"When I was fourteen, there was an incident at home, and my granny was sick. We didn't have the money to cure her, so I went and stole from a rich merchant and saved my grandmother. I really had done wrong, and I have paid heavily for it, but I never regret it. If I had to make the same choice, I'd still go to steal from that merchant to save my grandmother. That's all I can say."

With that, she left the room with her head held high.

The reporters were all moved by her honesty and candor.

This was a real-life ugly duckling story.

The mysterious wife of the head of the Empire Group might not have been through higher education, but she had surpassing talent and exceptional willpower, pursuing art ceaselessly, already an artist at so young an age.

Her talent notwithstanding, she was also such a brave and sweet girl, willing to face up to her spotted past, both responsible and confident, a noble soul indeed.

To the media who wanted to get in the Empire Group's good books, there was enough material for them to write up a full rainbow of praise.

Meanwhile, Matthew's bodyguards had taken the opportunity to escort Kylie out of the room, in case she had any more stunning revelations.

Going back to the lounge, Blanca kicked her feet out of the painful restrictions of the high heels, then glared at Matthew. "I do have a criminal record. So when would you divorce me?"

With that, she took out the million-dollar check and tore it to shreds before him.

"Now you don't want the money?"

"Yes. I was misdiagnosed before, I thought I had cancer and I didn't have the money for the treatment, which is why I asked for it from you. I'm healthy now, so I don't need your money."

It was true that she'd been poor and she stole. But she had her dignity, and she didn't want to get treated as just some greedy scullion.

"So you did steal the pendant?"

Blanca laughed out loud. Now she could say she'd experienced the arrogance and prejudice of the upper class.

"So what if I did, so what if I didn't?" Her eyes were red as she spat, "Since you're already convinced that I'm a thief, does it make a difference what I say?"

Matthew walked up in front of her and looked her in the eyes. "If you really stole it, I'll take it and return it to its original owner. If you really didn't steal it, I'll thoroughly investigate why you have my teacher's most valuable possession. But whether you stole the pendant or not, you're my legal wife at the moment, and that won't change for now."

Hearing "return to the original owner" and "my teacher's most valuable possession", Blanca's eyes widened right away.

"I swear on my life that I didn't steal the pendant."

"The how did you get it?"

Blanca bit her lip frantically. "Tell me where your teacher is first. Can I meet him, or her?"

Faced with her barrage of questions, Matthew fell silent for a while, then said coldly, "That'll be up to your performance."

Blanca lost all her temper from before as she tugged at Matthew, pleading, "Then tell me, what do you want from me?"

This could be her birth father or mother!

Her brain cancer might have been misdiagnosed, but her desire to find her birth parents hadn't changed at all.

She wanted to know whose blood ran in her veins, to know if she was the result of her parents' love, to know why they'd given birth to her and abandoned her so heartlessly.

Considering her age, if there weren't any accidents, her parents still had to be alive.

She didn't want to seek her roots when both of them were dead. By then, she'd never have a complete answer to those questions.

Looking at her obedient appearance, Matthew's lips jerked up and a trace of a smile showed in his eyes.

"I'll be going back home to see my family tomorrow night. If you perform well, I'll consider letting you meet my teacher."

Blanca nodded hurriedly. "Okay! I will do whatever you say!"

She was a realistic person and knew when to have dignity and when to go all out.

This were her past they were talking about, so screw dignity, she was going pedal to the metal!