An Understated Dominance - Chapter 369

Gloria shot Dahlia a cold glare, and Dahlia felt her mood darken too. This was no longer about respect or tradition. When Gloria splashed tea on her face, it was a clear insult. Gloria was trying to show her power over Dahlia and everyone else.

“What’s wrong with you, Dahlia? Grandma asked for tea, and you served it boiling hot? Did you do it on purpose?” Dakota jumped in, eager to blame Dahlia.

“I think someone’s unhappy with us and is trying to make things hard!” Jane added.

“No, no! Dahlia didn’t do it on purpose! I had the tea too, and it wasn’t boiling hot!” Florence quickly defended Dahlia.

“Oh, so you’re saying I’m lying?” Gloria shot back, her face icy.

“N-no! I must have been mistaken. It’s my fault,” Florence said, laughing awkwardly. She didn’t want to argue with Gloria.

Gloria, Jane, and Dakota felt pleased with Florence’s response. Their goal was to show their power and make Dahlia and her family submit.

“Why are you still standing there, Dahlia? Pour Grandma another cup of tea!” Dakota snapped, frustrated. She couldn’t understand why the patriarch would choose Dahlia as a potential successor. Dakota herself didn’t have that privilege, which made her both angry and jealous.

“Sure, I’ll get another cup right away.” Florence didn’t want to delay any longer, so she quickly brought over a fresh cup of tea and handed it to Dahlia, urging her to serve Gloria again. But Dahlia didn’t take the cup. She could see they were purposely trying to provoke her.

Gloria glared at Dahlia, clearly unhappy. “What? Do you think you’re better than us?” She shot Dahlia a harsh look. “If you can’t handle these basic tasks, you aren’t fit to take over the family business!”

With that, she pulled out a document and slammed it on the table. “Do you know what this is? It’s your letter of authorization. Our family has a conglomerate worth over 10 billion in the southern province. You were nominated as president to grow the business, but from what I’ve seen today, you don’t deserve the position.” Gloria looked down on Dahlia with disdain.

“A conglomerate worth over 10 billion?” Florence gasped. Her heart raced at the thought. If Dahlia became president, their family’s status and lifestyle would change dramatically!

“Dahlia! Hurry! Bring Madam Gloria her tea!” Florence urged, signaling desperately to her daughter. This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance! She couldn’t let it slip away, no matter the humiliation. After all, there was 10 billion dollars at stake!

“Stay focused, Dahlia!” James added. If he was known as the brother of the president of a 10 billion dollar company, beautiful women would flock to him!

Feeling the pressure from her mother and brother, Dahlia took a deep breath and picked up the cup of tea to serve it to Gloria. But to everyone’s shock, Gloria took a sip and spat it right back at Dahlia’s face.

“It’s lukewarm,” she said flatly.

By then, even Florence and James could sense something was off. First, Gloria complained it was too hot, and now she was saying it was too cold.

The tea was lukewarm. Was that really what she wanted? Everyone could see that she was just trying to make things difficult for Dahlia.

“Why are you just standing there? Get Grandma another cup!” Dakota ordered, a smug smile on her face.

Dakota thought to herself, “So what if you’re picked as a potential successor? We still have control over you!”

“Fine,” Dahlia replied casually.