[Chapter 154]
"Is he your boyfriend, Elena?"
Upon entering the house, a group of young men and women of about the same age approached them before the adults even spoke a word.
Each one of them sized up Gerald. It wasn't long before these people revealed their mind.
'Wow, Elena is so beautiful, and yet she has such horrible taste? It's obvious that her boyfriend is far from it!'
"Elena, we were going to ask you to join us at the cruise party together, but you always say you have something to do. Hmmm, so you brought your boyfriend with you!" said one of the girls.
"Yeah, but what a coincidence… we can go together!" Elena smiled and held Gerald's hand, never letting it go once.
None of her cousins greeted Gerald at all. Elena knew that they looked down on him too. However, she didn't dare reveal Gerald's identity without his consent. Seeing that Gerald seemed alright, she was relieved. But Gerald was far from happy, numbed from attending such occasions too often. He simply chose to remain silent and keep his composure.
"Okay, Elena, have a seat!"
At this time, a middle-aged lady stood up. She was Elena's aunt, Ruby Larson. She ran her own beauty company, making tens of millions of dollars in annual profits. Her skin was maintained exceptionally well, and she was used to seeing many wealthy. When she saw an ordinary person like Gerald, she felt extremely uncomfortable.
"You must be Gerald! Where do you live? What does your family do?" Ruby asked. The group of rich heirs sneered at Gerald's direction.
"I don't think he will answer that question. His family must be from the countryside, and they own a farm, right?"
"Ugh, I really can't fathom how Elena could find such a shabby-looking guy when she's so pretty and rich? If he was my boyfriend, I would've jumped out of the building and died!"
"Look at him; he's been quiet from the moment he entered the house. Obviously, he's nervous because he has never seen such a nice house before. He must be overwhelmed by the luxurious surroundings. He's no competition for Dickson Wayward!"
"Fuck! What are you talking about? He, a competition for Dickson Wayward?"
On one side, several men and women were crossing their arms as they gossiped about Gerald. When Amber heard that they were comparing him to Dickson Wayward, she immediately frowned in disdain.
Who was Dickson Wayward anyway? He was the guy that Ruby introduced to Elena; his family owned a hotel chain. He was a graduate of Johnhurst University and the president of the Department of Economics and Management's student body!
'He's someone with great achievements. This guy right here will never be a match for him!'
Gerald heard everything since they were all chatting loudly. He wasn't angry, only slightly depressed.
Did a person's wealth really matter that much? When did the criteria to differentiate between a good or bad person change from morality to wealth?
If you had the wealth, everything that you said and did was always right; but if you were poor, you were nothing!
Gerald reminisced about all the things that happened in the past. Only then did he look at Amber.
"My family is now in a small town in the country. My parents run a small business!" Gerald said truthfully.
"Pfft, he really is from a small rural village! His parents probably just run a small kiosk in town… my goodness!"
Amber and the others were even more despicable. Ruby, who had not said anything about letting Gerald sit down, became more serious when she heard this.
"Then what kind of merits do you have to fall in love with Elena? What nerve!"