Noreen didn''t know the woman, so she thought nothing of it and continued walking toward the main hall.


    But just as she passed them, the woman who had scoffed spoke up in a snide tone.


    "You really can''t judge a book by its cover. Who would have thought she''d turn out to be this kind of person?"


    Another chimed in, "Of course you couldn''t tell. Who would wear a sign that says ''shameless''?"


    "For all we know, she built her career through underhanded means. So pathetic."


    Noreen didn''t know who they were talking about, so she ignored them and kept walking.


    The women''s voices grew louder.


    "Exactly! I heard that back in the day, she drugged Seth and crawled into his bed just to get her ws into him. We could never stoop to such shameless tactics, which is why we''re not as sessful as she is."


    "That''s how people from the bottom are. They''re willing to do anything, and they have no shame."


    Noreen had heard this kind of gossip before.


    But back then, for the sake of the bigger picture, she had tried her best to ignore it.


    She told herself that the innocent have nothing to fear from rumors, that the truth would speak for itself.


    But thinking about it now, she realized everyone only gets one life. Why should she have to put up with it?


    So she turned around, walked right up to the women, and stared at them silently. "Are you talking about me?"


    The women, who had been so smug just a moment ago, were now intimidated by Noreen''s presence, their faces betraying their guilt.


    No matter what, with Noreen''s current status, they couldn''t afford to offend her.


    One of them suddenly changed her tune, putting on a warm and friendly act. "Ms. Gilmore, you''ve misunderstood. We weren''t talking about you. How could we dare?" The smile vanished from Noreen''s face, reced by a cold indifference. "Oh? Then who were you talking about? Tell me all about it."


    "We were just... casually gossiping..."


    The others started to stammer as well.


    "Perfect. I love gossip. Go on," Noreen said, making it clear she wasn''t going to let them off the hook.


    These women were all rich girls who had been coddled their whole lives, flowers raised in a greenhouse.


    In front of someone like Noreen,


    who had fought her way up through storms and hardships, they seemed incredibly fragile.


    The most timid one panicked, stammering an apology to Noreen.


    "I''m sorry, we spoke out of turn. We''ll never say anything bad about you again."


    The one who started it was a bit defiant. "We weren''t wrong. That''s what everyone says..."


    Before she could finish her sentence, Noreen stepped forward and pped her hard across the face.


    The crisp sound echoed in the quiet hall.


    The woman was stunned, her hand flying to her cheek, her eyes welling up with tears.


    Noreen''s eyes were cold. "Watch your mouth. Otherwise, it won''t be just a p next time."


    After she spoke, she swept her gaze over the other women. They all turned pale with fear, not daring to breathe too loudly.


    Having delivered her warning, Noreen turned to walk away.


    But she had only taken a few steps when she saw Healy.


    From the looks of it, he had witnessed the whole thing.


    His expression wasplicated.


    Noreen didn''t care about his reaction and was about to walk past him.


    Just as they were about to pass each other, Healy called out to her. "Noreen, are you okay?"


    Noreen didn''t appreciate his concern.


    Perhaps her defenses were still up,


    because her words came out sharp. "Isn''t this concern a littlete, Mr. Naylor?"


    "After all, you and your friends were the ones who started these rumors back then."