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Atlas county was a county within Cloudtopia, but it was the county farthest away from the city. Atlas
was home to the largest crystal industry in the country, cementing the county as one of Cloudtopia’s
wealthiest and making it the most advanced out of the four counties of Cloudtopia.
The Fullers were a well-known family in Atlas, with many branches and offshoots. They were one of the
four main families who exercised considerable influence on matters of the county. Apart from Nathaniel
Fuller and Laurel Fuller who worked and lived in the city, most of the Fullers remained in Atlas and
worked for the family’s crystal business. In recent times, their business had even expanded to the
neighbouring counties of Maersk and Troitz.
Many of the Fuller siblings did not do well academically back in school. They concentrated their efforts
on building a crystal empire at home and eventually outshone their intellectual relatives. As the
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtbusiness grew, so did their bank accounts and their pride. Over time, they began to look down upon
Nathaniel and Laurel.
As a result of this discord, the Fuller siblings rarely got together apart from annual family gatherings.
Nathaniel figured it was better to steer clear of his siblings to avoid any unnecessary family drama.
Even when Naomi got married, he did not invite his siblings from Atlas to the wedding, and neither did
they bother to send their regards.
The GPS navigation system led them to the Fuller’s ancestral home. It was a large colonial-style
mansion, clearly dated in age but still stood out majestically for its sheer size and opulence. Nathaniel’s
father, Langston Fuller, had built and lived in this home for as long as he could remember.
The Fullers got to the front gate of the mansion, but before they could ring the doorbell, the family
overheard an audible conversation coming from the other side of the gate.
“Oh, Nate and his family just arrived?” a voice asked. “I didn’t know there were buses that came around
at this time,” the voice had a snarky tone.
Skylar and his family looked around, trying to trace the owner of the voice. At this moment, the main
doors opened and a middle-aged woman with a fresh perm walked out. The lady was none other than
Pearl Fuller, Nathaniel’s fifth sister and Skylar and Naomi’s aunt. She was flanked by two servants as
she made her way toward the Fullers at the gate.
“There’s a bus from the city to Atlas every 10 minutes, Pearl,” Nathaniel indirectly informed Pearl that
his family had overheard her conversation, his displeasure with his sister clearly written on his face.
Hearing this, Pearl automatically assumed her brother’s family had indeed taken the bus over. She cast
a cold glance at them before speaking. “Brother, your shrewdness is humiliating! I know you can’t
afford a luxury car, but surely you’d be able to purchase a cheap sedan? We could always help you buy
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏma secondhand car,” Pearl offered.
There was a snide sense of elitism in Pearl’s speech. An outsider observing Pearl’s behaviour might
have assumed that Pearl was the matriarch of the family. In truth, Pearl did not wield much more
influence within the family than Nathaniel or Laurel did. Nathaniel’s second and third brothers were the
ones who called the shots. However, Pearl enjoyed picking petty fights with her brother and sister
simply because she could.
Upon hearing his sister’s offer to buy them a second-hand car, Nathaniel’s expression switched to one
of pride and excitement. “Thank you for your concern, Pearl, but we don’t need it. My son here bought
us a new car just to bring us back to Atlas.”
Nathaniel was usually an easy-going man by nature, but everyone had their breaking point. He did not
deserve such disrespect from his own family. After all, he was the oldest of the Fuller siblings and he
had done so much for this family once upon a time. Now, this bunch of ingrates turned their backs on
him and mocked him and his family behind his back. The familial bond had been broken and destroyed
a long time ago.
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