The Killer Queen (Noella Briony)

"Marriage? What on earth requires marriage to be done?" Millie sighed, her frustration evident. "The old man at home is barely hanging on, and he wants to stir up some trouble before he dies, thinking it will elevate the Gallagher family a notch.”

"In their eyes, marriage is just a bargaining chip. It's all about who can bring home the most advantageous alliance. Whoever does gets to inherit the old man's fortune.”

Jasper wrinkled his nose in distaste. "All this for a bit of inheritance?”

"Yeah, a measly four billion.”

Jasper's eyes widened in disbelief. "Dollars? How does the Gallagher family even have that kind of money? That's like, their entire empire, isn't it?" Millie shrugged. "That's the gist of it. The better your marital alliance, the more you stand to inherit from the Gallagher coffers."

Millie, clearly aggravated, swung her fist through the air. “Damn it, if there was any other way, I'd just blow the whole Gallagher estate sky-high and see how they'd marry then. It drives me nuts!”

Noella spoke calmly. “Your mother won't leave with you." Once in the car, Millie’s spirits sank, and she managed a bitter smile. "Yeah, my mom's stubborn as a mule."

Noella was well aware of the situation with the Gallagher family. All the assets were tightly held by the older generation. and they called the shots on the family trust and inheritance. Securing the inheritance meant playing the obedient child forever. The current head of the Gallagher family enjoyed setting his own children against each other in a twisted survival of the fittest. Only the last one standing would be deemed worthy of inheriting everything.

Millie said bitterly, "The old fox is cunning, alright. Technically, the inheritance is mine, but if I can’t produce a suitable husband, he'll hand it over to someone else.”

"Best case, pop out a kid too. But since a kid's off the table for now, might as well trick some guy into marrying me first."

It was all about securing a strong ally for the Gallagher family. And a way to ensure Millie would be indebted to the Gallagher family for life! Jasper twitched at the corners of his mouth. "Millie, don't tell me the guy you plan to trick is me?"

"Smart cookie! Jasper, so smart. Are you offering to have kids with me?"

Jasper nearly choked on his own saliva! Millie had always been a force of nature back in school. Not just for anything, but... for being shamelessly ambitious! Whether it was debate competitions or mock trials, she was ready to do whatever it took to win. In her world, there were no friends or family, only victory! Even in a marathon, Millie had to finish first, standing on the podium flipping off the crowd below.

I'm the best! All you guys are trash!"

Because of that, she was no stranger to controversy at school. Every time Jasper heard something new about her, he was flabbergasted! She was. truly wild. Now, getting entangled with her seemed worse than death itself!

Realization dawned on Noella; Millie had her sights set on Jasper, thinking he was from the Schnabel family. Indeed, an alliance with the Schnabels would perfectly satisfy the old Gallagher generation's requirements. But Noella wouldn't allow forcing a Schnabel into something unwillingly.

"Come stay at my place for a few days, and we'll figure something out. If marriage is a must, I'm not suitable, but there are other members in the Schnabel family. If you're open to it. we could arrange for you to meet someone.”

Millie was more than willing. "Just need to spread a rumor for now. As long as I'm living with my mentor at the Schnabels', who cares which Mr. Schnabel it is! Let them guess!"

After all, just the news was enough to make people anxious.

At the Schnabel Manor in Serene Haven, Phoenix Tower, Sienna looked on with a gleeful smile at Darcy sitting in the dining room. Hearing her eldest son was out on a date, she had Beckett bring the girl home straight away! Sienna, though outwardly patient, was indeed worried about Beckett's love life.

Darcy was a bit uneasy, not quite understanding how she ended up following Beckett home... Beckett glanced at the still-open restaurant and said casually, "The restaurant's closed for the night, let's dine elsewhere."

Darcy was puzzled. Closed? Since when? Next thing she knew, Beckett had brought her to the Schnabel family home! Beckett reminded his mother, "I haven't eaten yet.”

"I don't care about that! Darcy, dear, have you eaten? Would you like some dinner?”

Darcy was about to decline, remembering Beckett hadn't eaten all day, and changed her mind. "No, thank you, I haven't." Just as the food was served, a voice came from the entrance. "Sienna, I'm here for dinner too!"

“Alright, alright. there's plenty for everyone.”

Beckett's gaze shifted to Jasper trailing behind, raising an eyebrow. "Looks like Millie chose Jasper?"

Millie shook her head, wrapping an arm around Noella's waist, acting coquettishly. "No, no, I chose my mentor. If I knew my mentor was here, I wouldn't have bothered with you guys."

Noella sighed, "You said you needed to get married to claim your inheritance, right?"

The implication was clear; perhaps Noella really couldn't be of much help in that regard. While Noella could assist with other matters, marriage was simply out of her hands.

Millie, now holding a bowl of spaghetti, began to eat with gusto. “Ah, screw WH, t let's just play it by ear Who knqws, maybe by the time I i supposed to settle down, that ate geezer wil have kicked the bucket! And hey, if I can't get hitched; doesn't mean I can't mess:up someone else's big day, righ ?"

From that moment on, she was a heartless hitman. If any of the Gallagher youngsters were eyeing a tie with high society, she'd make it her mission to ruin their matrimonial plans!

Jasper winced. "That's cold-hearted, ever heard of ‘better to wreck ten temples than one marriage'?"

"Being cold-hearted beats being broke."

As she rolled wp her sleeves to dive into a bow of spaghetti, Millie suddenly. remembered the sleeve of tattoos running down her arm, = someting the older folks wouldn't exactly be thrilled about. She, : sheepishly rolled her sleeve-back d6wn, a bit embarrassed swnovel.ne

Sienna chimed in, "Don’t sweat it, tattoos are cool. Besides, if something ever happens to you, your mom will be able to identify you in no time. Millie: “..."

"Thanks, that’s... oddly comforting, in a hardcore way." But she had to admit, it was practical advice.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

Jasper's gaze shifted to Darcy. sitting next to Beckett. "Ms. Darcy, how come you're hanging out with Beckett?”

Millie caught Darcy's curious look and immediately went into survival mode. "Get it straight, I'm not interested in someone else's guy! I'm no homewrecker!”

Darcy quickly shook her head. "Oh no, that's not what I meant... I was actually admiring your tattoos.

Millie loved the compliment! She confidently took off her jacket toz show offher arm, covered in tattoos depicting a female warrior wielding swords and battling demons)a piece straight out of a fantasy saga.

"Cool, right? It was done by my mentor!" Jasper exclaimed, "You mean, Noella did this?!” Jasper remembered that Master Azure was famous for her fantasy-inspired tattoo art! Carefully, Jasper asked, "Noella, you know Master Azure?"

Millie looked puzzled, "Huh? How could I net? My mentor is..."