I smiled, then turned and saw a black Rolls
Royce parked nearby. It was Daniel. He hadn’t
left? I called out, holding my umbrella, “Mr. Re
The car suddenly started and drove away.
My classmate leaned in curiously. “What’s
wrong?”
“Nothing… He probably didn’t hear me…”
I was busy for the next few days, adjusting to
my new job. Coincidentally, my boss sent me to
Daniel’s company for a business meeting.
After the meeting, I saw Daniel coming out of
the conference room. I was about to greet him,
but he walked right past me, his gaze not even
meeting mine. It was his secretary who politely
nodded to me. “Miss Mitchell, Mr. Reed would
like you to wait for a moment.”
“Okay…”
I watched him walk away, feeling a strange
tightness in my chest.
In the evening, his secretary came in. “There’s a
banquet tonight. Mr. Reed wants to know if
you’d like to attend. If you’re tired, I can take
you home.”
“I’m fine, I can go.”
- 6.
The banquet was already underway when I
arrived. I spotted Daniel immediately. He was
too striking, a natural focal point, standing
there. Almost at the same time, his gaze met
mine across the room.
I was wearing a beautiful gold dress with an
elegant design at the collarbone, the neckline a
bit lower than usual, the skirt hugging my
curves. A sapphire necklace nestled in the
hollow of my throat, sparkling.
Daniel stared at me, motionless. He didn’t look
away until someone started talking to him. He
then left, surrounded by people.
I was about to follow when his secretary
stopped me. He hesitated, then said, “Miss
Mitchell, Mr. Reed overheard you talking about getting back together with Mr. Carter… Although it’s your personal business, it’s…
better to clear up misunderstandings sooner rather than later.” He didn’t finish, hurrying after Daniel.
I was left standing there, stunned. I only
realized I was at Ethan’s event when I saw the
banner at the entrance with “Carter
Enterprises” written on it. He had created an
opportunity for me to see Ethan. Realizing he’d
misunderstood, I lifted my skirt, about to chase
after him.
“Excuse me, Miss,” a portly, middle–aged man
with a jovial smile blocked my way. “I’m Daniel
Reed’s uncle. You’ve probably heard of Daniel
Reed, right?”
So, this was Daniel’s uncle.
I nodded politely. “Hello,”
He held a glass of champagne. “You’re very beautiful. Do you have a boyfriend?”
Realizing his intentions, I quickly stepped back, creating distance. “I’m sorry, sir, I have
something to attend to. Please excuse me.” I quickly walked away before he could respond.
As I rounded a corner, I was stopped again.
“Sarah.” Lisa appeared out of nowhere. “Was that your… fiancé just now?”
“No.”
“No wonder his last name’s Reed, too.” She
spoke as if she’d caught me in some terrible lie.
“That’s Daniel Reed’s uncle. I heard he has a
mistress. Didn’t expect it to be you.”
Her voice was loud, attracting the attention of
<
those around us. They started pointing and
whispering.
I stared at her calmly. “Are you done?”
Lisa looped her arm around mine, a sickly
sweet smile on her face. “What? Embarrassed
now that I’ve exposed you?”
“For the two years you chased after Ethan, I
was sleeping with him every night.”
“… He only dated you because I thought it
would be a fun game. You were the other
woman.”
“Besides, these things… practice makes
perfect.”
The anger I’d been holding back finally erupted.
As she gloated, I picked up a nearby glass of
water and poured it over her head. The glass
slipped from my hand and shattered on the
floor.
The room fell silent.
Lisa stared at me, momentarily stunned, then shrieked. “Sarah Mitchell, what are you doing?!”
“Feeling better now?” I glared at her. “There’s
plenty more water if you need it. You don’t
need to introduce yourself like this.”
“You
Suddenly, someone yanked me away and threw me against the buffet table. Plates, cups, and cutlery crashed to the floor. Shards of broken china grazed my ankle, and blood welled up. I winced in pain and looked up to see Ethan.
“Sarah Mitchell, are you crazy?” he snarled.
“You dare cause a scene on my property?”
Without thinking, I pulled out a card from my bag and threw it at his face. “Shut up.”
く
92
“Holding onto a measly two grand like it’s some
treasure. Aren’t you ashamed? If I had known
Lisa stole that money from your family, I
wouldn’t even touch it. It’s dirty.”
Lisa started crying. “You’re the mistress! How
dare you act so righteous?”
“What mistress?” Ethan asked.
“Her fiancé is Daniel Reed’s uncle!”
Ethan’s eyes raked over me, his expression complicated.
I took out my phone and sneered. “Tell it to the
camera. Louder this time. Let’s settle this in
court.”
Lisa cowered behind Ethan, fear in her eyes.
“Enough,” Ethan scoffed, as if he didn’t believe
a word I said. “Sarah Mitchell, you disgust me.”
<
“Who disgusts you?” a calm voice came from
the crowd.
People parted to make way. Daniel was back.
I stood there, disheveled, staring at them. I
knew Daniel wouldn’t be happy about the scene
I’d caused.
Daniel walked straight towards me and looked
down, asking, “Where are you hurt?”
“It’s nothing-” I suddenly remembered the
secretary’s words and changed my tune, my
voice laced with a hint of complaint. “I scraped
my ankle. It hurts…”
“Who did this?”
“Him.” I pointed at Ethan.
Ethan sneered. “You’ll latch onto anyone, won’t
you? Let’s see if you’re still smiling after I
destroy your fiancé,”
Daniel walked calmly towards Ethan. As he
passed the buffet table, he picked up a bottle
of red wine.
Ethan thought Daniel was going to help him and
laughed. “Perfect! You don’t like your uncle
either. Help me
His taunt was cut short, Crimson liquid dripped
from his hair, staining his expensive white shirt.
The source? The bottle of wine in Daniel’s hand.
He stood there, one hand in his pocket, casually
pouring the wine over Ethan’s head, just as I
had done to Lisa.
The room was utterly silent.
“Daniel Reed,” Ethan sputtered, his voice
strained. “Are you insane?”
Daniel tossed the empty bottle aside, picked up
Daniol tossed the empty bottle aside, picked up
Ethan’s tie, and wiped his hand, his voice cold
and aloof. “Sorry, I didn’t quite catch that. Are
you sure… you want to destroy me?”
