Spoiled by Eight Uncles (Lily)

Old Mrs. Karen Shaw was very impressed with the Millers. She chuckled heartily as she invited them to take a seat in her living room. “Come and sit her, Cheryl.” Cheryl obeyed Karen's instructions, perching herself on the sofa demurely with her legs crossed and hands placed daintily on her lap.

Karen had already shortlisted Cheryl as a potential candidate for her grandson's future wife mentally. Of course, Cheryl's parents were overjoyed to see Old Mrs. Shaw happy with their daughter.“ls Young Master Shaw better yet? He was covered in blood when we saw him yesterday. My husband and | were terribly worried, so we decided to come and pay a visit,” Cheryl's mother, Nancy Miller, explained.

“Yes, yes, all is well thanks to Master Sullivan. He saved Ivan’s life!” Karen informed the Millers.

“Are you referring to THE Master Robert Sullivan?” Nancy Miller was shocked that the Shaws had employed the help of such a renowned shaman.

Karen felt a budding topic of conversation with Nancy. “Yes, yes, the one and only Robert Sullivan! To tell you the truth, Ivan was on the brink of death, but Master Sullivan brought him back from the dead!” Cheryl's mother could not mask her shock. “Oh my, for real?” “Yes, a hundred percent!” Karen confirmed. The two ladies began chatting and exchanging stories about Master Sullivan. Karen was delighted to have found a friend in Nancy, and in return Nancy was hoping to hear more about the elusive shaman.

Toward the end of their conversation, Nancy found an opportunity to slip in a question she had been waiting to ask all this time.

“Karen, do you think we could pay Ivan a visit? Cheryl has been worried about him since yesterday. She wanted to see for herself that Ivan is alright. | couldn't possibly say no to her...” “Of course you can!” Karen nodded agreeably. She was the matriarch of the Shaw family after all. Who could say no to her? Karen could not stop complimenting Cheryl even as she led the Millers toward the staircase. “What a sweet child with such a kind heart!” Thomas and Nancy Miller could tell that Cheryl had made a good impression, and they were beyond delighted. Everything was going exactly according to plan, and the Millers would be destined for greatness if they won Karen Shaw's favor.

Nancy Miller walked beside Karen Shaw, smiling as she gently helped the old lady up the stairs. Halfway up the stairs, they bumped into two maids carrying some suitcases down the stairs. “What are you two doing?” Karen asked, thinking the suitcases looked familiar.

The maids looked at the butler shiftily, not knowing how to answer Old Mrs. Shaw. “Madam, Mr. Colton asked us to send you back to your hometown,” the butler informed Karen sheepishly.

“Wh... what did you say?!” Karen's lips trembled in disbelief. She was Colton’s mother and his only remaining parent. How could he do this to her? “Who told him to do this? Was it Melody Winston? Get her to come out and face me right now!” she yelled out loud. “How dare she order me around as if she’s Colton?” At this very moment, Colton Shaw appeared from Ivan’s room upstairs. “l was the one who ordered them to send you away!” he boomed.

Karen's jaw dropped in shock as she pointed an accusing finger at her son. “Is... is this how you treat your own mother?” “You'll only cause more trouble if you stay here,” Colton voice was frosty. “I think it’s better for you to spend your days back in your hometown. You don’t have to bother yourself with our family matters.” Karen was infuriated. Was her son really kicking her out of her own home? She was just mentally picking out Ivan’s future wife just minutes ago, and now her son was banishing her in front of Cheryl's parents? Thomas and Nancy Miller exchanged a look. It seemed like they had been mistaken. Karen Shaw was not the matriarch who called the shots in the Shaw family. Had they just wasted their time and effort coming all the way here? Their brief exchange did not go unnoticed by Karen. It felt like someone had slapped her on each cheek and only served to anger her even more.

“Colton, you ungrateful son! | raised you all these years...” Karen cried.

Colton shot a look at the butler, ignoring his mother’s tics. The butler quickly ordered a few more men to forcefully carry Karen away from the stairs toward a car parked at the porch. Karen did not go down without a fight, but the strong men managed to subdue her and forced her into the back seat of the car. Karen's maid brought out her favorite Louis Vuitton handbag and passed it to her, but she began to throw a fit and chuck the things out of her handbag.

“Colton, you... you'll be the death of me!” she cursed. “Oh dear, my poor heart. Oh dear, I'm going to die soon...” If Colton felt any emotion whatsoever, it did not register on his face as the butler instructed the driver to leave the Shaw residence. Karen's last resort was to swing her handbag out of the window, banging it against the gates. Alas, the car windows were finally rolled up and locked shut by the driver.

Karen could feel her blood pressure spiking and an incessant ringing in her ears. She was angry on one hand, yet absolutely devastated and crushed by sadness at the same time. She could not believe her own biological son would do this to her.

Nancy Miller, who had witnessed the entire commotion, was still recovering from shock herself. “Mr. Shaw, I'm sure there’s a better way of resolving this. Isn't Mrs. Shaw your mother after all...?” she tried to placate Colton.

Colton turned to Nancy, his face devoid of emotion. “I don’t think my family matters are any of your business. Marco, please send our guests off.” Thomas Miller's face was pale, whereas Nancy was red from embarrassment. Cheryl looked up at Colton Shaw with wide, innocent eyes. “Mr. Shaw, I'm just worried...” she began, but before she could finish her sentence, Colton Shaw had already turned around and walked back into the house.

Still reeling from the shock and embarrassment of being treated like a nobody, Cheryl's eyes welled with tears as she bit her lip hard. The Millers had no choice but to leave the Shaw residence.

“Mommy...” Cheryl cried in her mother’s embrace. Just as Nancy was about to console her daughter, she spotted something lying on the floor of the porch. She picked it up, only to find out it was an invitation to Taylor Entertainment's ribbon cutting ceremony tomorrow. Old Mrs. Shaw must have dropped it on her way out just now...

There was a devious glint in Nancy's eyes as she quickly kept the invitation in her handbag. Since Old Mrs. Shaw was clearly not going to be attending the ceremony, they could use her invitation and say they were her representatives. If they could meet just a few of the VIPs who were going to attend the ceremony, perhaps things could be looking up for the Millers.

“Come, let's go!” Nancy Miller gathered her tiny family and left the Shaw residence.

The following day, Polly the parrot was perched on the window singing a tune. “Left hand at the moon, right hand through the thread... ayy ayy ayy... you and me, ayy ayy ayy...” Polly could not hit the high notes, butchering the song in the process.

Lilly was jolted awake by the loud screeching noise. She blinked a few times, trying to shake off the sleepiness.

“Who farted?” she asked aloud. The noise sounded like a terrible fart to her. She got out of bed and turned around to face the windows, only to find Polly dancing on the balcony.

“Oh, it's you, Polly!” she called out.

“I didn’t fart!” Polly retorted.

Pablo's lips curved up in a smile. That bird was such a bad liar.

Lilly suddenly recalled that she was going to go shopping with Uncle Anthony today. Excited, she quickly ran to her closet to pick out something nice to wear. She chose a pink dress with a frock underneath that made her look like a princess. She picked out some thermals and leggings too just in case the weather was cold. Pleased with her choices, she went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and get dressed.

“Lilly's ready!” she announced out loud confidently. She walked out of her bedroom carrying her little bag pack, her little legs trotting down the stairs.

Anthony Crawford was seated at the sofa in the living hall, his expression serious as he was midway through a conference call.

“Slow down!” he stood up from the sofa and called out to Lilly.

“Uncle Anthony, Lilly's ready!” she exclaimed as she reached the bottom of the stairs.

Anthony looked at the time on his watch. He was a little surprised, given Bettany and Hugh had gone to the hospital for Bettany’s treatment today and had reminded him that Lilly usually wakes up at 9am. It was only 8am now.

“Go grab something to eat,” Anthony told Lilly. He motioned for Margaret to serve breakfast as he brought his tablet along and followed Lilly into the dining hall.

“What's our plan for the second quarter?” he spoke solemnly in front of the tablet screen, but his hands were busy peeling a hard-boiled egg. He put the peeled egg in Lilly’s bowl. “Little girls should eat more eggs in the morning,” he teased gently.

Anthony's colleagues at Crawford Holdings on the other end of the conference call were utterly shocked, to say the least. Never in their lives would they have imagined the devil incarnate himself peeling an egg and speaking in such a gentle manner! They were completely speechless.

Anthony turned back to face the tablet screen, noticing his colleagues had gone silent. “Has everyone turned mute?” The devil was back. The management team quickly composed themselves and continued on with their presentation.

Not long after, Lilly had finished her breakfast and Anthony had also wrapped up his meeting swiftly.

“Let's go then!” Anthony held on to Lilly’s little hand as they left the house, neither of them realizing that Lilly had not combed her hair that morning...