudly, "Why didn't you want us? We were so miserable in Brunei with you!"
She had desperately wanted to have a father when she was a child. It was only now that she learned he had been in love with her mother, but Lincoln had been the reason that they had been apart.
"Dear daughter, it's good to have you back. I'll make the last twenty years up to you," Tristan said, hugging her and touching her soft hair.
Although the atmosphere was depressing, the birthday party continued.
After cutting the cake, Lincoln turned back to the inner hall to have a rest.
Nathan's family was very happy. Marcus Ambrose took Nathan, raised his glass, and said, "Well played. I understand now."
Nathan looked at his father with a sneer. He neither clinked his glass nor answered. In his opinion, his father just wanted to boast about his victory. He wasn't a useful ally, and Nathan didn't want to talk to him.
But Marcus did not take offense to his son's tacit rejection. He laughed awkwardly and took a sip from his glass alone.
"Husband, let's go to see Gideon and Flora," Marion Ambrose said, smiling.
Marion enjoyed comparing herself with Flora. Since Flora's son had been expelled from the family, how could Flora argue with her now.
Marion and Marcus walked to Gideon's table with their glasses of wine. Marion said, "Today is a good day. Let's toast it together!"
"What are you talking about?" Flora was on fire.
Her son had been expelled from the family. Marion was deliberately humiliating her.
"What's the matter? I said it's a good day because it's dad's birthday." Marion wasn't willing to be outdone.
Flora looked at Marion angrily. Gideon gently hugged her and whispered in her ear, "Don't be impulsive."
If they caused any more trouble at the party, it would be very harmful to Lincoln.
Marion smiled with pride. She sipped from her glass and said with a leisurely smile, "I like Alex very much because he competes with Nathan, which makes my son become better. But I didn't expect Alex to have so many problems. I'm just grateful my son is still on the right track."
Flora looked very unhappy at Marion's words.
"Marion, be reasonable. Alex can't be entirely blamed for this problem. You adults have some responsibility in it too. You should have taught him to prioritize his career over chasing some strange girl." Marcus laughed at Gideon.
"Thank you for reminding me, but no one knows what's going to happen until the last minute, do they?" Gideon said. Although he was smiling, his heart felt mixed feelings.
"Are you hoping that Alex can come back to the Ambrose family someday? You should give up that fantasy. No one has ever returned to the family after a scandal like this." Marcus grinned casually, and then looked at Gideon and Flora.
He continued with a wretched smile, "But there's no harm in trying, I suppose. Maybe there's still a chance."
Marcus and Marion just walked away smugly after they finished talking.
Many family members gathered around Marcus and Marion. Before, they had been careful not to show too much preference to either Alex or Nathan. Since it was now clear that Nathan had the best chance of taking over the family, they naturally wanted to please them.
Person after person toasted and flattered them.
"Marcus, what a son you've raised."
"Marion, you look beautiful today. By the way, don't you like jewelry? I bought a precious diamond in South Africa. I'll give it to you later."
"Nathan is really capable. He has handled several orders of more than a million dollars in a row, which is much better than us."
Gideon and Flora didn't go over to their table to toast them. Only Justin Ambrose, Ken Stokes, and the butler, Mark Stephens, sat with them to try and comfort them.
Finally, the banquet ended.
**
Flora dialed Alex's phone and learned that he was at the airport. She rushed out to meet him.
Alex had been waiting at the airport for two hours. Because he was no longer a part of the family, he had to leave that evening. The Moon girls accompanied him, so he wouldn't feel so lonely.
"Alexi!" His mother finally arrived.
When Flora saw Alex, she threw herself into his arms with tears streaming down her cheeks. "You foolish boy! How could you do this?" Flora criticized her son.
If Alex had been smarter, they wouldn't be in this situation that day.
"Don't scold him now," Gideon said.
Flora looked at her son with tears in her eyes and said, "Oh, I am proud of you! I'm just sad at how this has all turned out."
"I know, but this is better than the other punishment," Alex joked.
Although they couldn't laugh, their mood was a little calmer.
"Whether you're recognized by the rest of the family or not, you're still my brother." Justin gently patted Alex's shoulder.
"You're a good brother." Alex said with a faint smile.