Chapter 390

George Clark hung up the phone, grinning from ear to ear. Hands clasped behind his back, he hummed a tune as he strolled home.

Villagers greeted him along the way: "Mayor Clark, what's got you so cheerful?"

"Nothing much," he waved them off, though inwardly he was delighted. Not only were Ryan Wallace and Luna White thriving in the city, but his own daughter was benefiting too. That clever girl had become a seamstress there, and by all accounts, business was booming.

Thinking of his daughter's letter, George couldn't help but chuckle. She'd always been deft with her hands, far surpassing the village women at needlework. Now, under Luna's wing, her life was flourishing.

He was just pondering how to share the news with his wife when someone came rushing toward him in a panic. "Mayor! Trouble! The White household is at it again!"

George's head throbbed instantly. That family never knew peace!

"What now?" he asked, frowning.

"You'd better come quick—it might turn deadly!"

With a sigh, George followed the messenger toward the White residence, grumbling internally: The Whites had caused nothing but chaos all year.

Back in spring, they'd scrambled to gather dowry money for Ethan White's wedding, sinking deep into debt. The bride's mother, Mrs. Wilson, had fixated on the payment, refusing to let her daughter Lisa marry until every penny was accounted for. In the end, Jack White had borrowed desperately to bring Lisa into the family.

But Lisa Wilson proved even more troublesome. The moment she crossed the threshold, she'd demanded the household split—insisting she and Ethan leave to find work, claiming they could earn a fortune elsewhere.

Ethan, spineless as ever, obeyed his wife without question. The couple stirred up such a storm that the entire White household was thrown into disarray.

Eventually, they discovered the brutal truth: Neither the house nor the land actually belonged to Jack White. If they split now, they'd have nowhere to go. Lisa suggested moving back to her parents' home, but Ethan flat-out refused.

The scandal had spread like wildfire through the village.

Lisa finally quieted down—because she got pregnant. Now five months along, she was being treated like royalty in the White home.

George shook his head as he walked: That family truly never knew peace.