?Chapter 722:


    Taking a deep breath, she put on a bright, weing smile and walked up to Ste, carrying herself with the confident air of a host.


    “Ms. Gilbert, what a surprise to see you here today,” she announced loudly, making sure everyone nearby could hear.


    She moved as if to hug Ste but suddenly slipped, stumbling forward. The ss of red wine in her hand tipped over, pouring straight toward Ste’s chest.<fnade3> This content belongs to Find_Novel(.</fnade3>


    The room wentpletely quiet, and a victorious gleam sparked in Nina’s eyes. She already pictured the shame Ste would soon feel. Trying to climb the socialdder? Ste was about to find out where her ce really was.


    However, the ssh and gasps she had expected never came.


    Just as the red wine was about to soak her, Ste quickly stepped back with her left foot and smoothly turned her body about forty-five degrees to the left.


    The movement was wless, and the ss Nina had tipped missed Ste’s right shoulder by inches.


    Instead, the wine spilled over the shiny marble floor, creating a big, bright stain. Some droplets flicked onto the edge of Ste’s dress and the tips of her shoes, leaving only a few small marks and nothing more.


    Nina’s eyes went wide. This wasn’t the disaster she had nned.


    Ste stood her ground, her expression calm, though a brief flicker of frost passed through her eyes.


    Not once did she look at the shattered wine ss lying in pieces on the floor. Her attention remained fixed on Nina, whoseplexion shifted from pale to flushed with fury.


    When Ste spoke, her voice carried a quiet sharpness. “Miss Carter, you ought to watch your step. It’s a shame to waste such fine wine.”


    The words weren’t delivered like an usation, yet they struck with the sting of an unseen p.


    A moment of stillness passed before the surrounding whispers began, and curious nces turned toward Nina.


    No one at an event like this could be easily fooled. The cause of the little ident was in enough to everyone.


    Endless adventures await on gα?ησν????s


    Heat rose to Nina’s cheeks as humiliation settled in, smothering her with shame.


    Her eyes moved to Ste’s dress, barely touched by the spill, and a deeper resentment festered in her chest. This couldn’t end here. Ste needed to be put in her ce, and Nina would see to it.


    Forcing a smile that didn’t reach her eyes, she let sarcasm drip from her voice while looking Ste up and down. “A shame? I’d say you’re just bitter about your bargain-bin outfit. Sylvia, have you even looked at yourself? Clothes that are cheap have no ce in the Carter family’s home. A little dirt almost improves them—saves us from having to look at something so pathetic.”


    The air in the room seemed to sink again, and a heavy stillness swept over the crowd. Eyes flickered between Nina and Ste, as if everyone was silently asking the same question—was Nina implying that Ste’s dress was a fake?


    Without moving from her spot, Ste bore the weight of Nina’s insult and the probing stares surrounding her.


    Rather than fire back, she simply regarded Nina with a calm, steady gaze.


    A momentter, her eyelids dipped, and her longshes cast a faint shadow over her cheeks, concealing whatever emotions she held beneath the surface. To Nina, that small gesture was proof enough that she had struck a nerve.


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