"An adopted daughter is more precious than a biological one. You've ruined my reputation, gotten everything you wanted, and you still dare to scheme against me? Do I have to give you more face?"
Zoya gasped in pain, reaching to pull Lily's hand away, "Lily! You're crazy!"
Lily's palm hurt from the slaps, so she switched to choking her.
"Crazy? Weren't you trying to drive me crazy on purpose? As you wished, yet you're still not happy. Why are you so hard to please?"
She tightened her grip.
"You don't want me to marry into the Zhou family because you don't want me to marry better than you. What can you do about it?"
"No matter who I marry, it will be better than you. Do you know why? Because as soon as the truth about you and Leopold comes out, you won't be able to get married."
Zoya, who had been struggling, froze and looked at Lily in terror.
"You... you... how..."
With her breath restricted, she couldn't speak properly, stammering.
Lily sneered, "How do I know about your affair with Leopold? Ha, not only do I know, but I also know that while you're stringing along Leopold, you're eyeing Edmond."
Lily had pieced it together after hearing Octavian's words and sleeping on it.
Zoya's possessiveness towards Leopold might just be to exclude her. Zoya always wanted to marry Edmond.
In fact, Lily had never witnessed anything between Leopold and Zoya.
She had heard it from her former sister-in-law.
After high school, Lily was sent abroad. Leopold got married the year after she left.
She didn't return. When she came back, their marriage was already over.
The former sister-in-law was Leopold's first love. They had been secretly together since Lily was in middle school.
Like everyone else, she thought their divorce was due to a child issue, until one day she ran into her drunken ex-sister-in-law at a bar.
"People say I couldn't have children, so I was despised and it led to the divorce."
"That's wrong. I actually had a child."
"Why did I lose it? Because I caught your brother cheating. Do you know who with? Zoya! His so-called sister! They were kissing. I wanted to blind myself out of disgust."
"How could Leopold do that? I was so enraged I had a miscarriage. All he could say was sorry."
"When I tried to expose Zoya's hypocrisy, he knelt down and begged me. A proud man like him, begging for that woman."
"I drank too much today. Seeing you made me want to confide."
"Lily, I know about your conflicts with Zoya and your resentment towards your brother, but can you pretend you didn't hear any of this today? I have a boyfriend who loves me now, and we're about to get married.
Once I'm pregnant, the rumors against me will disappear. I don't want to be entangled in the past."
"I thought about revenge, but later I felt, why bother? He was someone I loved. Why ruin him?"
"He truly loved me too. Besides, I don't want to admit I lost to Zoya. I don't want people to know my marriage ended so disgracefully."
"So, just act like you don't know. They'll get their comeuppance."
Initially, when Lily heard this, she was shocked.
Leopold did favor Zoya, his half-sister, but she never suspected there was more between them.
She hadn't noticed anything before going abroad and after returning, she moved out soon, so she didn't think much of it.
She respected her ex-sister-in-law's wish to pretend not to know.
Even though she wanted to tear Zoya apart, she didn't mention it. It was a promise and because she had no evidence.
Also, for Leopold.
Her grandmother had always tried to reconcile her and Leopold, hoping for the best for him.
She wouldn't reconcile with Leopold, but she also wouldn't ruin him.
At the birthday banquet, she almost lost control, almost losing her sanity.
...The commotion downstairs finally alerted Leopold.
When he rushed down, hearing Zoya's cries, Lily was leisurely straightening her clothes.
Looking at Zoya, her hair was messy, her left cheek swollen, and a clear strangulation mark on her neck, looking very miserable.
Having been choked too hard, Zoya hadn't caught her breath and was coughing while bending over.
Leopold rushed over, about to slap Lily. Lily raised her head, daring him to hit her, but Zoya stopped him.
"I... I'm fine."
She didn't want to stop him but had to. Lily had threatened her when she let go.
"From now on, if you provoke me again, I'll expose your affair with Leopold online!"
Zoya's mind was in chaos. She knew it was best not to provoke Lily now.
Leopold didn't know what happened, but since Zoya stopped him, he could only suppress his anger, put his arm around Zoya's shoulders, and prepared to help her upstairs. Lily called out to him.
"She can walk on her own. Her legs aren't broken."
She instructed Leopold, "Old Jian said I could choose anything from your collection room."
Leopold, not having been downstairs at the time, didn't believe it. Lily kindly called Brooks for him.
"Yes, Leopold, take your sister to choose. It's important for her to give a good gift to the Zhou family. Her marrying into the Zhou family is crucial, prioritize the big picture."