Ashlyn inherited her parents’ good looks. The strapless dress accentuated her slender waist and hung just above her ankles, showing off the classic gold anklet from the Amelia’s. Under the lights, the diamonds inlaid in the anklet were dazzling.
Gordon stood in the distance and saw Ashlyn talking and laughing with a group of men. The smile on her red lips made him feel inexplicably annoyed.
Ashlyn had played the role of a good wife for three whole years. It hadn’t even been a full year since their divorce, but she could not wait to show her true face.
It was she who had seduced him all those years ago. If it hadn’t been for that night, she wouldn’t even have been lucky enough to be his wife in the first place.
Sneering in disgust, Gordon downed the wine in his glass in one go.
Truth be told, Ashlyn didn’t hate these kinds of profitable social activities. Moreover, she had come here as the manager of a company, so she went about and mingled diplomatically.
However, the rumor about her had spread like wildfire. A famous playboy, Sean Courtenay, sauntered over to Ashlyn with an obscene smile. “Miss Ramos, you look beautiful tonight.”
Sean was even more notorious than Devin. Although Devin was also a playboy, he at least had some semblance of ethics.
However, Sean was different. When he liked a woman, he stuck to her like glue.
Ashlyn smiled and answered perfunctorily, “Thank you, Mr. Courtenay. My friend’s over there. Excuse me.”
“Hey, don’t go. I wanted to talk to you.”
“What is it?” Ashlyn asked warily.
“It depends on your attitude, Miss Ramos.”
Seeing that she didn’t leave him right away, Sean stepped closer to wrap his arm around her waist. However, Ashlyn moved aside and evaded his advances. “Don’t. So many people are looking at us. It’s disgraceful.”
“Interesting.” Sean’s smile widened. “I like you. You can have fun in private and look graceful in public. How much is it for a night with you?”
This question was below the belt. Other people would’ve gotten angry on the spot. Ashlyn, on the other hand, simply smiled. “Not too expensive. One billion’s enough.”
Sean’s expression darkened. “Are you kidding me?”
“What’s wrong? Can’t afford her? Too bad, because I can.”
Before Ashlyn could say anything, a familiar voice sounded from behind her. “I’ll pay one billion. She’s mine tonight.”
Ashlyn had arrived over ten minutes ago, but she hadn’t seen Devin. Thinking that he didn’t come, she was pleasantly surprised when he suddenly showed up.
Sean couldn’t afford to offend Devin, so he gritted his teeth and glared at Ashlyn. Then he turned around and left sulkily.
Ashlyn raised her glass and smiled at Devin. “Thanks, I guess.”
“My pleasure.”
Devin clinked his glass with hers, smiling faintly.
After sipping some wine, Devin commented, “You seem to be in a good mood tonight.”
Ashlyn raised her eyebrows slightly and said, “You’re not wrong.”
After all, nothing serious had happened recently, other than the ugly rumor that was being spread about her.
But Ashlyn didn’t think too much of it. No matter what other people said, she refused to feel ashamed or embarrassed, because in hindsight, it had nothing to do with her.
About twenty minutes after she came, Ashlyn had greeted all the important guests at the party.
She put down her glass and said to Devin, “Please excuse me. I have to leave for a moment.”
Ashlyn wove her way through the crowd and soon found Talia. “Please tell the driver to pick me up at the hotel entrance. I’ll just go to the bathroom before we leave.”
Talia nodded and promptly called the driver.
The bathroom was a bit far from the banquet hall, and there was a long corridor between them.
After using the bathroom, Ashlyn came out and was making her way down the corridor when she noticed a separate passage that lead to an open-air balcony.
The balcony wasn’t that big, around a few meters long. There were two coffee tables and several chairs, and some people were hanging out there.
From several meters away, Ashlyn could vaguely hear one of them talking, but she couldn’t hear clearly. By the time she reached the balcony, she heard them mention her name and stopped in her tracks.
“Did you see Ashlyn’s dress? It’s the Smith’s, limited edition. I know it’s worth six hundred thousand dollars! It seems she’s found a really rich sugar daddy.”
“It’s not just the dress. Did you see her anklet? It’s a limited edition, too. There are only ninety-nine of them in the world.”
“Really? Oh, my God! Her sugar daddy’s so generous! I saw from the pictures online that the old guy’s in good shape. Is he Ashlyn’s new boyfriend?”
“Don’t be silly. She just divorced Gordon. How could she find such a rich boyfriend? It’s obvious that she’s someone’s mistress.”
“You’re right. Not only is Ashlyn a divorced woman, but her ex-husband also happens to be Gordon Jones. People with a decent family background won’t be so stupid to date her. So her dream of being rich is about to end. Too bad!”
Ashlyn looked down at her phone and saw that it was only half past eight. She had enough time to deal with these two blabbermouths.
Ashlyn walked over to them and asked, “Hey, girls. I couldn’t hear you clearly. What dream were you two talking about?”
When the two women saw Ashlyn, they were panicked at first, but when they saw that there was no one else around, they quickly calmed down. One of them sneered at Ashlyn with disdain, spitting, “You should know this. You’re the most famous woman in Courtbush. You married Gordon and then divorced him. And for what?”
“Yeah. It’s only been a few months since your divorce, but you seem to be having a good time. I am a little jealous. For a divorcee, you’re quite capable. Could you teach me how to snag a rich man?”
Ashlyn smiled and asked, “What’re your names? Oh, never mind. I never remember ordinary people like you. Oh, by the way, I have this little habit where I record what others say about me. In fact, I recorded your conversation just now. And I have a lot of fans on Twitter. Let’s see if I can make you two famous!”
The two women had gossiped unscrupulously just now. They didn’t expect that the subject of their discussion would overhear them.
Hearing Ashlyn’s threat, they exchanged nervous glances.
“What’re you girls chatting about?”
A playful, masculine voice sounded from behind them. It was Devin. With a gleam in his eyes, he looked at Ashlyn in confusion.
Ashlyn smiled and played the recording from her phone.
“Did you see Ashlyn’s dress? It’s the Smith’s, limited edition. I know it’s worth six hundred thousand dollars! It seems she’s found a really rich sugar daddy…” “…her dream of being rich is about to end. Too bad!”
Their faces turned pale when they heard their voices in the recording.
They could mock Ashlyn, but they couldn’t afford to offend Devin.
They couldn’t understand why Devin had a crush on Ashlyn. She was a divorcee, yet now he wanted to pursue and protect her.
After listening to the recording, Devin raised his eyebrows and commented, “Both of you are from prominent families. But I guess you two weren’t raised well.”
After all, they were all from the upper class. Even if Devin didn’t have any personal relationship with the two women, it wasn’t difficult for him to recognize them.
Hearing Devin’s words, both Kate and Andrea froze in place.
Ashlyn smiled faintly and asked the two women, “Don’t you think you owe me an apology?”
Kate and Andrea exchanged glances and muttered half-hearted apologies.
“What’s that? I couldn’t hear you. I think I have to teach you how to apologize properly,” Ashlyn said, clicking her tongue.
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.