“No way, I’d never do that,” Alice grinned, but that only irritated Ashley more.
At that moment, a lady walked up to them.
“Hi, ladies,” she greeted.
“Hi,” they replied. But instead of greeting Ashley with a happy birthday, the lady turned to Alice.
“Hi, Alice. Isn’t that a Mortana dress?”
“Yes, it is.”
“OMG,” the lady exclaimed. “You must be freaking rich! I heard there are only two of them, and they were immediately purchased when released. So you’re the one who bought it?”
“It’s nothing,” Alice blushed, grinning ear to ear, while Ashley scoffed. Alice was quickly pulled into the crowd, where people discussed her dress and her wealth. Some even tried to befriend her.
“Where did Alice get the money to buy that gown?” Thalia asked among her friends, as they watched Alice surrounded by other ladies, almost like she was the queen of the occasion.
“She probably took her father’s card,” Maya replied, eating the dessert at her table.
“And I heard you refused to marry Christian Charles. Is it because you thought he was disabled?” one of the ladies, clearly envious, attacked. But Alice just smiled.
“Of course not, the disabled are humans too, and he’s so handsome,” she defended. “Why then did you reject him?”
Alice sighed. “My sister happens to like him, so I had no choice but to let go,” she said, faking a sad expression.
“You mean she stole him away from you?” another lady asked.
“No, of course not. She’s my sister. I can’t say no to her,” Alice replied.
“Oh, you’re so kind and naive,” another lady said, feeling pity for her. “I heard she was married but divorced her husband to marry your man. She’s such a greedy bitch,” one of them added, cussing.
Alice tried to hide her smile, letting the words spread. Just then, everyone’s attention shifted toward a direction.
“Isn’t that your sister?” one of the ladies pointed out, and they all turned to look. There she was, standing awkwardly at the entrance.
“What?! Is she even wearing the same dress as you? She’s trying to steal everything from you… but… hers looks even more beautiful, even though I hate to admit it,” another lady remarked. Alice felt her blood boil. Her hand curled into a fist as she watched Clarisse, wearing the same dress as her.
So she’s the crazy bitch who ordered the same dress? Her anger surged like a volcano, ready to erupt. She felt like tearing the clothes off her body.
“Isn’t that the whore who cheated on her husband?” one woman said.
“I know, right? The shameless woman who divorced her husband one month after marriage and jumped into another man’s bed for money,” another woman added. Soon, they began saying all sorts of things directly to her face.
“She doesn’t deserve to be here, such a shameless woman.”
“She’s wearing the same clothes as you-she’s so shameless, trying to steal everything from you. But don’t worry, Alice, she’s nowhere in your league,” one lady reassured Alice.
Clarisse looked up, desperately trying to find a corner to hide. When she saw Alice, she realized they were both wearing the same dress.
How could Christian get me the same dress as Alice? she cried in her mind, unable to meet Alice’s murderous glare. When she looked away, her eyes fell on the last person she wanted to see: Victor.
The memories of the night he violated her flashed through her mind. Every step he took toward her terrified her. She trembled in place, begging and screaming for help in her mind, but her legs felt too heavy to move. Tears threatened to fall as the world seemed to spin. All she could see was the evil smile on Victor’s face, the devilish laughter echoing in her head.
Christian was outside, stuck with some businessmen who were trying to make connections with him. But his attention wasn’t with them as he searched the crowd for Clarisse. Has she gone inside? he thought to himself.
“Looking around like you’re searching for a missing lamb,” he heard Kyle’s voice say. He turned to face those around him and said,
“I’m not here for business; I’m here for my sister’s birthday party. If you’ll excuse me, I need to find my wife.” He walked away from them all, but none of them felt offended, knowing he was right, except for Kyle, who couldn’t take his arrogance.
“You don’t have any shame or dignity, do you?” Victor said the moment he reached her. His voice was too traumatizing, and there was no one in the building who could rescue her. Just then, her feet finally moved. She turned to run, but bumped into a waiter carrying drinks, causing them to spill on the lower part of her dress as she fell. All she could hear were the laughter of the people around her.
“Clarisse, are you okay?” she heard Ashley’s voice ask as she ran to her, but Clarisse was too scared and broken to look at anyone. She stood up and ran toward the restroom, locking herself inside.
Christian soon arrived and found Ashley looking worried instead of happy. But he didn’t have time to worry about her. Instead, he asked, “Have you seen my wife?”
“Where have you been?” Ashley glared at him angrily.
“Huh?”
“Where were you when she was being bullied?”
“Bullied? By who?”
Ashley blinked in fear as she heard the change in tone in his voice. She didn’t know if she should tell him what had happened, scared of what he might do. But what happened next changed the whole atmosphere of the night-not because of the celebrant or Christian, but because of Clarisse. They all saw a side of her that no one had ever known: the badass Clarisse.
Christian soon arrived inside and found Ashley looking worried instead of happy, considering it was her birthday. However, he didn’t have time to start worrying about her. Instead, he asked, “Have you seen my wife?”
“Where have you been?” Ashley glared at him angrily.
“Huh?”
“Where were you when she was being bullied?”
“Bullied? By who?”
Ashley inhaled deeply, looking worried and hesitating to tell him, knowing what he was capable of. But Christian soon began to hear the murmurs.
“He’s so handsome, how could he go for a woman like that?” one of the guests said.
“I’m sure she deceived him,” another woman added.
Christian frowned upon hearing the absurd rumors, refusing to believe they were about his wife. “The party is noisier than I thought,” he said.
A familiar voice spoke beside him.
“Your wife that you were looking for seems to have to keep the guests entertained before the celebrant could,” Kyle said, smiling as he sipped his wine. “But I can’t see her anywhere,” he continued, dropping the glass on the table, looking around, and tucking his hand into his left pocket.
“Good evening, Mr. Sabastine,” Ashley greeted upon seeing him.
“Hey, Ashley, Happy birthday,” he pulled her into a warm embrace and let go of her. “Hope you’re enjoying your day so far?”
“I am, thank you,” she replied with the same fake smile he was showing her.
Christian made to leave to look for Clarisse, but someone blocked his way.
“Mr. Christian?”
He groaned as he looked at the person who had stopped him, recognizing him immediately. He hadn’t met him before, but he had seen his pictures, especially when he was investigating Clarisse’s background.
“Who are you?” The disdain and coldness in his voice were clear.
Victor chuckled. “You don’t know who I am?”
“I don’t recognize insignificant beings,”
“What?!” Victor and everyone around them exclaimed, making the moment incredibly embarrassing for Victor, who couldn’t believe he had just been called insignificant. The crowd gradually started focusing their attention on them.
“What did you just say?” Victor scoffed in disbelief.
“If you’re not ready to introduce yourself, get out of the way,” Christian replied, raising his brow at him.
His authoritative tone and scornful glare were intimidating, but Victor’s ego wouldn’t let him back down. He had plans with Alice, and disappointing her wouldn’t make his marriage any easier.
“Very well,” Victor said, his voice dripping with disdain. “I’m your wife’s ex-husband.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.