Elizabeth spoke without hesitation, since she had rehearsed it endlessly before. At the same time, she shifted closer to Hayden with a look of utter bliss and contentment. "Really? What a strange coincidence," Gwyneth replied softly and took a sip from her teacup, restraining her flaring imagination just then.In reality, she had come to see Hayden precisely to ask about it—Elizabeth's response only left her curiosity stumped. It sounded perfectly logical… but could things have gone so smoothly and with so many coincidences?That only made Elizabeth's story sound more fishy.Still, Gwyneth changed the subject and started discussing music with Hayden, and she left with Liam before long—there was no reason to stay at that point.Hayden sent them off to the front gates, his expression turning ice cold once they were out of sight.He turned towards Elizabeth with a look of utter contempt. "I'm surprised you lie with such flair, Ms. Lisle, not even batting an eye," he said, unper
Hayden composed the entire song himself to present it to Gwyneth as a gift. The lyrics and his deep voice made it appear especially sentimental.Naturally, even as Liam stood with Gwyneth and stared at Hayden on stage, his glare was utterly hostile. He would have the man thrown out unceremoniously, but he did not want Gwyenth's birthday to get unpleasant.Everyone applauded after Hayden was finished, but he did not seem to care—his eyes had only ever been locked on Gwyneth below the stage. He made no effort to hide his affection, and once the lights were back, he got off stage and walked up to her. "How did you like my birthday present?"Gwnyeth naturally nodded—she could not dislike a gift that took dedication.Still, she smiled mischievously as she held his expectant gaze, teasing, "Professionally speaking, the tune is perfect, but the lyrics fall short."No one would ever dare criticize Hayden's musical talent to his face, though he was not upset and smiling instead—it was li
Hayden asked Elizabeth, "What happened? Are you alright?"Elizabeth was actually seething that she was dragged away but stayed silent when she saw the icy glare in Hayden's eyes. He then leaned in to whisper icily into her ear, "Being funny, are we? Did you really think that you're my fiancee?"He was clearly accusing Elizabeth of causing trouble for him and not staying in line!Callie was not about to let it go either—she was hurt because Elizabeth had to knock into her!Biting her lip, she spotted Liam nearby and strode up to him through the crowd, acting as if she never saw Gwyneth as she complained with a wounded tone, "I'm a guest here, Liam. Are you letting this go? Don't I have rights?"She got obviously agitated the more she spoke, even tugging on his sleeve. "You have to stand up for me, right, Liam?"Liam's eyes flashed in annoyance and pulled his shirt out of her grasp.However, even if Callie was clearly trying to make a mess, he had to do something anyway.Still,
Callie was not about to give up—how could she?! She was knocked to the floor and bleeding, not to mention that Liam had her back since he invited her here.It was a rare opportunity to strut—holding back would be a waste!Her knuckles were clenched, and she was ready to fight back, only to stay silent when she saw the icy glare in Gwyneth's eyes. She ultimately left the banquet hall despite her reluctance.And once she was gone, things returned to normal, although there was noticeably less cheer. As such, the banquet ended within a few hours, despite plans to have it last until morning.Liam told Larry and Wanda to help see off the guests and assist with payment while he looked everywhere for Gwyneth.He eventually found her at the lounge and hurried to her side. "What's wrong? Are you tired?"He paused when he saw the look on her face—it looked no different than usual, but he knew all too well that she was upset. And he was right—as a matter of fact, Gwyneth was upset with
Hayden's words were simple, but Elizabeth felt like she fell into an icy abyss.She had never hoped for anything from Hayden, but she still could not take being treated like she was worthless.She bit her lip and turned to look outside, while silence loomed in the car for the rest of their journey.…Back at the banquet hall, Liam was left standing at the door, not quite able to believe Gwyneth really just bailed on him.He felt absolutely frustrated, but there was no way for him to vent either—he gritted his teeth even as his head seemed to blank out and eventually whipped out his phone.He called Gwyneth three times, and she hung up on him every time.Absolutely furious at that point, he called Henry, who left the banquet earlier."What's up?""We're going clubbing," Liam growled with seething rage.Henry chuckled tactlessly—it was the standard operating procedure for the man after having a fight with the missus.Still, he turned around and picked Liam up before going stra
At that moment, Callie remembered that Liam was at the club and the photos that showed her going there.As such, she became expectant instead of panicking and texted the paparazzi back: [Leak it all you want! Don't think you can threaten me—I'm not intimidated! Hell, you're a bitch if you don't leak it!]With that, she stored it into the nightclub without hesitation. …After leaving the banquet hall, Gwyneth was planning to head home but felt repulsed by the idea of having to confront Liam again.As such, she told the cabbie to take her to Aubrey's place while she rested her eyes.The cabbie was going to chat with her a little, since he was perceptive enough to tell that she just had an argument with her boyfriend. Still, he rubbed his nose and kept quiet as he saw her closing her eyes from the rearview mirror.Gwyneth alighted when they arrived at Aubrey's mansion. She was about to pay up when she realized she left in too much of a hurry—she did not have her phone or wallet on
Elizabeth accepted the offer and sat opposite Gwyneth.Aubrey remained in the main seat, keeping her legs crossed above the chair, showing none of her upbringing as an heiress.She was a little puzzled when Gwyneth invited Elizabeth—she would not miss the food portion, but Elizabeth's drastic change in personality was unsettling.After all, she knew too well what Elizabeth did to Gwyneth before. But considering that Gwyneth was not holding it against her, Aubrey had no reason to speak up.Gwyneth appeared more spirited after having the seafood soup—having food was truly blissful, after all.And now that she was in a better mood, her mischievous tendencies returned as well."Baby, could you not be so stingy? I said supper, and it's just soup?""You really cut me to the quick, girl. You haven't eaten anything—you'd be killing your stomach if you start boozing."Gwyneth smiled as Aubrey reverted to her usual snappy attitude, feeling warm inside. Over the years, she would come to
Gwyneth chugged her glass, watching the two women before her before thinking about herself.She slowly smiled and giggled—it appeared that getting upset over relationship issues was inevitable no matter who it was.Meanwhile, the bottle of red wine was getting emptier, while their visions blurred and their speech turned unintelligible. They moved from the dining table to the drawing room carpet and were out like a light before they could open another bottle.To be precise, only Gwyneth and Aubrey were unconscious—Elizabeth still retained some extent of awareness.She opened her eyes to look around before smiling smugly. After all, it seemed that she was more successful with winning Gwyneth's trust than she thought.…The next morning, things were getting lively online while the three women were still asleep.The paparazzo who blackmailed Callie certainly did not flinch from Callie's goading and waited until peak internet traffic hours to post every photo he had of her at the