A deafening silence filled Vanessa''s mind, leaving herpletely stunned.


    The Vice President''s son? That young officer pursuing Eleanor was the son of the Vice President?


    An icy chill spread through Vanessa''s body, her mind goingpletely nk.


    A powerful wave of jealousy and immense envy washed over her. She had always thought Eleanor was just lucky, first marryingn and now bing a top scientist with his investment. She had never, ever imagined that Eleanor also had a suitor with such an overwhelmingly powerful family behind him.


    So, if Eleanor were to say yes, she would be the future daughter-inw of the Vice President.


    And thinking back to Mansfield''s appearance, he was exceptionally handsome. Vanessa scoffed internally. Here she was, scrambling totch onto a businessman like Harvey MacLeod, only to be treated like his ything.


    And Eleanor!


    She was being genuinely pursued by the Vice President''s son.


    In that moment, the sense of superiority and resentment Vanessa had clung to was utterly shattered by this revtion.


    However, a thought ofn followed. No matter how rich he was, he was still just a businessman. How could he possiblypare to Mansfield? If Mansfield decided to seriously pursue Eleanor, what wouldn amount to next to him?


    This thought brought a twisted sense of pleasure to Vanessa. No matter how wealthy and powerfuln was, he was ultimately a merchant. In the face of true aristocracy, he would always be a step below.


    Xavier and Henry might not have been his match in terms of skill and strategy, but against Mansfield... how couldn possiblypete?


    If Eleanor chose Mansfield in the end,n would be the one left abandoned.


    For a moment, she hoped Mansfield would pursue Eleanor relentlessly, givingn a taste of unrequited love and what it felt like to have someone stolen from him. At the same time, she hoped Mansfield''s family would ultimately reject Eleanor for being a divorcée, forcing him to give her up. That way, Eleanor would suffer for a while, too.


    But that feeling of malicious gleested only a second before reality crushed her again.


    The truth was, no matter who Eleanor chose the fabulously wealthyn or the monumentally powerful Mansfield-she was destined to stand at a height Vanessa could never hope to reach.


    She had never thought that


    destroying Eleanor''s marriage would


    actually propel her to a higher station in life. Eleanor now had everything Vanessa had ever dreamed of: an independent@areer, the respect of others, and even the admiration of top-tier tycoons and political scions.


    She was resentful, bitter, and yet she knew with absolute rity that she had long lost the right to evenpare herself to Eleanor.


    "What are you thinking about? Who is this friend of yours, really? Tell me about her," Harvey MacLeod said, suddenly interested in Vanessa''s friend.


    Vanessa''s face flushed. "I told you, she''s just a casual friend."


    Harvey snorted, then suddenly grabbed her chin, his fleshy face moving close to hers. "You''re with me now, so you do as you''re told. Don''t y games with me."


    He pushed her away, having suddenly lost interest in the dinner party. "To the bar," he ordered the driver.


    Half an hourter, at the bar, Harvey watched the gyrating women on stage with great enthusiasm. He grabbed Vanessa''s hand and said, "Vanessa, tonight, I want you to dance like that for me."


    "I..... I don''t know how," Vanessa said, lowering her head as a powerful sense of humiliation washed over her.


    The women on stage were in


    barely-there outfits, moving in


    extremely provocative ways for the audience to watch it seemed that in Harvey MacLeod''s eyes, she was just a more private version of those girls-his personal dancer.