Chapter 623

"Juniper, talking smack about your dad like that is just plain ungrateful," Elara, Saffron's mom, said, putting on a show of being heartbroken. "Your dad's doing this for your own good. Rich folks do these arranged marriages all the time. Isn't he thinking about your future?"

"Thinking about my future by marrying me off to some rando? He's thinking about the Cooper Group, about cash," Juniper shot back.

"Your dad's not wrong to think that way. He's doing it for the whole fam. You're part of the Cooper clan too. Isn't it right for you to pitch in? Your dad raised you, how can you be so selfish?"

"I ain't selling myself!"

"You... How dare you talk like that? What do you mean by selling yourself? Are you saying I'm selling my daughter?" Aaron snapped.

"What's the difference? If you love arranged marriages so much, let Saffron do it. I'm not interested. She's the obedient one anyway," Juniper retorted.

"Juniper! Saffron is my girlfriend. How can you say that?" Douglas accused. But what really ticked him off was that Juniper had hit up a bar and hooked up with some random dude. His three years of waiting now felt like a big joke.

If he had known she was just pretending to be virtuous, he would've forced himself on her back then.

"Why can't I say it? I can say whatever I want to a cheating scumbag," Juniper sneered.

Tears immediately welled up in Saffron's eyes as she choked out, "Juniper, are you still mad at me? I know you haven't forgiven me, but Douglas and I truly love each other. We..."

"Enough, Saffron. Spare me the drama. Your tears just make me sick," Juniper cut in impatiently.

"You did something so disgraceful and still blame Saffron?"

"Me, a single woman finding a boyfriend is disgraceful? But her being a side chick isn't? What kind of messed-up world is this?" Juniper retorted sarcastically.

"I'm not a side chick, Juniper, I'm really not..." Saffron cried sorrowfully in Douglas's arms.

"Juniper, that's enough. If you have any beef, take it up with me. Don't bully Saffron," Douglas scolded.

"I can't be bothered to bully her. You two are gross. Just looking at you makes me wanna puke," Juniper said.

"Juniper, blame me if you want, but my baby is innocent..." Saffron looked truly pitiful.

"What? Baby? Saffron, you're pregnant?" Douglas looked at her in surprise.

His dad was dying, so he and his two brothers were busy fighting over the inheritance. Since Juniper refused to sleep with him, he couldn't resist Saffron's temptation. He didn't expect her to get pregnant so quickly.

Aaron and Elara were also delighted.

Juniper's heart felt like it was being cut by a small knife, hurt silently.

The whole family was happy for Saffron, the side chick, and their kid.

She scoffed inwardly, 'Ha, what a ridiculous and absurd world. Truly, it's so ironic.'

Saffron shot Juniper a provocative smirk, thinking it would piss her off. But Juniper was past that stage; she wasn't that dumb. Besides, they weren't worth her anger; they didn't deserve it.

"Really? Congrats," Juniper said.

Saffron tried to provoke her, "Juniper, are you really congratulating us? You're being sarcastic, right? Do you think I'm guilty? I..."

"No, I'm genuinely congratulating you. A cheating scumbag and a mistress, if you don't stay together, who else would you mess up?"

"Juniper!" Aaron was even angrier. "Your sister is pregnant. Can't you congratulate them?"

"She has no morals. Why should I congratulate them?" Juniper asked mockingly. "And am I not telling the truth? Why is it okay for her to steal my boyfriend, but wrong for me to state the facts? Don't you find it ridiculous?"

Juniper rolled her eyes so hard they almost got stuck, "Now that I got myself a boyfriend, you can forget about setting me up with anyone."

With that, she bolted upstairs.

"You! You're driving me nuts," Aaron snapped.

"Honey, chill out. Saffron's pregnant. This is good news. We're gonna be grandparents," Elara said, trying to calm him down.

"Saffron, why didn't you spill the beans earlier?" Aaron asked.

"I... I was scared of upsetting Juniper, afraid she wouldn't be happy..." Saffron said, all innocent-like.

"You're too kind, always thinking of others," Aaron sighed.

"Saffron, don't worry. I'll treat you right for the rest of my life. I won't let you down," Douglas promised.

Juniper rolled her eyes again, 'Can you really trust a cheater's words, Saffron? If he cheated once, he'll cheat again. You'll have your time to cry.'

She slammed her door shut, blocking out their happy chatter, and flopped onto her bed.

Her phone buzzed.

"Juniper, are you okay? Why haven't you been answering your phone? I was so worried," Jessica said, sounding all anxious.

"I'm fine, just at home."

"You didn't... go to the bar with some guy last night, did you? You vanished in a blink. I was worried."

"No," Juniper said, hugging a stuffed animal and pouting.

"Good. Don't even think about finding a random guy to spite your family. It won't affect them; it'll only hurt you, got it?"

"Yeah, I was too impulsive yesterday," Juniper said, tugging at the toy bunny's ears. She couldn't believe she had done something so dumb. Luckily, nothing bad happened.

"Alright, let's catch up another day."

Juniper stared at the ceiling, "Anthony, Anthony..."

Who the heck was he?

But he felt different from those other rich jerks who were beasts in human clothing. He didn't seem like a bad guy. Otherwise, he wouldn't have let her go last night.

Even though her makeup was scary, her body was great. Other guys would've lost control long ago.

He was quite the gentleman.

From Juniper's perspective, he was a good guy. Someone like him wouldn't take advantage of her. Even if he did, she might be okay with it.

For now, she had her sights set on him.

Juniper decisively called him, but he hung up after just two rings.

She pouted. How dare he hang up on her.

Juniper called again, but he hung up on the third call too.

She frowned and searched his number on social media, finding a male ID with a profile picture of the sea: Anthony.

Anthony.

Yeah, his name was Anthony.

Juniper sent a friend request. Her username was "JuniperBaby," so he'd know who she was.

Juniper rolled around on her bed, waiting. After half an hour, he still hadn't accepted.

She wasn't giving up.

She called again.

On the fifth call, he finally answered, but his first words were cold, "Stop calling me."

"You think I won't call just because you say so? I'll keep calling," Juniper said, all bossy. She was always someone who did whatever she wanted.

"If you keep this up, I can report you for harassment."

"Go ahead, report me. If you report me for harassment, I'll report you for rape. Who's afraid of whom?"

"Are you always this difficult?"

"You're the first," Juniper said honestly. With her looks and status, it was always guys chasing after her.

"Man, you've successfully caught my attention," Juniper said, lifting her chin. "I really meant it when I said I wanted you to be my boyfriend. And right now, you are my boyfriend."