“Okay, don’t enjoy this alone. Just give me a few minutes,” he added before heading to the restroom and immediately dialing Patricia’s number.
“Hello?”
“Hi, honey.”
“Where are you?”
“Doing some shopping.”
“What?! Why the heck are you not at home?”
“I told you I’m attending the women’s club party, so I need some new clothes.”
“The heck! Charles’s wife is on her way to the house!”
“Which house?”
“Moron! Our house!” he yelled, though it was inaudible over the phone.
“What?!”
“Fly to the house now and change that girl’s dress. We can’t let them see her like that.”
“Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness!” She panicked, quickly hanging up the phone. She told the attendant to pack her clothes and rushed out after paying.
Sharon sat down in the sitting room, scanning the place. She could admit that the place didn’t look bad at all. She had been allowed in after one of the maids called Patricia, who gave them permission to let her in. Sharon settled on the couch, and a maid came forward with a glass of juice and served her.
“Where’s my daughter-in-law?”
“The lady my son is getting married to?”
“Umm…” The maid looked around, clearly unsure. There was only one woman she could guess might be the one getting married, so she said, “I’ll get her for you.”
A few minutes later, Clarisse walked into the sitting room and approached her. She bowed her head slightly in greeting and looked up to see the woman frowning deeply.
“Who are you?”
An insignificant being. Sharon wanted to say it, but she kept her gaze down and said, “Clarisse.”
“The lady my son is marrying?”
“Y-yes, ma’am,” Clarisse said, staring at her feet.
Sharon’s frown deepened. “You’re not their real daughter, are you?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Sharon scoffed and looked Clarisse up and down, clearly displeased with what she saw. Her frustration boiled over, and she stood to leave, but her heels got caught in her gown. As she tried to stand up, the fabric tore.
She gasped. “My dress!” she cried. She pulled it up, but the action only made the tear worse, and she screamed, startling the maids.
“Calm down, ma’am,” one of the maids said.
“Don’t tell me to calm down!” Sharon yelled. “I love this dress so much, and now it’s ruined!”
“I might… be able to fix it for you,” Clarisse offered.
Sharon eyed her doubtfully.
“That’s if you’ll permit me,” Clarisse added. Her calm and cool voice sent a shiver through Sharon, but it only made her angrier.
“You better not ruin it,” Sharon snapped. She hesitated, but her love for the dress left her with no choice. Clarisse knew she wouldn’t dare ruin it. She was familiar with fabrics, and as she felt the texture, she could tell the dress was worth millions. In fact, the dress had been specifically made for Sharon as a birthday gift from her grandfather, and it cost 2.5 million dollars.
A few minutes later, after anxiously waiting, Sharon saw Clarisse return with the dress. It was shorter, and it looked different. Sharon wanted to scream at what Clarisse had done to it, but once she put it on, she was stunned.
“Woah!” Sharon and the maids gasped. “This is beautiful.”
“I’m glad you like it.”
“Are you kidding? I love it!” Sharon grinned, admiring the dress. It had been altered to reach her knee, and the changes made it look even more stunning. “I never knew you were a fashion designer.”
Clarisse smiled in response, but then Sharon noticed her thumb. It looked swollen. She grabbed it and saw the needle marks-both old and new.
“It wasn’t a machine you used?” Sharon asked.
“No, ma’am.”
Sharon was even more stunned. She was surprised that someone as talented as Clarisse had been using her hands, but that didn’t alleviate her anger. In fact, it only made her blood boil even more.
She rolled her eyes and angrily dropped her hand. Clarisse, nervous and panicked, feared she had done something wrong.
“This family is so messed up!” Sharon cursed, glaring at her. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, ma’am.”
Sharon grabbed her purse and turned to leave but stopped at the doorway. She turned back to face Clarisse.
“And why aren’t you calling me ‘mum’ already?”
“Huh?”
“Huh? What happened to your dress?” Ashley was surprised to see her mother’s dress had been changed. “But I must say, this one looks better and more beautiful. Who did it for you?” she asked, admiring the dress.
“My daughter-in-law.”
“No way!” Ashley chuckled. “Wow! I can’t believe that big-headed fiance of mine will marry someone with such a skill. A nice skill!”
“I was surprised too,” Sharon said, relaxing back on the couch, dropping her purse beside her, and kicking off her heels. A maid quickly came forward to collect them and take them to the room where they belonged.
“But why is your mood sour? Is she not beautiful? Don’t worry, your son is a heavenly god. His handsomeness alone is enough, so worry not. They won’t give you ugly grandchildren,” Ashley teased.
“It’s not that.”
“Then what is it?”
“I was angry when I saw her.”
“Why?”
“The way she looks broke my heart into pieces. I was so angry that I wanted to yell at her and ask why she wasn’t taking care of herself.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I don’t know. What did that family do to her?” Sharon asked, looking worried and concerned. “She looked so thin, Ashley, so thin and pale. I could almost see her bones, and her eyes-there was no life in them. She was just moving through the motions. I couldn’t even see her smile when she smiled. Her fingers were so thin, and her thumb was full of needle injuries. I could tell she had gone through hell and was still going through it. The urge to hug her was overwhelming. All I wanted to do was take her away from that family.”
“Hm,” Ashley sighed. “I don’t know who you’re talking about, but I looked her up, the lady my brother is marrying. Unless it’s not Alice,” she said, showing Sharon a picture of Alice from Instagram.
“Woah, look at their daughter, glowing and shining, while someone else’s daughter is dying,” Sharon said with disgust. “I hate people like that the most.”
“Okay… You didn’t tell me they’ve changed the bride.”
“Oh well, they did. Probably because of the rumors.”
“I told you to clear that up.”
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.