Burning The House Of Cards: taking revenge on my billionaire family
Chapter 107 - 106. Piling Up Firewood

Chapter 107: Chapter 106. Piling Up Firewood

Perhaps because the atmosphere had been tensed from the start, and she got interrupted mid-yapping earlier, Mina forgot to tone down her voice, discarding her usual composed demeanor and artificial softness.

"What other meaning could it have? It’s a very straightforward statement," Sarah shrugged, before putting a piece of halibut in her mouth and eating with a smile.

Unlike when she talked to others, Sarah had no qualms about spitting facts before the third wife. Why wouldn’t she, when she even did that to the chairman? Sarah would have spent the whole dinner time just calling her out if she hadn’t had to use her mouth to eat and drink.

And the chairman seemed to have an inkling that his daughter was getting bolder with her blatant hatred, so he sighed heavily and tapped the table in warning. "Can we have one peaceful dinner?"

Sarah tilted her head. "I am perfectly peaceful?"

She was just minding her own business--or rather, meal--while thinking what late-night snack she would request from Hajin later when the aunt started to talk to her. Wasn’t it the other side’s fault for having such a rotten life?

"Lack of self-awareness is also unbecoming, Sarah."

Sarah let out a scoff. "At least I’m not committing any crime."

"Sarah--"

"How dare you!"

The table suddenly erupted as nerves were struck. The little whisper and pressure that Sarah spread during Mirae’s founding party replayed in certain people’s minds.

Sarah raised her brows, looking all innocent and confused. "What? Why are you all getting angry?"

"You still ask?!" Ruby yelled from her mother’s side, while Jasper’s feet were fidgeting beneath the table.

"Well, of course?" Sarah tilted her head. "I was only saying I wasn’t doing any crime, just like any other person," she shrugged, looking around with her eyes. "Or not?"

"You--"

"Silence!"

The chairman slammed his hand against the table, glaring at the rucous table. But his usual charisma, which could make them tremble in fear as someone who could kick them out anytime, was nowhere to be seen. His usually sharp eyes dulled, and his lips were a bit pale. Rather than from pressure, they went silent out of reflex.

The chairman massaged his temple and spoke in a grumble instead of using a commanding tone. "No one should be talking. Just eat."

"I wasn’t the one who started talking, but...whatever," Sarah shrugged, returning to her fish. Not as good as the one her puppy made her, but it was still too good to waste.

The others too, just like ordered, ate in silence. There was no bragging or provoking; they didn’t even whisper to each other. The mood was grim, as if it were a meeting for a funeral, as people fell into their own contemplative state. Especially those who had some hidden crimes trailing in their shadow.

Sarah ate while observing the shift in their expression; the grim shadow of anxiety beneath their eyes. They had no qualms about doing it, and yet, as a member of society, they couldn’t beat the thought of themselves getting exposed.

There was no regret there, just fear of losing what they already had.

Lifting a glass of water, Sarah watched the third wife grit her teeth, clenching the utensils so hard her knuckles became white. When her eyes looked up, Sarah caught the gaze and smirked.

She parted her curling lips and mouthed--enjoy while it lasts.

Mina hissed across the table. "What did you say?"

"I said no talking."

The chairman raised his voice sharply, and Mina bit her lips while lowering her gaze again. Sarah shrugged and went back to enjoy her meal, which tasted even better with the third wife’s bitter expression.

It was clear to everyone that Mina had slowly lost her power within the house. Before, even while the chairman had affairs here and there, she was still the madam of the house and looked over the household affairs. The chairman also spent time with her occasionally, and still took her to formal events.

Not anymore.

There were places in the house she couldn’t touch, and Mason had been pressuring her power away more and more since he was appointed heir. Her children had no notable achievements and had even been causing trouble. Her plans were no longer effective and the new mistress had been winning the chairman’s favor since he took her to a big event. It was fine if she had a proper backup, but she barely had one strong enough to threaten the chairman’s stance.

Things had been going awry for her and, while it wasn’t the only reason, she could feel it more and more since Sarah returned.

As if spitting on that, Sarah would either throw an obviously fake, sweet smile or smirk deeply every time their eyes met, clearly enjoying herself. She even turned her head while the dessert was served to look at her bodyguard--the kind of look that would make men’s blood rush to their lower parts.

Mina knew, since she used that kind of look quite often herself.

"Ruby, some of Mom’s friends had been asking for you to be introduced to their son," Mina turned toward her daughter, smiling through her annoyance. "How about it?"

"Don’t bother, Mom," Ruby waved her hand, staring daggers at the girl who had been stealing her crush from her. "You know I only have eyes for one person."

Mina smiled and nodded, patting her daughter’s back lightly. "That’s good--you should stay loyal to one person."

"Pfft--" Sarah laughed and coughed on her dessert. She continued to laugh even while drinking her water. "Oh, I’m sorry."

"What’s so funny?" Ruby barked while slamming the end of her fork against the table.

"Oh, I don’t know," Sarah leaned against her chair and shrugged. "Maybe because it sounds like a thief saying you shouldn’t steal?"

"Oh, my..."

The aunt and the first wife snickered behind their wine glass, enjoying any roast against Mina. At that point, the chairman had given up and only sighed into his untouched dessert.

"Are you talking like this to all the men you’re playing with?" Mina spoke sharply, even though she kept her smile and composure as much as she could. "I don’t think they’ll stick around for long if they know how you act."

"Oh, you know so well, do you?" Sarah curled her eyes. "Is it because your husband is sticking around you?"

"Sarah..."

Mina hissed through her gritted teeth. "I shall pretend I didn’t hear that."

"So prickly..." Sarah snickered in response. "Why? Did my date hound you because I haven’t been in touch with him?"

Slam!

"Kyaah!"

Amber screamed and stood up in fright as the wine glass in Mason’s hand got slammed on the table and shattered across its surface. While everyone was still frozen in shock, Mason had already left the table, his face almost as red as his bloody hand.

* * *

"How weird to have others breaking stuff instead of me in this house," Sarah hummed while they walked back to the annex after the dinner ended abruptly.

Well, it was already nearing the end anyway, so it didn’t matter much. Still, it was shocking for others to see Mason lose control when the chairman was present. Lee Hyuk himself merely narrowed his eyes and shook his head in exasperation before leaving the table, naturally ending the already unpleasant dinner.

Except for Sarah, who quite enjoyed the dinner this time around.

Hajin smiled at the girl’s satisfaction with the night’s event. "You’re still the reason, so you can be proud of it still, Master."

Sarah laughed merrily. It was still a chaotic dinner, but her mood was vastly different from the last one. She didn’t even feel tired, and digested her food well. Someone started to lose control, another one or two got scared, another got anxious, and she was pretty sure one or two got confused and curious.

"Mm...this is exactly how a dysfunctional family dinner should be--"

"Sarah!"

They stopped on their tracks just before entering the stone pathway leading to the annex, turning around to see Amber walking toward them hurriedly with a frown on her brow. It was rare for her to call for Sarah openly like that, but it seemed like everyone was too busy with Mason’s strange action.

"Huh?" Sarah tilted her head, the smile still evident on her delighted face. "Well, well...if it isn’t--"

Before Sarah could finish, Amber had already snatched her hand and pulled her behind a hedge to give them some cover from the main house. Sarah looked at her grabbed hand and commented curiously. "Is this genetic?"

"Shut up!" Amber let go of the hand she grabbed and glared at the younger girl. "What the fuck were you doing?"

"What did I do? I wasn’t even planning to do anything--wasn’t it Auntie who started asking stuff?" Sarah shrugged.

"Yeah, but you went on with Mina and--"

"I do that all the time," Sarah scoffed. She understood what Amber was getting at, however. "None of what I said was supposed to provoke him--it was purely to attack Mina."

They knew why Mason did that, and honestly, there was no need for Sarah to mention the blind date stuff at that time. But would she pass up the chance to provoke multiple people at once? Not a chance.

"Then what was all that business with him before dinner?" Amber furrowed her brows.

"He wanted me to get rid of my puppy," Sarah shrugged. "Of course, I can’t do that."

"You should have just pretended to appease him!" Amber hissed. "Look what you’ve done!"

"What? What have I done?" Sarah arched her brow. "Making him look unstable and unreliable? Isn’t it better for you, then? I mean, if you truly want to be the successor."

"Not so loud!"

"Okay, okay..." Sarah chuckled, raising her palms to calm the older girl. "So, what’s the problem? Shouldn’t you thank me instead?"

"You..."

Amber pressed her lips together before taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly to calm herself. "You shouldn’t make him go crazy," she said while pressing her thumb between her brows. "You don’t know what Mason is capable of."

Sarah smiled--an almost empty one that made Amber flinch in goosebumps.

"Don’t worry. I probably know him more than you do," Sarah said, returning to her nonchalant act. "Just focus on the project I told you about, and stop flirting with minors, okay?"

"You’re so--" Amber clenched her jaw before realizing it was a waste using emotion while facing Sarah. "Whatever. I warned you."

Amber clicked her tongue and walked away, but before she went past the hedge, Sarah called her.

"Amber..."

"What now?" Amber turned around, belatedly realizing Sarah wasn’t calling her ’Eonni’ like usual.

With a strange gaze, Sarah asked her an even stranger question. "Are you worried about me?"

Amber widened her eyes before scowling deeply. "What kind of nonsense--"

She immediately turned around and stomped away, hair bouncing around her reddened ears. Sarah watched the older girl disappear into the main house, muttering vaguely.

"Master?" Hajin whispered curiously at Sarah’s deep gaze, but the girl merely smiled bitterly.

"It’s just..." she chuckled and shook her head before resuming their walk to the annex. "Too late."

There was no room for sentiment. She had almost finished piling up the firewood.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.