Rise, Reclaim, Reign

Riverdale, as night fell.

The Willows’ family villa was ablaze with lights and bustling with people.

Today was Mrs. Florence Willow's 46th birthday. Despite her age, she still possessed an extraordinary charm and beauty. Most importantly, she gave birth to two daughters one is Riverdale's most beautiful woman, and the other is the number one school beauty at Riverdale University. Countless people coveted their beauty and took this opportunity to come and congratulate her.

"Madam Willow, here's an East Sea pearl. Wearing it will make your skin fair and beautiful. Happy birthday!"

"Aunt, I'm giving you a jade Ruyi as a gift, wishing you everlasting youth and all the best..."

Gifts were presented one after another, and Florence smiled with joy and contentment.

...

Just then, a young man rushed into the villa, wearing faded jeans, and with an anxious expression, he said to Florence, "Mom, my mother is critically ill and needs immediate surgery. Can you lend me 500,000?"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the villa was stunned.

All the people looked at the young man with strange expressions.

Today was Madam Willow's birthday, and instead of bringing a gift, he asked for 500,000 right off the bat. Was he out of his mind?

Someone asked, "Who is this guy?"

A young man in a suit disdainfully said, "Who else could it be? He is George, the useless husband of Lily, the nominal daughter-in-law of the Willow family! Oh, that's right. He’s only a nominal husband because Lady Willow is still pure and innocent, waiting for the right time to remarry. Otherwise, we wouldn't even be bothered by him today."

Instantly, laughter erupted throughout the villa.

A stunning beauty sitting on the sofa looked at George with cold eyes, her face full of disappointment.

She was Lily, George's lawful wife.

They had been married for nearly a year, but George's status in the Willow family was lower than that of a nanny. He couldn't even enter his wife's room.

On their wedding day, his parents had a car accident. His father, Samuel Harold, died on the spot, and his mother has been in a coma ever since. What's even more tragic is that his father was falsely accused of embezzling and betraying the country. Their family's company was seized, their assets were taken away, and the Harold family expelled him from their house. In an instant, he went from being a young master who had hit rock bottom. People scorned at him for being penniless, and even his mother-in-law despised him.

To pay for his mother's treatment, he had to sell their only house, but the amount earned from the sale was insufficient.

Just now, he received a notification from the hospital that he needed another 500,000 immediately for the surgery, or his mother would not last three days.

He had no other choice but to ask for money.

Florence stared angrily at George, who looked pitiful, like a desperate dog.

Grabbing a small piece of birthday cake from the table, she viciously smashed it in his face. "You useless waste, all you ever do is ask me for money. Do you think I'm the Willow family's bank?"

""Are Lily’s money all obtained through gambling? Giving you ten thousand a month is not enough, and you still need to borrow five hundred thousand. Your mother is a hopeless cause. It’s almost as if I am throwing money away into a bottomless pit, what's the point of treating her? Just bury her directly." George clenched his fists upon hearing this, but then immediately relaxed. Lily finally stepped forward and handed a piece of paper to George. "Mom, you've said enough, why resort to saying such hurtful words?"

At this moment, George's sister-in-law, Cassie, sneered and said, "Sis, why are you still helping this useless man? Look at him, ever since he came to our house, has he earned a single cent? Has he ever given our mother and me a gift? No! Besides asking for money from our family, what else can he do? I suggest you divorce him soon. There are so many talented and successful young men here, you can just pick one at random, and they would be a hundred or a thousand times better than him."

These words caused the group of young men to speak up one after another—

"That's right! It is truly unfortunate that Miss Lily had married such a useless man. You should divorce him right away!"

"I'm willing to marry Miss Lily immediately, with a bridal gift of a thirty million mansion in Manhattan, plus two million in cash."

Someone immediately shouted, "A thirty million mansion is considered subpar in Manhattan! Marry me, and I'll offer you an eighty million luxury house."

Another person shouted, "Me, me, me! As long as Miss Lily nods her head, I, from the Denckman family, will give you a billion in wealth, everything will be yours."

George's face turned pale with unbearable humiliation. These people were treating his wife as if she were a commodity to be bought.

Lily's face turned equally pale, feeling incredibly frustrated. But it was her mother, Florence, who had released these words, becauseshe felt that her daughter had suffered a lot after marrying him.

At this moment, Florence saw everyone offering such extravagant prices and felt even more satisfied. She opened her mouth and said, "Gentlemen, everyone please calm down and listen to me.

To be frank, my daughter Lily recently had an incident where she accidentally offended Mr. Reeze from Fonda group. Mr. Reeze threatened to bankrupt our Willow Group. All of you are prominent and influential gentlemen in Riverdale. Today, I'm making a statement—if anyone can be the first to help my daughter Lily resolve this matter, they will have the honor of marrying her."

There was one thing she didn't mention.

Mr. Reeze demanded that Lily spend three days with him, and if she refused, he would bankrupt the Willows family.

Upon hearing those words, George felt a mix of anger and frustration, and he loudly exclaimed, "I disagree! Lily is my wife..."

Florence slapped him across the face, "Who is your wife? What is your social status? Can't you figure it out? You have no say in this matter."

Then, she turned to the young talented men and asked, "What do you gentlemen think?"

As a result, those who were originally competing to marry Lily, one by one, their faces changed dramatically, no longer daring to speak up.

Fonda group was a powerful presence in the business world of Riverdale."

Their total assets are worth trillions.

With just a few words, they can make Riverdale shake.

What's even more terrifying is that Fonda group's big boss, Marcus, known as Marc, is the king of the secret society in Riverdale. He has immense power and controls everything.

Are they out of their minds to offend the Fonda group for Lily?

Upon seeing this group of people, Florence's heart sank as they all fell silent.

At that moment, a voice came through, "Alright! I'll take care of this, and once I settle things with the Fonda group, I'll come to marry Miss Lily."

A young man dressed in Armani, with remarkable elegance, walked in with his head held high.