Enough Is Enough

I shot a glare at Karl as I paid. He simply took the bag from the shop assistant and thanked her, then he turned to me.

"Let's go upstairs, shall we?"

Just as I was about to refuse, he wrapped his arm around my waist and urged, "Come on. We don't get to do this every day. Consider this a chance to unwind."

By the time we finished browsing, we had bought quite a few things. Karl did most of the picking while I paid. He seemed to be having way too much fun with it.

"Babe, do you think my wife would like this dress?"

Though our close proximity made my heart race, I rolled my eyes and momentarily pushed thoughts of Sean aside.

The sales assistant had been showering me with praise about how great the dress would look on me, but Karl's comment immediately left her blushing and at a loss for words.

I flashed her a helpless smile. Just as I was about to dismiss her, Karl caught my hand and began caressing it.

"That's enough."

"Don't be mad," he replied. "Just help me pick out a few more outfits for my wife, and tonight, my time is all yours."

Thankfully, his phone rang just in time.

I let out a breath of relief. "Who is it?"

"At least wait till I leave before you start gloating," he quipped, ruffling my hair before answering the call.

"Dad? What's up?"

As I had the sales assistant wrap up the clothes Karl had picked, I heard his father bellow over the phone, "You haven't been to the office all day! What could be so important that you'd skip an entire day of work?"

"Does spending time with your daughter-in-law count?" Karl responded indolently.

"Spending time with you—"

His father's voice trailed off before he recollected himself and continued, "In that case, enjoy yourself. But when will you bring her home? Your mom and I can't wait to meet her!"

"We'll see. Oh, I gotta go now."

Twirling his phone in his fingers, Karl turned toward me. "You heard him. When are you going to say yes?"

My cheeks burned as I shoved him away. "Just go back already."

"You heartless woman," he muttered, standing up. "Let's get you home first."

…

As if Isobel had indoctrinated him, Sean was relentless this time. He refused to give up on the villa. He bombarded me with messages, acting like it was rightfully his.

Even Grandma started showing up every few days, ruining the good mood I had after spending a day out with Karl.

"It's just a house. Why not give it to him and be done with it?" Grandma coaxed, trying to reason with me. "Sean is the only heir of our family. Sooner or later, you'll still have to rely on him. Why make things difficult now?"

"Grandma, that's not quite right," I responded with a stiff smile.

Deliberately ignoring my implication, Grandma continued, "You're going to get married eventually… Only Sean will remain in the family."

She was such a traditionalist that she saw a married daughter as an outsider and considered a woman running a business almost disgraceful, as if defying the natural order. After contemplating for a while, I decided it was time to clear things up.

"But that house is mine," I said. "Whether I marry or not, it's still my personal property."

As though I had hit a sore spot, Grandma scowled and chided, "Sasha, you're a woman. Aren't you afraid that people will laugh at you for being in charge of the company?

"It's unheard of to have a woman running a company forever. Sean's a man, so he's naturally better suited for it. He was young and clueless before, but now that he has grown up and is about to get married soon, you should hand over the company to him. Only then can the business truly flourish.

"Don't worry. We've seen how much effort you've put into running the company all these years. We'll make sure you get what you deserve."

Adoption Certificate

Realization dawned on me—this was probably Grandma's true intention.

Figuring that it was already so hard to demand a house from me, she thought it also wouldn't be easy to take the company away from me in the future. Too anxious to just sit idle, she rushed over, masking her concern with probing questions.

But I was never someone to be easily manipulated.

Displeased, I reminded her, saying, "Grandma, have you forgotten our identities?"

Grandma fell silent. She shot me a complicated look, her gentle demeanor taking a 180 degree shift as she snarled. "Sasha, are you saying that you have no intention of returning the company to Sean?"

I flashed her an indifferent smile and replied, "Grandma, perhaps age is catching up to you, after all. Your memory is deteriorating. I was never obligated to return the company to Sean in the first place. Besides, no matter who runs the company, you'll always be our grandmother. So, why go through all the trouble to take it over?""

Grandma's expression hardened. Slamming the table, she shrieked, "Only a man should run a company! Are you trying to make others laugh at us for not having capable men in our family? Listen, Sasha, you have to return the company to Sean. A woman like you should just get married instead of meddling in men's affairs. What kind of attitude is this?"

She was a misogynist through and through. Though I had long known about her outdated beliefs, it was my first time hearing her speak about them so bluntly.

To Grandma, a woman's capabilities meant nothing. No matter how well I managed the company or how outsiders praised me—with some even envying my family for having me—it was all meaningless.

What truly mattered to her was marrying me off to someone and turning me into a stay-at-home mom. To her, her grandson would always be superior, and my efforts were simply dismissed.

But I had long given up expecting anything different. So, hearing those words didn't affect me at all.

…

Later that afternoon, Sean showed up with Isobel again, likely having found out that even Grandma couldn't convince me to hand over my house.

"Sasha, I understand your concerns," Isobel began gently. "But I'm not after the Carrington family's money… I truly love Sean. No matter how much you try to stop us, it won't change anything."

I nearly laughed out loud at her words. "It doesn't matter. It's not like he's loaded anyway."

Isobel froze.

"Sasha, what are you playing at?" Sean hissed, clearly agitated at the mention of his wealth. I had struck a nerve.

"Sean, I understand now," Isobel said in an attempt to comfort him. "She's probably implying that everything in the Carrington family has nothing to do with you. I can't believe she's trying to strip you of your inheritance just to keep us from getting married."

"She wouldn't dare!" Sean fumed. "Sasha, you'll eventually get married. But I'll always be part of the Carrington family. I'm the rightful heir! Everything in our family is mine to decide. If you won't give me Beaugor Villa, then get out of the family!"

So, this was what our sibling bond amounted to. Once the pretense faded, all that was left was something this horrible.

My heart sank. Throwing a copy of an adoption certificate at him, I snapped, "Sean, take a good look at this! You're nothing more than an adopted son! You don't have a say in our family."

Without even glancing at the paper, Isobel jutted a finger at me and hollered, "Sasha, I can't believe you went so far as to forge a fake document just to keep the money for yourself!"

"If you don't believe me, go ask our relatives," I replied icily.

Realizing that I wasn't lying, Sean spiraled into doubt.

Handing Over the Company

Sean seemed to realize I wasn't pulling his leg, but he was still struggling to believe it.

As Isobel shuffled closer to him, it took her a while to finally muster the courage to speak.

"But Sean is still a Carrington. So what if he's adopted? Agnes said he has every right to be involved in the family business. Don't you dare think you can just throw these documents in his face and keep everything for yourself!"

"Keep everything for myself? Now that's a new one."

Isobel sneered, "Isn't that exactly what you've been doing? It's always been the men who inherit the business. Your family only adopted Sean because they didn't have an heir, did they? He was adopted to continue your family line, so, of course, the family's fortune belongs to him.

"But now, you're refusing to hand it over. If that's not trying to take everything for yourself, then what is?"

I hadn't expected to hear this from her at first. However, it was clear that this belief that women had to rely on men was deeply ingrained in her mind.

Though Isobel was aggressive, I remained unfazed. I turned toward Sean—who I had raised tirelessly and tried my best to fulfill his every request. Not having my hopes up, I simply asked, "Sean, is that what you think as well?"

He remained silent.

But Isobel was far from done. She continued relentlessly, "Sasha, don't you try to deny it! Sean is your brother, yet you wouldn't even give him a house as a marital gift. You'd rather spend money on other men like it's nothing!

"Sean, I saw it with my own eyes that day—your sister was shopping in a luxury store with a guy, spending at least hundreds of thousands of dollars without batting an eye. At this rate, she's going to spend every last penny of the family's wealth.

"You care about her, but she clearly doesn't feel the same about you."

Isobel kept fanning the flames. Even though Sean remained silent, I could tell that he believed every single word she said. His expression darkened, doubt clouding his gaze as he stared at me.

"Sasha, is that true?"

I smirked. "Even if I did spend money, it's money I earned myself."

"But your earnings still come from the company, don't they?" Sean actually had the audacity to give me a look of dismay. "Sasha, Grandma said she trusted you to run the company for me because we're family, and she had nothing to worry about. But I guess she was wrong about you."

Hearing this, I was suddenly at a loss for words. I took a deep breath and responded, "Sean, I think I've done my part well enough all these years. I cleaned up after your messes and negotiated to settle your gambling debts. My parents established this company, and it was left in my name."

Disheartened, I pressed a hand to my aching head and continued, "But since you've asked for it so many times, I'll give it to you. Consider it my final gesture for the years we spent as siblings. I'll have the legal documents drawn up. Now, can you all leave?"

Seeing that I had finally relented, they left, satisfied. I was exhausted. It felt more draining than fighting a war.

…

Once I made up my mind, I had a lawyer start preparing the transfer documents. But since our company still had an ongoing collaboration with Yeager Group, the process was temporarily delayed.

Sean and Grandma no longer came and caused trouble again. But the peace they offered was merely a façade.

Grandma soon came back with Sean. What I didn't expect, though, was that our company dispute had even made it to the media this time.