Chapter 1685 Persistent Harassment

• “Do you treat me better than you do Shelby?” Zarina scoffed. “Are you joking? You treated me better than you did Shelby. You went to great lengths to replace my real jewelry with fake ones and gifted the real ones to Shelby as her dowry. Is this what you meant when you said you treated me better than you did Shelby?”
• “I...” Jace felt a deep sense of shame within him, but he managed to muster the courage to say, “The reason why I gave those pieces of jewelry to Shelby is that she had nothing. Zarina, even without your jewelry, you still have your properties. You have estates. You have it all, while Shelby has nothing. Compared to you, Shelby is truly unfortunate. As her father, I feel powerless, unable to provide anything for Shelby. I felt guilty toward her, so, I, I just... He lowered his head, no longer displaying the dominant demeanor he had just shown. His voice softened considerably. “Zarina, I owe you an apology. I've been worthless, unable to raise my own daughter properly, and instead, I've taken advantage of you. Zarina, I've made a mistake. Can you forgive me, please?”
• “I can't forgive you.” Zarina stared into his eyes, enunciating each word, “If all you squandered was that forty-five million, considering you're the uncle who raised me, I'd choose to forgive you, and I might even comfort you, reminding you that money is but a worldly possession, urging you not to dwell on it. However, you swapped out the dowry my grandparents and parents left for me! Those things are tokens of their love for me, yet you greedily claimed them as your own, gifting them to your daughter. I had never imagined that my beloved uncle, the man I held in high regard, could be such a despicable and shameless person behind closed doors. I can't forgive you!”