It all happened so suddenly that it caught everyone off guard.


    Not just Rachel and her friends, but even Abby and her son Neville were taken by


    surprise.


    Everyone assumed Ste would just bite her tongue and move on. No one


    anticipated she''d strike back like this.


    Putting down her coffee cup, Ste shed a small smile.


    "You spilled coffee on my dress, so I spilled juice on yours. Seems fair to me. Ms. Pearce, if you can''t bear to change, then you should wear it as it is."


    With that, Ste turned to leave.


    But suddenly, she felt a grip on her wrist, and Haynes'' cold, steely voice came from behind her.


    "Ste." His voice was like shards of ice, "Rachel has already apologized and exined it wasn''t intentional. Why take it so far?"


    Ste shook off Haynes'' hand with a chill in her eyes. "I don''t care if it was intentional or not. She ruined my dress for thepetition, so she won''t be wearing hers either."


    "Adults need to face the consequences of their mistakes. Not every ''sorry'' warrants a ''no problem''."


    Ste''s eyes were like dark, glistening gemstones.


    "I''m not her mother. I don''t have to forgive her. If you don''t want her to suffer, keep


    her out of my way."


    "Otherwise, I can''t promise what I might do next."


    And with that, Ste walked away.


    Jasper was fuming, ready to confront Ste, but Haynes stopped him.


    Jasper''s eyes were red with anger. "This is too much! Rachel just identally spilled a little coffee on her, and she drenched Rachel with juice!"


    "Now Rachel''s dress is ruined, and her whole look has to be redone!"


    Rachel was covered in sticky juice from head to toe. It wasn''t something you


    could just wipe off; she''d need a shower and a hair wash.


    It had taken over three hours to perfect Rachel''s makeup and hairstyle.


    And now it was all ruined.


    Thepetition was about to start, and even if the stylist could be called back, there was no time to create anything decent.


    Haynes might be able to dy thepetition a bit, but asking for more than a half-hour extension would be pushing it—no one else would agree to wait that long.


    Jasper''s fury twisted into wild spection. "This is deliberate-Ste''s trying to sabotage Rachel''s performance! She wants her to miss her slot so she can cry foul and get her disqualified! Yes! That''s exactly what she''s up to!"


    Rachel was shaking with rage, on the verge of losing her mind. Her dress cost way more than Ste''s! And her makeup and hair were the result of hours of meticulous work.


    Rachel clenched her teeth in frustration. She vowed to get back at Ste somehow!


    ...


    In another dressing room, Abby wasughing heartily, "Well done! If she''d just changed her dress, she wouldn''t have to deal with this mess. Now she''s got nothing!"


    Neville looked at Ste with concern, "Aren''t you worried about going head-to- head with them? Aren''t you afraid of Haynesing after you?"


    Ste''s eyes were cold and calcting. "I''m still Haynes'' wife and Keen''s mother. He''s got too much to consider to go all out against me."


    Abby frowned, "Star, Haynes is being so unfair. After all these years of marriage and giving him a son, he expects you to walk away with nothing!"


    Neville lounged back casually, "Do you really think that even if Star walks away with nothing, Haynes will agree to a divorce?"


    Abby turned to him, "You mean..."