Their Mistake, Her Rise - Chapter 128: Chapter 128

Zoe and Shawn both noticed Joseph making a grand entrance with a whole entourage, but since Shawn didn't even bat an eye, clearly not taking them seriously, Zoe couldn't be bothered either.
After all, getting close to Shawn was never really about marrying into the Ludwig family.
Sure enough, it wasn't long before Joseph and the others blocked their path.
Joseph stared at Zoe, scanning her up and down several times. Seeing her in a black velvet dress, draped in a suit that clearly belonged to Shawn, he knew their relationship was definitely more complex than he thought.
This made Joseph's face darken even more. Ignoring the crowd, he scolded, "Shawn, do you even know what you're doing? Don't forget you're engaged.
"Messing around with some random woman like this is intolerable. Go apologize to Sophia now."
Joseph was so furious it was almost comical, and even Zoe couldn't help glancing at Shawn.
She had always lived life on her own terms, so she couldn't relate to being chained down by family. She thought, 'He might be unstoppable on the battlefield, but he couldn't break free from his family's grip.'
Just as Zoe was thinking that, Shawn said, "Family alliances are your business, not mine. I never agreed to any of it."
"Nonsense!" Joseph snapped, barely holding back his anger.
While they were at a standoff, members of the White family arrived as well. However, Marvin White wasn't there—only some of the extended family members were present.
For the sake of reputation, and to assert his own stance, Joseph couldn't allow Shawn to keep acting recklessly. He stared at him seriously and kept pushing him.
He said, "Have you forgotten who you are? You're the future heir to the Ludwig family, and you're supposed to make sacrifices for the family. That's how it's always been."
Restricting children with strict rules was something big families often did. Zoe crossed her arms, watching the show with great interest.
She wondered whether Shawn would compromise in the end.
Honestly, the whole thing just made Zoe even more curious. She had to admit that she enjoyed anything that made Shawn uncomfortable.
It was her subtle way of getting back at him for that public proposal in front of her friends, which had left her embarrassed for months.
To everyone's surprise, Shawn looked up with a stern face. His arrogant declaration was so unexpected that even Zoe was caught off guard. "I've never cared about being the heir to the Ludwig family. I can quit if you want.
"As for Sophia, she has nothing to do with me. The only woman I want to marry is Zoe."
With that, Shawn reached out and pulled Zoe straight into his arms. His perfume instantly surrounded her, making it impossible not to get swept up in his intensity.
Zoe frowned slightly. She thought, 'I was enjoying the drama, but Shawn dragged me right into the fire. Wait, is he really not going to let me just have fun?'
As expected, hearing Shawn's words, Joseph clutched his chest in anger, speechless for a long moment. "You are bringing shame to the family. I'm so pissed.
"We spent a lot raising you, and this is how you repay us, huh? How dare you marry a random girl with no fancy background, who's never even set foot on the international stage?"
Seeing that Shawn wouldn't budge, Joseph turned his sharp gaze on Zoe. He widened his eyes and said, "I didn't expect a little girl your age to have such guts.
"Do you have any idea who we are? The Ludwig family isn't some small-town clan, and we're certainly not the kind of people a girl who's never even attended an international gala could ever dream of associating with.
"Do you even know what an international gala is? Have you ever met Roland, the world-famous painter?
"And what about Carlos Beckett, the renowned entrepreneur? His wife is my youngest daughter. Do you know anything about them? What could a girl of your standing possibly offer Shawn?"
He thought, 'She's never even set foot in international circles. She probably has no idea what those galas are like, let alone the social clubs Sophia attends all the time.
'Those are worlds she could never hope to enter.'
Joseph's whole point was to make Zoe see just how vast the gap was between her and the Ludwig family, hoping she would back off on her own.
After all, the Ludwig family and whatever family stood behind Zoe weren't even in the same league. Their entire worldviews were worlds apart.
However, something happened that left Joseph and everyone else watching completely stunned.
Zoe winked playfully with a sly smile and said coolly, "Oh, you mean Roland? The guy who was too broke to afford a meal and ended up in jail for stealing bread from a bakery?"
Before Joseph could react, Zoe added, "As for Carlos, how is he doing these days? Is he still selling counterfeits?"
The moment those words left her mouth, everyone in the room went silent, and then, like a wave, the place erupted into a frenzy of shocked gasps and hurried whispers.
It was as if everyone had been hit with a sudden shock. They were left utterly speechless, unable to process what they had just heard.
Roland and Carlos were famous worldwide. The former was a genius painter whose works could sell for millions of dollars, though he once ended up in prison for stealing a loaf of bread during hard times.
As for Carlos, everyone assumed he operated through legitimate channels, completely unaware that he was selling counterfeits.
As soon as Zoe finished speaking, everyone in the room shot glares at her.
They couldn't believe that Zoe was accusing these two big shots—one of stealing and the other of selling counterfeits. It was an absolute bombshell, a scandal like no other.
Joseph's face turned stern. "I thought you were just a scheming girl trying to get close to my grandson, but I never imagined you would go so far as to insult world-famous figures.
"You're a big disgrace to Jelonsburg."
When Joseph mentioned Jelonsburg, everyone realized he was truly angry.
Therefore, as soon as he finished speaking, everyone in the room gasped, secretly thinking that Zoe must have gone crazy to insult such world-renowned figures.
However, just as everyone was convinced by Joseph, a middle-aged man's voice suddenly rang out from the corner. "No, you've all got it wrong. Every single one of you is mistaken.
"I'm a journalist, and I was lucky enough to interview these two legends. They both opened up to me. Roland did go to jail for stealing bread when he was poor, and before Carlos became a successful entrepreneur, he actually made his living selling counterfeits.
"I even published the story back then, but nobody believed it. I just want to say that this girl is telling the truth."
It turned out that everything Zoe said was true. No one would have thought that a random girl from a small town would actually know the real stories behind Roland and Carlos.
What was more, she knew even more than Joseph.
Joseph, who had been eager to show off in front of Zoe and make her realize how out of her league she was compared to the Ludwig family and the White family, looked completely stunned.
He muttered, "H-How is this possible?"