Lost and Found: Return of My Mysterious Fiancee

Jared Farrell calmly pushed a cup of freshly brewed tea towards Damian.

“Teaware is naturally meant for brewing tea.”

“This is an antique!” Damian glared at Jared Farrell but couldn’t resist taking a sip. The unique, subtle fragrance of the tea made him almost sigh in contentment.

He had coveted this tea from the Imperial Tea Garden for a long time. Each year, only a few ounces were produced, and they were always pre-ordered by the elites before even being harvested. He never even had a chance to smell it.

Unexpectedly, it was now his most hated rival who fulfilled his wish.

As he savored the tea, he carefully played with the intricately carved white porcelain teacup in his hand. The cup, crafted by Shawn Westwood, depicted stories related to tea-planting, harvesting, processing, selling, brewing, and tasting.

Such exquisite craftsmanship made his own white jade teaware look like trash.

Shouldn’t such a precious item be kept in a secure cabinet?

Yet this man was using it so casually!

Tina glanced at Damian’s face, filled with jealousy and anger towards Jared Farrell, and couldn’t help but laugh.

“Tina,” Hugo and Jennie called her over as soon as they saw her come down. Jennie whispered, “Do your brothers have a grudge against Jared?”

Watching from the side, it seemed like they were just making tea, but it felt like they might start fighting any second.

Tina smiled and patted Jennie’s back reassuringly.

“Serena, come sit here,” Dexter Brookes and the others immediately made space for her when they saw her.

Before Tina could move, Jared Farrell stood up first, took her hand, and led her to sit beside him. He raised an eyebrow at the eight people opposite who looked displeased.

He brewed another cup of tea for Tina and handed it to her. Then he glanced disdainfully at Damian’s white jade teaware and said, “Don’t bring out such things next time.”

First round: Damian completely defeated!

Dexter Brookes exchanged glances with his brothers and took out a long brocade box that had been by his side. He handed it to Hugo.

With Liam’s help, he unrolled a painting inside-a landscape painted in varying shades of ink.

“Mr. Reed, Mrs. Reed, we didn’t know what gift to bring for our visit, so we prepared Wesley Blackwood’s ‘A Thousand Mountains in Snow.'”

Hugo and Jennie gasped at the sight of the painting. They had seen it in the news before; it was said to have been auctioned for three billion dollars and bought by a mysterious collector. They never expected that collector to be Dexter Brookes.

The antique teaware and Imperial Tea Garden tea had already made Hugo and Jennie uneasy. Now Dexter Brookes was presenting them with such a priceless painting.

The couple was so shocked they forgot to refuse.

Are all disciples of Serenity Ridge this wealthy?

Jared Farrell glanced at the painting and sneered at Dexter Brookes. “I’ve heard Mr. Brookes is an expert in ancient paintings. How could you not recognize this as a fake?”

“Mr. Farrell, if you don’t understand art, don’t speak nonsense,” Dexter Brookes said coldly. “This ‘A Thousand Mountains in Snow’ by Wesley Blackwood has been authenticated by several experts.”

“Just charlatans,” Jared Farrell said nonchalantly. “Experts pretending to know what they don’t often ruin precious artifacts.”

“Mr. Farrell, you’re the one pretending to know,” Dexter Brookes retorted angrily. “If you claim this painting is a fake, where’s your proof?”

“The fabric used for this painting,” Jared Farrell pointed out. “This type of fabric only appeared recently. How could Wesley Blackwood have used it?”

Dexter Brookes’ face changed as he looked at the painting in disbelief.

“You can have it tested,” Jared Farrell suggested.

“How do you know this?” Dexter Brookes still couldn’t believe it.

Jared Farrell signaled to Nathan Lehman, who handed him another long brocade box. Jared Farrell unrolled an identical ‘A Thousand Mountains in Snow.’

“Because-the original has always been with me,” Jared Farrell said with a smug smile.

Dexter Brookes was stunned. He stepped forward to examine Jared Farrell’s painting closely. He could see Wesley Blackwood’s distinctive brushwork habits that confirmed its authenticity. He had spent three billion dollars on a forgery!

“Don’t be disheartened, Mr. Brookes,” Jared Farrell pretended to console him. “Though it’s a fake, it’s still a fine piece worth quite a bit.”

Second round: another complete defeat!

Dexter Brookes was speechless as he watched Jared Farrell roll up the genuine ‘A Thousand Mountains in Snow’ and present it to Hugo and Jennie.

“Mr. Reed, Mrs. Reed, this is my gift to you.”

Hugo and Jennie didn’t dare accept it. They had only asked for eighty-eight thousand dollars as Tina’s dowry, and now Jared Farrell was giving them a painting worth three billion dollars.

“You can consider it a gift for Tina,” Jared Farrell said, holding Tina’s hand in his. “We will be getting married soon.”

Tina was taken aback.

She had only decided not to break off the engagement for now; how did it turn into getting married?

Tina’s silence seemed like tacit approval to Hugo, who suddenly found Jared Farrell annoying again.

He told Jennie, “Let’s accept it for Tina and include it in her dowry.”

Dexter Brookes and his brothers looked grim.

James Heart, limping down from the second floor, overheard this and exclaimed loudly, “What dowry?! No way! I don’t agree!”

Hugo and Jennie frowned at him. What did their daughter’s dowry have to do with James Heart?

Caught off guard by their puzzled looks, James Heart stammered, “I mean the villa’s decor is nice; I don’t agree with changing it.”

“Mr. Heart, were you asleep just now?” Hugo stood up to offer James Heart his seat. “I called you down for tea, but you didn’t respond.”

“No need, no need; you sit,” James Heart hurriedly declined. He sat next to Damian and couldn’t help but wince in pain as he looked at Tina drinking tea across from him.

Serena had shown no mercy earlier; he was in pain all over despite having no visible injuries.

Tina sipped the West Lake Longjing tea brewed by Jared Farrell, ignoring James Heart’s pitiful gaze.

James Heart reluctantly looked away and whispered to Dexter Brookes, “What’s going on? Weren’t we supposed to get rid of that man? How did it turn into talking about dowries?”

Dexter Brookes gave him a complicated look but said nothing.

He couldn’t possibly tell James Heart that he and Damian had tried to outdo Jared Farrell in wealth and taste but ended up utterly defeated.NôvelDrama.Org holds this content.