Chapter 24
“You know how the Forrest family has always been involved in charity, like sponsoring underprivileged university students?” Juniper asked.
Liliana nodded, then shook her head. “I know they do charity work, but I never paid attention to the specifics p>
In college, she had only followed business news related to the design world. After marrying Cedric, her entire world had revolved around him, and she’d stopped paying attention to anything else. She vaguely remembered seeing a few news reports about his philanthropy but had never read the details.
“Sylvia was the lucky one Cedric picked from an orphanage when he was seven. She’s brilliant. The orphanage was trying to find a sponsor to fund her education.” As Juniper recounted what she’d found, she cast a worried glance at Liliana. “Cedric used his own allowance to send Sylvia to the best schools in Riverbend City, supporting her all the way through university until she joined Zephyr Group p>
Her words, precise as arrows, struck true. With each one, she watched the blood drain from Liliana’s face.
Finally, she just handed a file to Liliana. “Here, you should just read it yourself p>
As the sole heir and eldest grandson of the Forrest family, Cedric received an allowance of a million dollars a year from the Dowager. Her intention was to teach him the value of money. His father, Stoddard, had other ideas. He felt that giving a young boy that much money would make him careless. So he took Cedric to an orphanage and had him use his allowance to sponsor other children.
The sponsorship included not only Sylvia but also her younger sister, Diana Woods, because Sylvia refused to be separated from her. Diana was an average student, and Stoddard had initially refused to sponsor both. But Cedric insisted, defying his father and taking both sisters from the orphanage.
He used his million-dollar annual allowance to fund their education from elementary school through university. At first, it was enough, but as they advanced to top-tier schools, the costs skyrocketed. Eventually, Cedric had to borrow eight million dollars from Dowager Forrest to keep supporting them.
Liliana remembered the Dowager mentioning that debt. She’d thought it was a joke, but it was real. And it was for… Sylvia.
After graduating, Sylvia joined Zephyr Group. Diana, however, ended up in the ICU after her own graduation. She had a congenital heart defect and nearly died. Cedric paid for her to go abroad to recover and find a suitable heart donor.
“Cedric basically raised a wife for himself. Sylvia is obedient and ambitious. She’s followed every step of the path he laid out for her
perfectly.” Juniper had to admil.n
Sylvia was impressive. So impressive it made her feet Madequate by comparison. “But Liliana, you can be better than her. As impressive as she is, she’s just a vice president. You can become a world-renowned designer p>
A heavy weight pressed on Liliana’s chest, making it hard to breathe.
A wife handpicked and molded by Cedric himself. He must be so satisfied with her, so perfectly in sync with her.
So, how long had they been together? And if he was with Sylvia, why had he married her?
“There’s something else,” Juniper said, hesitating. “It’s inside information; stuff I couldn’t find in official records, but I heard from a source that after Sylvia graduated, the Forrest family wanted to send her abroad. Cedric refused and insisted she stay. So my guess is, they were already involved back then. He married you because he knew his family would never approve of him marrying Sylvia. You were just a respectable figurehead, while he carried on with her in secret p>
“So, have you considered not getting the divorce?” Juniper’s suggestion was serious. “You’re the official wife. You get to live the high life, and in the end, the Forrest family fortune will be yours. The other woman will always be the other woman. She’ll never be able to hold her head high Think about it-the business world is full of couples who just keep up appearances p>
The Forrest family fortune was a temptation too great to ignore.