“I went downstairs and bought him ten packs of condoms. Then, I told him to use a couple more every single time and to visit the hospital whenever he was free. He shouldn’t put his life at risk just for the sake of having a sex life. I finally realize that it’s not my fault that he doesn’t like me. Instead, he has really strange tastes!”
“Pfft…”
I couldn’t help but burst into laughter and applaud Emma in my heart. “Emma, I gotta say, your reaction was really harsh.” Furrowing her eyebrows, Emma was both upset and curious as to why I was laughing at her.
Nevertheless, I still couldn’t contain my laughter. Even if Emma didn’t say it out loud, I could still imagine the stunned look on John’s face. This time, he had finally met his match. He assumed that he could do the same to Emma as he did to Hannah. But contrary to his expectations, his plan backfired horribly.
“Ms. Stanhope.”
Suddenly, a cordial voice rang out in my ear, causing the smile on my face to freeze. It wasn’t until it faded away that I finally turned around.
Just as expected, Thora had finally come to meet me.
The moment we exchanged glances, we maintained a cordial smile at each other as if we were old friends. There was no way one could tell that we were in fact love rivals who had fallen for the same man.
As the host, Thora brought with her everyone’s attention the moment she arrived.
“Ms. Ziegler, congratulations.” I raised my champagne glass at her.
“Thank you.” Thora smiled slightly without a hint of animosity. “I heard you have started your own law firm. Coincidentally, my company is involved in some complex legal situations. So, I was wondering if you’re willing to help?”
It appeared that there was no escape for me. Despite successfully avoiding the reporters’ questions, I couldn’t hide from the nosy gazes of high society.
If I accepted her offer, it would mean that I was less successful than her. That after leaving Anthony, I had to rely on his new partner for business. However, if I declined, it would indicate that I was being petty. Trapped between a rock and a hard place, it was evident that Thora wasn’t someone to be trifled with.
Just as John had said before, one needed to know where to strike. Since she had come to challenge me, there was no need for me to show any mercy.
After giving it some thought, I pursed my lips and replied with a smile, “Ms. Ziegler, you flatter me indeed. Let’s not go as far as to talk about whether I can help. After all, I have never been capable of much. From the time my grandma took care of me to the time my husband protected me, I hardly knew anything about running a business. Even now, I have to rely on the support the Stanhope family provides. But since you have requested this of me, I will certainly try my best.”
Pausing a moment, I scanned around to find Brooklyn. “Mr. Newman.”
Acknowledging me from within the crowd, Brooklyn approached and stood behind me. “Ms. Stanhope, I am at your service.”
“Ms. Ziegler is having a little trouble. Can you take a look or simply appoint someone in the company to help her? We can’t very well let her be bogged down by trivial matters now, can we?”
I raised my voice on purpose to emphasize the word “simply” so that everyone else could hear it clearly.
Just as I spoke, Thora’s expression darkened. Her earlier smile dissipated as she scrutinized me in surprise. Meeting her gaze confidently, I put on an innocent look. Given what everyone had just heard, their impression of me was that I was a fool that only relied on family connections.
Nevertheless, I was a fool that could elicit jealousy from many others.
Within this city, there was no one else that could shamelessly claim to enjoy the protection of one’s family despite having nothing to contribute.
Within all the prominent families, their children had to either be exceptionally capable or extremely attractive. All of them had to work in their families’ interest to enjoy the equivalent amount of protection. If one was born without any talent, one had to be extra careful not to bring any trouble to the family, or else one would be kicked out.
As for me, by admitting my incompetence in the face of a powerful career woman, I was indirectly flaunting the unconditional love that I enjoyed. It was something I already had but everything that Thora craved. Hence, there was nothing more painful for her than this.
That being said, this was her own doing. After all, she was the one that started it and I was just returning the favor, albeit with the intensity of a hundredfold.
With impeccable timing, Brooklyn rubbed salt in her wounds. “Ms. Ziegler, Ms. Stanhope doesn’t understand the situation, so let me explain it to you. Ever since the law firm began its operations, we have received a lot of work from both the Stanhope and Moore families. Therefore, most of our top lawyers are bogged down with work. Hence, if you don’t mind, I can get one of my assistants to help you. What do you think about that?”
D*mn, I didn’t expect Brooklyn to be so good at insults. It was really brazen of him to suggest assigning an assistant lawyer to deal with the president of a listed company. No wonder John liked him so much.
After the brief exchange, Thora didn’t gain any advantage at all. Instead, she had been badly beaten down. Nevertheless, she managed to remain calm despite the rage burning in her eyes.
Suddenly, a figure stepped out from behind her and raised his hand to throw a glass of wine toward me.
Reacting instantly, Brooklyn stepped forward to shield me from it.
However, when the man raised his glass halfway, a hand came out of nowhere and grabbed his wrist. With a forceful twist, the man collapsed onto his knees and pleaded for mercy.
Losing its support, the wine glass that was heading in my direction fell onto the ground instead. Upon impact, its contents spilled in every direction. Unable to evade in time, Thora’s pure white dress was now stained with jarring red.
Amidst the commotion, Anthony’s threatening voice rang out.
“How dare you!”
Just as he spoke, Anthony shoved the man’s hand aside and kicked him to the ground.
The incident had caught everyone’s attention. Only then did I notice that Ezra and Zayne were also present. It was just that they weren’t tall enough, hence I didn’t see them earlier. But now that everyone came over to see what was going on, their presence was finally felt.
At that moment, they looked at Anthony in both a suspicious and threatening manner.
By getting close to Thora, Anthony obviously wanted to get on Ezra’s good side. But now that he had defended me in public, Ezra would begin to doubt the authenticity of our divorce.
Nevertheless, Anthony didn’t seem to care as he glared coldly at Thora. He warned, “How dare your assistant harm the mother of my children? Do you intend to show the whole city that anyone can harm my children? And that there would be no consequences for doing so?”
With that, Anthony had indirectly declared that harming me was no different than harming his children. By doing so, he had warned everyone and guaranteed my safety.
I couldn’t help but admit that Anthony’s reaction was exceptionally quick. He could easily turn any incident into an excuse to gain an advantage.
Not too long ago, he had used the same reason to beat back Zander.
Just as he spoke, the crowd fell into silence. All of them were waiting in anticipation to see how this competition between love rivals was going to end.
A while later, a female voice boomed. “You’re fired.”
Thora’s swift decision to dissociate herself came as no surprise. After all, she was a successful businesswoman who had been through many vicissitudes.
Hearing her words, the assistant’s face fell immediately. He then staggered to his feet and pleaded with Thora, but she shot him a look, shutting him up. Indignant, he glared at me resentfully before storming away.
“Are you satisfied with my decision?” Thora asked.
Instead of replying to her, Anthony glanced at the ground for a second before removing his blazer and draped it over her shoulders. “Today is a big day for the Ziegler Corporation. Don’t let the media capture any of these. Go change your clothes first.”
As soon as he said that, he cast a quick meaningful glance at me before he turned around and weaved through the crowd. Meanwhile, Thora gazed at the blazer thoughtfully and strode toward the door nearby.
Seeing that there was nothing left to watch, the crowd that gathered around eventually dispersed.
I adjusted my hair and scanned my surroundings. When I saw that no one was looking at me, I sneaked a glance at Ezra and his group of friends and found them chatting away happily at the other side of the room. Seeing that they had let their guards down, I heaved a sigh of relief.
Hopefully, Anthony’s plan can go well after this.
Since this dinner was meant to be a trap, we could not stay long at this banquet anymore. All of this was just an act. Thus, the longer we stayed, the higher the chances of giving ourselves away will be.
After pondering for a while, I turned to Emma and Brooklyn. “We should leave now.”
“Where did John go? Let me go and find him first,” Emma said.
Before I could say anything, she had hiked up her gown and made her way into the crowd. Left with no choice, I trailed behind her.
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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