<b>Chapter </b><b>57 </b>
Ileana’s face went pale, but she forced a tight smile, refusing to let herposure crack.
“What… Cole, what do you mean by that?”
No one answered her. The moment their eyes met, everyone quickly looked away, pretending to be upied with something else.
“For an event like this, the hosts are supposed to send out invitations at least a week in advance,” Lucy exined quietly, suddenly appearing at Ileana’s side to offer a bit of context. “A verbal invite doesn’t count–if anything, it’s considered disrespectful to the guests.”
As the awkwardness thickened, Ste perked up with a mischievous glint in her eye. To Ileana, it was nothing short of open provocation.
“What’s the matter, are you nervous or just indifferent? Want me to introduce you to an etiquette coach?” Ste teased, her tone breezy and deliberately casual.
Ileana clenched her fists so tightly her nails dug into her palms. Still, she managed a strained smile, biting back her anger as she looked at Ste.
“Oh, Ste, you’re always joking,” she said, suppressing the tremor in her voice. “My parents have been so busy nning my wee party that they haven’t had time to worry about the details. They already found someone to help me prepare, but since I just got home and I’m still adjusting, they told me not to rush.”
“Is that so? Well, you’d better get on it. Embarrassing yourself in front of the ss is one thing, but making a scene at your own wee party? Now that would be a real disaster.”
Ste’s smile was sweet, but Ileana could only grit her teeth and force another polite grin.
“Thank you for your concern, Ste. I’ll be careful not to embarrass my parents at the party.”
“Oh, right–you said Mr. Tate hired Justin to design your dressing room, didn’t you?”
“Of… of course,” Ileana replied, her pupils contracting, but she nodded with all the confidence she could muster.
Ste didn’t miss a beat. “Justin, that’s not cool–taking on such a big project and you didn’t even tell your childhood friend?”
<b>14.41 </b>
Suddenly, Justin’s voice red from the phone speaker, his irritation impossible to miss. “What the hell! Is the guy from the Tate family out of his mind? If he were here in person, I’d kick him out myself! Who does he think he is, ordering me around? And calling her the ‘Tate family’s precious daughter‘–oh, I’m so scared. Give me a break. If my reputation takes a hit because of this, are you going to pay for it? Are you? Can you even afford it?”
Justin’s tirade left Ileana’s face alternating between crimson and ashen. Her eyes reddened, and tears began to stream down her cheeks. She looked like she’d just suffered the worst humiliation of her life.
“Alessia, you stole seventeen years of my life. I tried to let it go, but you keep targeting me and shutting me out. Is it just because I finally reimed what’s rightfully mine?”
Without waiting for Alessia to respond, Ileana shoved past the onlookers and fled the room.
Others might not understand, but Alessia did. Back when the Morton family was thriving, the Tate family was just getting started. Only after the Mortons fell on hard times did the Tates rise. Ileana always imed Alessia stole her life, but she had never known hardship. In the end, who really stole from whom?
With Ileana gone, the show was over. Ste hung up on Justin mid–sentence, cutting off his attempts to exin himself.
“Alright, are we doing this or not?” Pierce spoke up, and the crowd immediately dispersed, following him to the back of the ssroom to collect their things. The room, moments ago so crowded, suddenly felt muchrger.
“That guy’s calling again. I’ll be back in a bit.” Ste nced at her phone, then said to Alessia, “Don’t wait up,” before pulling out her chair and stepping outside.
“Larkin must be pulling his hair out by now, huh?” Alessia mused, knowing he’d been swampedtely with the merger.
“Yeah, well, for a six–figure sry, he can’t expect me to do all the work.” As she spoke, Alessia reached for his hand, noticing the bruises and the scab just beginning to form.
“What happened to your hand?”