At the birthday banquet being held in the Holden mansion, Callum patiently waited for me outside.

As soon as I finished preparing and dressed myself more appropriately, I went out. Upon reaching there, I caught a glimpse of Callum, which made me panic, but I was suddenly forced to smile at him.

"Why did the general come in person? This servant…"

"Vera," Callum interrupted me, his gaze on my face. "In the future, you will reclaim your identity as the Miss of the Holden Family and no longer need to refer to yourself as a servant."

I shook my head and replied, "I'm afraid I can't."

Callum frowned upon hearing what I told him.

"You know what? I can admire being well-behaved, but being too reserved is a bit much," he remarked.

I was taken aback. I knew he believed I was pretending.

Suddenly, Callum took my hand and said, "Let's go. It's been three years since we last met. I'll introduce you to my father and mother."

As soon as he was about to touch me, I immediately reacted and took a step back to avoid his touch.

With that, Callum stared at me confusedly.

I fell to my knees, fighting to hold back the tears in my eyes. "Please forgive me, General. I…" I stuttered, unable to continue.

These three years of experience had made me afraid of men's touch.

Callum's gaze lingered on my face, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he turned around and walked ahead. I followed silently behind him.

A lot of people could be seen attending the birthday banquet.

Since I suddenly appeared here after being gone for three years, the visitors who happened to see me started gossiping about me. Some of them were familiar to me, but others weren't.

"I think she's the one, right? That legitimate daughter from the Holden Family," someone whispered to the others.

"Why does she look so pale and thin? She's not as pretty," the others replied.

"You better cut that crap! Remember how she did shameful things back then, three years ago now? I think now that she has learned some lessons, then I am still pretty sure she will do it again. Besides, a person like her cannot change despite whatever she has learned!" one woman from the side also shared her opinion.

That said, they didn't respond at all and remained muted, seeing our presence nearby.

That woman looked in Callum's direction with confidence, as if acting like she didn't mention anything about me. At the same time, I saw Callum's gaze at this point also was too sharp, as if it could kill anyone.

I was well aware Callum had that reaction not to defend me but also not to distract her mother's birthday celebration.

On the other hand, Nathan Holden, Callum and I’s father come out, holding Avery Holden, Callum's mother, my stepmother and the birthday celebrant's hands.

Upon seeing them, I immediately slightly bowed to show I respected them.

"Indeed, Callum was right. Learning some lessons made Vera more obedient," Dad said with a smile.

I continued standing with my head down and eyes on the floor while Avery looked sympathetic.

"Are you a bit too obedient? You don't even look like Vera," she said.

Later, Avery pulled towards the side, moved closer to me and whispered something in my ears before she left and entertained some of the guests.

With that, I continued standing at the side, too silent and feeling out of place.

I was minding my own business here when suddenly, someone poured water down from a basin above me out of the blue, sending a cold shiver down my spine.

Who the hell is that?! I wondered.

On the opposite side stood Celeste, who glimpsed at me and said, "Sister, I just made a bet with Fiona. Let's see how well you've learned the rules. Will splashing water on you make you furious, or will you just let it pass?"

Next to me stood Fiona with a gentle smile. They made me look bad at the birthday banquet on purpose and I ended up completely soaked. I stood there with my head down, feeling all their eyes turned to me.

Their intense stare at me made me shake my body like a left. I tried to stay awake, but everything went black around me.

"Miss!" I heard Hazel's voice. Then, I fell and was caught in someone's arms.

When everything turned black and made me unconscious, I had no idea who the hell carried me back to the room.

Someone was breathing rapidly and seemed to be too nervous for me.

"Vera, I know you will be fine. Don't be afraid too much," said someone, sounding like a familiar voice of a man.

However, since my eyes were shut, I could not guess who it was from. But I could tell, based on the voice, that it seemed to be Callum. I still had no assurance.

But then again, Callum wasn't that gentle to me at all. He even wanted to kill me.

Later, I fell asleep and I didn't know how many hours had passed. I suddenly regained consciousness, but I still hadn't opened my eyes. I only heard a conversation between Callum and someone who seemed to be a physician.

The doctor sighed and said, "General, Miss Vera's body is frail, mostly because she hasn't been eating enough and exposed to cold air all year round. Also, she's been given too many strong medicines lately. I'm afraid that she needs to take better care of herself!"

"Weak?" Callum asked, too confused to understand what he had said. He added, "How come? Malnutrition is mostly due to her picky eating in the army. But what's the matter with this cold air?"

Callum's expression darkened as he held onto the physician and asked again, "What about the strong drugs?"

With that, the physician's face was somewhat surprised.

"General, you don't know?"