258 Daughter of the house

"You and I both know how much she suffered emotionally because of Tang's deception last year, that too, under cruelly similar circumstances. To the best of my knowledge, they haven't been in touch ever since. The last time that she met him, she had told him some real harsh words. If informed today about his condition, imagine the amount of guilt which she would undergo because of those words. Unless we know for sure one way or the other, I don't think we should drag her into this, unnecessarily. If she has even a half chance of building her life elsewhere, this would simply hurl her back into the same uncertain black hole as we are in, currently," he explained gently.

Chu couldn't refute his argument. It wasn't fair on her part to be selfish. Maybe Jia Li and her brother were not meant to be together in this birth. She tried to hold back her sob which arose in her throat.

Shanghai

"What is the meaning of this, Father Li? I thought that all assets from Grandpa Li had been inherited solely by you. Is it true that Samantha owns HALF of the company's shares? And what does Mr. Wang mean by 'she visited our office this morning'? Were you aware that Samantha is in Shanghai?" Zhu Cheng literally pounced upon his father in-law as soon as they came out of the conference room.

Mr. Li averted his gaze uncomfortably and said stiffly, "let's go home and talk. No point making a scene where many eyes and ears may be upon us."

Zhu Cheng couldn't believe it. After all that he had done to secure his future, this girl came back as a bad omen in his life. Why the hell had that old man left such a huge chunk of his inheritance to this chit?

"He never liked me much anyways," Cheng thought viciously.

He was not getting a good feeling about this, especially the fact that Sam was in town and he had been kept in dark about it.

Mr. Li kept shut during the drive back home. He didn't want to talk in front of the driver and give people any cause for gossip. He could feel Zhu Cheng fuming next to him. He did feel sorry for him. After all, her arrival would impact him the most.

Zhu Cheng got down from the car and stomped his way inside the Li mansion without waiting for his father in-law to alight. He couldn't wait to tear into that impertinent girl. Had the lesson not been enough for her the last time? He would make sure that she is crushed this time around completely.

"Yimei, are you, are you alright darling? I am so sorry that I didn't know about that person's arrival. Else I would have never allowed you to come for lunch at your parents' house," Zhu Cheng went straight to his wife, his expression tender.

Yimei looked at him apologetically and replied, "noooo, it isn't your fault. In fact, I am the one feeling embarrassed. I know how much uncomfortable is her presence for you. But I assure you that we won't step into this house till the time she hasn't left town."

Cheng scrambled to answer her back, "don't say that. Why should you stay away from YOUR house just because someone has been shameless enough to return after so many years."

He had been hoping to catch a glimpse of Sam as soon as he entered so that he could start the shaming right away but that troublesome chit seemed to be found nowhere in the vicinity.

"No matter, what has happened, Li Sam is the daughter of this house. Her grandfather and I both thought so. I don't see why anyone should be raising objections to her visit to her own house," Grandma Li's quiet voice echoed in the high ceiling hall.

Yimei and Cheng turned around to look at her in surprise. Yimei looked at her grandmother with upset eyes. But before either of them could say anything, Mr. Li intervened.

"Do you even know why Samantha has returned after so many years? She wants to stake her claim to the family business. I don't think that you were aware of this but due to some strange reason, father had left half of the company's shares in her name. And Sam wants to be a director in the new company which we are investing in. Forget asking or consulting with me, she didn't even bother to inform me about it," he told his mother bitterly.

"And had I informed you, would you have welcomed my decision with open arms or sent a lawyer personally instead of just the courier this time round?" Sam's voice boomed from the staircase.

Zhu Cheng looked up, as did the others.