Two secretaries were barring her from entering the huge office area. “Ms. Goldstein, we can’t let you in if you don’t have an appointment with Mr. Featherstone.”
Despite her image was utterly ruined, Nancy showed no signs of giving up against the secretaries who blocked her path. She screamed hoarsely, “Tell Anthony I want to see him right now.”
A commotion like this wouldn’t solve anything. After all, this was a huge company, and the secretaries had other work to do.
I shouldn’t meddle in this though. Joseph just left and I’m unaware of the proper protocol.
So after some thought, I turned and prepared to head back to the office to kill time.
“Sienna, stop right there!” I’d only taken a few steps when my name was called.
Turning back, I caught Nancy’s gaze on me. She was still fuming as she spat out, “Aren’t you so pleased with yourself right now? You think you’re better than the rest of us just because you married into money.”
I furrowed my brows in displeasure.
My gaze fell on her disheveled clothes. It’s going to be exhausting if I talk to her from here. Since she’s already seen me, I guess I should just confront her.
I walked forward and stared at her calmly. “Ms. Goldstein, try not to lose some sense of elegance even if you’ve fallen on hard times. Don’t you think you’re degrading yourself like this?”
She actually has decent qualities—she’s young and pretty with a great educational background. Even if her path to stardom has become hopeless, she’ll still have many opportunities. She wouldn’t find herself in dire straits.
She laughed coldly, a hollow gaze in her eyes. “Degrading myself? Are you talking to me from a winner’s perspective right now?”
I shrugged. “Think what you please.”
She sneered, “Anthony treated me like a substitute. How well do you think he’ll treat you, huh? No one will ever match up to that crush of his.”
She’s just degrading herself by being caught up in this whole idea of who among us is the substitute. What’s the point in bringing up this issue now? She’s just doing this because she can’t accept defeat.
As I stared at her, I couldn’t help but say, “Although I have no clue how you appeared in his circles or caught his attention, it’s meaningless now for you to be fixated on this idea of which one of us is the substitute. I would’ve helped you if your words were kinder, Nancy. But if you can’t at least be civil, then I’ll have to return an eye for an eye. The baseless rumors you spread about me last time gave me a lot of trouble. As the victim, it’s only right that I take steps to defend my name.”
Nancy’s expression darkened. “Who can you blame but yourself for your promiscuity? Everything I said was true.”
I nodded, though I wasn’t yet enraged at her words. “My marriage to Anthony seven years ago was a valid union. I don’t know who tipped you off about that incident four years ago, but it only takes a bit of common sense to understand what really happened. Just because I didn’t make a fuss about it doesn’t mean I’m weak. I merely thought it wasn’t worth my time and effort to deal with such matters.”
The two secretaries who’d heard my every word couldn’t help but exchange loaded glances. They seemed shocked, likely by the news of Anthony and my marriage.
I looked at Nancy and continued, “One must always think of the repercussions before taking action. If I were you, Nancy, I’d pack my bags immediately and bring my mother to a safe place where we could live quietly for some time. Maybe spend some time planning my future and stop pestering the Featherstone Corporation. Anthony’s patience is limited. Once he’s concluded his business, no one can guarantee how brutal he can be when it comes to tying up loose ends.”
Nancy’s face paled. “What do you mean?”
“She has explained it so well! Anthony only killed your dreams of stardom instead of forcing you into a dead end. If you continue creating a fuss like this, he might get annoyed and ruin your entire future.” A woman’s voice cut in.
I was startled for a moment and turned around. I didn’t know when Emery had shown up. Dressed in a stylish black suit, she stood next to the lift with her arms crossed.
Cheekily, she watched my reaction to her arrival with a barely discernible smile on her face. Her lips curved upwards as she laughed out loud. “I haven’t seen you in four years and you seem fatter now.”
I-Isn’t she being too straightforward? Who starts a conversation like that!
I couldn’t help but laugh as I replied, “The environment in R Province is great.”
She shrugged and walked towards me. “I guess that’s true. Your complexion does look amazing.”
She paused for a moment and looked at Nancy, who hadn’t recovered her composure. “Hey Miss, you’re twenty-six this year, right? Think you’re such a hotshot after being a celebrity for a couple of years? Oh right, weren’t you in the news a couple of days ago for climbing to the top of that building? But nothing happened? I guess you were just making a scene!”
She still speaks as recklessly as she did four years ago.
Nancy’s face was pale as she pursed her lips. “What does that have to do with you anyway? And who are you? Why are you sticking your nose into other people’s business?”
“Pfft!” Emery sighed, “Looks like the Moore family has been a bit too under-the-radar these few years.” She turned her gaze towards the two secretaries standing to the side, raising her eyebrows in a taunt. “You two would know who I am, would you?”
Both secretaries shook their heads and replied hurriedly, “Ms. Moore, surely you jest.”
Emery nodded and looked back at Nancy. “I guess I should’ve expected your ignorance. After all, actresses aren’t really invited to important events to socialize with businessmen or politicians, much less the ones like you. “
“Y-You—” Nancy stuttered furiously at her mockery.
Emery sneered, “Looking at your current state, I’d say you haven’t seen much during those years you were hanging around Anthony, yes? Do you think Sienna isn’t a worthy match for Anthony? I’ll bring you up to speed then, so you don’t harbor any regrets when you meet your maker.”
“You b*tch!” Nancy yelled. “You just own a few small companies and you really think of yourself as some bigshot.”
I used to think Nancy was pretty cute and innocent sometimes. Knowing that Vanessa was her mother, and after observing her this whole time, I realized that they really were pretty alike. She takes after her mother after all!
Emery scoffed coldly, bored at her antics. But since she’s already taken the shot, it would be more fun to take her down a notch or two.
She planted herself on the secretary’s chair and propped her chin up to stare at Nancy. “You’ve never heard of the Moore family of K City, but what about the Stanhope family? Ms. Goldstein, do you really think Anthony would just marry a nobody?”
Stunned, Nancy asked, “What do you mean?”
“What I’m trying to say is that you’re not only inferior to Sienna in terms of looks and talents but also your background. Look at your mother’s character. Now, compare that to Sienna’s father. Don’t you have any idea at all of the difference in your standings? If I’d been the one dealing with your slander towards Sienna, I’d have hired someone to teach you a lesson. But Sienna was the bigger person and chose to let it go. I did hear, however, that her godfather Louis can be very protective towards his own despite his strict beliefs in the law. I also know that your mother is a convicted felon. All he needs to do is find a small transgression to send both you and your mother back into prison. You’d be lucky to get out after that!”
Emery was obviously intimidating Nancy, and the latter appeared to hang on her every word. Pale- faced, she asked, “Did you say that Sienna is Louis Stanhope’s daughter?”
Emery shrugged. “Have you never watched the news in the past? I’ll give you a tip—you just need to search for news dating back to about four years ago, and you may be able to learn something useful.”
“Impossible!” Nancy looked flustered. “Sally said Sienna is an orphan. Wasn’t she only married to Anthony because old Mr. Featherstone liked her? How can she be Louis’ daughter?”
“Aha!” Emery looked at me and raised her brows. Laughingly, she asked, “I’ll say, why does she know so many things about you? Did you offend Sally? How did you do it this time? Aren’t you away for four years? How’d you suddenly gain an enemy once you came back?”
I shrugged. “It’s hard to explain. All I can say is it’s ancient history now.”
She scoffed and looked at Nancy disdainfully. “Sorry to disappoint, but her parents are alive and well. You should use your brain cells more often or you won’t even know when you’re being duped.”
She looked at the two secretaries and frowned. “Are you two planning to stand here and watch this little show for the rest of the day? Are all the employees at Featherstone Corporation this incompetent? You couldn’t stop a person from barging into the president’s office, yet you failed to call security for help. Is this your way of telling Mr. Featherstone that he should be replacing his secretaries?”
The two secretaries were technically the receptionists to the president’s office. At Emery’s words, they quickly apologized and called for security immediately.
Perhaps Nancy had really taken Emery’s words to heart as she left absent-mindedly with the security escort.
Only Emery and I were left. She hugged me while frowning. “You left without a word and now you’re back the same way you left! Some friend you are!”
I was surprised at her words. “I left in a hurry and didn’t think too much of it. I’ve also just returned to K City, so-”
“Fine!” she pouted. “I’ve heard bits and pieces of that incident. I don’t think anyone else would’ve reacted differently. But what’s going on between you and Anthony? Didn’t you get divorced? What’s going on right now? What are you thinking?”
How should I put this? I don’t really know how to answer her either.
Met with my silence, she sighed and stopped asking questions. She followed me to the visitors’ room and took a seat. She asked, “The Moore family knows you’re back. What is your plan? Are you just going to pretend that nothing happened between you and the Moore family?”
“There isn’t any relationship between the Moore family and me, to begin with. I came back to K City to give my daughter a better future. I haven’t thought about anything else beyond that, and I really don’t plan to!” If it wasn’t for Summer’s future, I would’ve stayed in R Province forever.
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.
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