Connor felt completely misunderstood. He’d wanted to go public about his relationship with Lydia for ages, but she was the one who’d said no at first. She worried that if the truth came out, it would bring nothing but trouble to the Norwood family. With groups like the Scorpion, Black Eagle, and the Terra Syndicate all circling, she didn’t want to paint a target on her back until she’d handled them all.
Now that Connor himself had become a target for assassins, he didn’t want to drag Lydia into the mess. That was the only reason Lucinda managed to swoop in and take advantage.
“I’m going to warn her,” Connor said, voice icy. “If she keeps running her mouth, I’m not going to be polite about it.”
He’d never had any interest in Lucinda. Back when he was in the military, she used to tell everyone he was her fiancé. He’d even spoken to his grandfather about it, but his grandfather just chewed him out instead. So Connor had learned to ignore it. He was barely home anyway.
But things were different now. His whole heart belonged to Lydia. There was no way he’d let Lucinda keep making trouble.
Lydia stopped him. “Let me handle it. You just focus on your work trip.”
Connor wanted to protest, but Lydia interrupted him with a gentle, “Trust me.”
He could only give in. “Alright.”
Their food had barely hit the table when laughter and cheerful shouts started spilling in from the next private room.
“Lucinda, we’re so lucky to be your classmates!”
“For real, Lucinda. We’ll stick with you from now on, no matter what!”
“Lucinda, just say the word if you need anything. We’re always here for you!”
The voices came from next door, the restaurant’s biggest private room. With two huge twenty-person tables, it could probably squeeze in fifty people if everyone got cozy. Lucinda was really going all out.
Juna rolled her eyes. “She’s seriously acting like a billionaire’s heiress now.”
Lydia waved over a waiter. “Please send two bottles of wine to the room next door.”
The waiter looked a little surprised. “Is this a gift from you, miss?”
Lydia smiled. “The host is my sister. She’d be too embarrassed to talk prices in front of her friends, but she told me not to go overboard. Just bring out two bottles that cost a million each.”

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABEL
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Ready to Rule: The Real Heiress Strikes Back
Every chapter is missing a sentence from the end of every chapter. It’s frustrating to try guess what’s missing or said...
Hi there <3, I'm the admin of the website. Lately, the readership for this novel has been decreasing, so we’re no longer able to keep posting it for free. We would be incredibly grateful if you could help the author and our team by sharing the novel’s link on Reddit, X, Facebook, or anywhere you like. Thank you so much for your support!...