?Chapter 230:
Katie, simmering, demanded, “What’s supposed to be such a shame?”
Without missing a beat, Christina replied, her tone almost breezy, “That no matter how hard I try, I could never sink as low as you. I guess that makes me a permanent loser in your little contest.” With a dazzling smile, she wiggled her fingers, sending tiny rainbows dancing from the jewels.
Katie could only gape, her mouth opening and closing, words failing her as anger overtook reason.
Brendon, unable to bear another second, cut in sharply, “Enough. You can’t talk your way through those doors, Christina. Save yourself the embarrassment and just go home.” He forced a tone of mock sympathy. “Look, I’m only telling you this for your own good—for old times’ sake.”
Christina’s reply was honey-sweet, edged with sarcasm. “Oh, why don’t you save your kindness for those who want it? Maybe toss it to the stray dogs out back.”
Brendon’s cheeks flushed, frustration tightening his jaw and chest. He’d tried to offer her an easy way out, and she’d spat it right back in his face. Ungrateful woman.
Joselyn, who had been watching the exchange with thinly veiled contempt, finally broke her silence. “Why are you all even bothering?” she sneered, her eyes raking over Christina as if she were little more than a stain. “She couldn’t get in if she stripped naked and begged on the pavement.”
Finnegan and She had approached, initially intending to enjoy the unfoldingmotion, but the sight of Christina proved too tempting for them to resist making a few barbedments.
Finnegan smirked, his voice carrying just loud enough for others to hear. “Honestly, even if this woman threw herself at me, I wouldn’t take her, let alone the security at Cloudcrest Heights. Do you have any idea how tough their screening is? Every guard out front looks like he just left special forces training. She wouldn’t stand a chance.”
His gaze swept over Christina, aplicated mix of condescension and thinly veiled admiration. There was no denying her striking presence—tall, her skin gleaming with an almost porcin smoothness, her movementsbining effortless grace with a hint of innocence that made her all the more maic. If only her temperament matched her beauty, she might have made the perfectpanion. Instead, her sharp wit and stubborn defiance rendered her intolerable in his eyes. He couldn’t fathom any man willingly enduring such a fiery spirit for long.
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She fixed Christina with a syrupy smile, her wordsced with poison. “At least Miss Jones has the sense to use her looks while she still can. A woman needs to seize her opportunities when she’s young, or they’ll slip right through her fingers.”
Christina’s lips curled into a subtle smile, her tone airy yet barbed. “Mrs. Mitchell, clearly, I could learn a thing or two from you. After all, you managed tomand an impressive price at your peak and even groomed your daughter to inherit your knack for, shall we say, profitable alliances.”
She’s face darkened in an instant, fury clouding her features. Christina hadn’t just insulted her. The insinuation was unmistakable: her entire worth, and her daughter’s,y in their ability to “sell well” in society’s marketce.
Finnegan and She hade to belittle Christina, seeking a bit of petty satisfaction on their daughter’s behalf. Instead, they’d fallen headlong into Christina’s verbal snare, left sputtering with indignation.
But Christina wasn’t finished. “Really, Mrs. Mitchell, perhaps you should pass some of your experience along to Mrs. Dawson. She could use a few lessons on raising a profitable sessor herself. Imagine the unity it would bring to the bond between your families.”
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