The banquet continued in the Banquet Hall after Lillian had presented her gift, and it seemed like everything was settled.

Since it was just a regular birthday celebration, there was no expectation for guests to bring gifts, especially not for Daisy.

Suddenly, Titus's wife, Kate, spoke up, "It just so happens that I have also prepared a gift for Daisy."

Daisy was visibly touched and responded, "You are all too kind."

"It's just a small token of appreciation," Kate humbly said. She then took out a gift box from her delicate little bag and opened it. She explained, "I hope you don't mind that I also got you bracelets. I noticed you weren't wearing anything on your wrist earlier, so I thought you might like these. Do you?"

Kate presented the bracelets, and everyone's attention was immediately drawn to them. The blue gemstone bracelets were stunning and clearly quite valuable, far surpassing the one Lillian had given Daisy. Lillian was left astonished by the exquisite gift in front of her.

"Want to try it on?" Kate offered.

"It's too precious," Daisy quickly declined.

Kate insisted, saying, "It's not too precious. You look stunning today, and I'm afraid this bracelet might not do justice to your beauty."

Her words were a subtle jab at Lillian, making her feel uneasy. It was as if she was sarcastically implying that the bracelet Lillian had given Daisy was unworthy of her. This made Lillian's face flush with embarrassment.

"Oh," Daisy blushed shyly. "I'm flattered…"

"Here, let me help you put it on," Kate insisted, presenting the bracelet in front of everyone, making it difficult for Daisy to refuse.

Daisy had no choice but to accept Kate's offer and put on the beautiful bracelet. As she compared the two bracelets on her left and right hands, Lillian's gift indeed looked plain and small in comparison, almost overshadowed by the exquisite one from Kate.

Lillian felt even more ashamed.

"I'm so glad it matches your crown," Kate hurriedly praised, trying to divert the attention away from any awkwardness. "I didn't expect my youngest son to have such a good eye."

"Did Eden pick this out?" Daisy asked, surprised as she looked at the sapphire bracelet on her wrist.

Eden was busy socializing with his two older brothers, and Ella couldn't help but glance in his direction when his name came up in the conversation.

Surprisingly, he made eye contact with her instantly, despite being busy with drinking and chatting.

It was like he'd been keeping an eye on her, eager to be the first to meet her gaze when she looked his way.

Feeling a bit flustered, Ella quickly withdrew her gaze and focused on listening to Daisy and Kate continue their conversation.

"I didn't realize Eden was so sweet and would accompany you shopping. I've heard that boys as old as him don't want to accompany their parents," Daisy shifted the conversation toward their families.

"Boys like that simply have no sense of style. My Lucien always accompanies me when he has the time," Lillian proudly praised her son.

Ella couldn't resist making a seemingly innocent inquiry, "So did Lucien pick out the bracelet you gave Mom too?"

Her innocent expression masked her true intentions, but it was enough to embarrass both Lillian and Lucien. Anyone with discerning eyes could see that the bracelet was so plain that it seemed to diminish one's status rather than elevate it.

"Lucien is busy all this time, just yesterday he participated in the Outstanding Youth Awards, he doesn't have that much time." Lillian hurriedly brought up another achievement—beating a dead horse—just wanting to brush off the matter of the bracelet.

"I remember. Eden was there too, wasn't he?" Ella continued to pry, maintaining her innocent expression.

"Eden is a lucky one, isn't he? He only ran for fun, so we weren't expecting much," Kate responded in a seemingly modest tone. "Imagine our surprise when he actually tied with Lucien!"

Her words caused Lucien's face to turn red with embarrassment despite her humble tone.

The contrasting remarks from Lillian and Kate about Eden and Lucien's running achievements painted an interesting picture.

One was praising Lucien's hard work, while the other downplayed Eden's efforts, attributing his success to mere fun. Still, they both earned the same ranking.

Ella couldn't help but smile to herself. If Kate's comments were unintentional, then it was forgivable, but if she deliberately said it, she must be much more cunning and intelligent than she appeared. In just a few words, she managed to satirize the Williams family, leaving them feeling humiliated.

Thankfully, Lillian was skilled at socializing and knew how to avoid discussing unfavorable topics. She quickly changed the subject, pulling her daughter Lydia into the conversation, saying, "Right Lydia, don't you have something to say to Ella?"

Lydia hadn't wanted to come to the event. Her face was bruised and purple, and despite the makeup artist's efforts to conceal it, she still felt reluctant to apologize to Ella. Still, she couldn't go against the wishes of her brother and her parents.

Lydia had initially wanted to witness how Lillian would humiliate Daisy, but she was caught off guard by Kate showing up Lillian's paltry gift. It left Lydia feeling all the more angry and humiliated over having to come and apologize.

She twisted her body in protest, clearly repulsed by the situation.

Lillian, however, twisted Lydia's arm behind her back, hurting her in secret. No high society dame would display such a lack of composure in public.

Lydia kept her fake smile plastered on and listened to her mom continue: "Yesterday Lydia didn't know what to do. She's young, and you know how jealousy can affect her. She felt that you were taking away all of her brother's attention, so she said things she didn't mean. But the whole day, she felt guilty about it at home, and that's why she wanted to come and apologize to you, Ella."

Ella couldn't help but admire Lillian's skillful performance. The statement Lillian made carried multiple meanings. It subtly implied that Ella and Lucien had a close bond, leading her sister to feel jealous. At the same time, it portrayed Lillian's own daughter as having a kind heart, willing to apologize out of fear of upsetting others, regardless of whether she was right or wrong.

Ella took in Lillian's act with a cool expression.

Lydia had to put on a show of being pitiful and took the initiative to speak to Ella, " Ella, I'm sorry. I said those things because I was afraid you were taking Lucien away. I know it was wrong. You aren't stealing him away; you're marrying him. I should be happy that I'm getting a loving sister-in-law out of this."

It was so obviously fake that Ella had a hard time listening. She didn't know how Lydia could say those things without choking.

In her past life, Ella believed Lydia's every word. She'd just assumed Lydia's emotions got the best of her, and that her sister-in-law was a good person deep down.

Now, she knew this girl was so vile that her intestines were probably moldy.

Ella smiled kindly "I know you didn't mean it."

A hint of anger flashed in Lydia's eyes as she reluctantly apologized. She felt irritated that Ella was naive enough to believe her apology.

Lydia couldn't wait to make her life a living hell when she finally marries her brother.

"It's just… throwing Cendy's phone in the lake was an awful thing to do." Ella didn't hesitate to bring up yesterday's incident.

Lydia's face visibly went all stiff. Was Ella crazy?!

Ella didn't let Lydia off the hook and decided to address the issue in front of the elders from the four prominent families.

"What?" Lucas was taken aback when he heard about his daughter's phone being thrown into a lake.

Ella was quick to explain, "It's alright, Uncle Lucas. It was just a little misunderstanding. Lydia didn't know better—since she's younger than us and all—so we didn't take it to heart. But since Lydia took the initiative to apologize to me, it's only fair for her to apologize to Cendy too."

Ella kept a polite smile on her face.