Not long after the call ended, the doorbell rang. A man in a black suit stood at the door, carefully cradling a large gift box in his arms.
"Miss Delilah Watson, this is from Mr. Ludwig."
I nodded and accepted it.
When I stepped into the banquet hall, a group of young girls from the company were huddled together, whispering and stealing glances.
Their eyes were full of envy as they looked toward Alison, who stood dazzlingly beside Blake.
"I wish I could be as lucky as Miss Rainford. President Jennings is so handsome and rich and he spoils her to the bone. Just today's outfit alone must cost over eight figures!"
"What's there to envy? No matter how much he pampers her, she's still just a mistress. President Jennings already has a wife!"
"Wife? I heard after Miss Rainford’s miscarriage, President Jennings flew into a rage and even forced his wife to abort her baby too! Looks like the position of Mrs. Jennings will be replaced soon..."
I stayed silent, quietly making my way to the poolside, a glass of wine in hand.
As I sipped, Alison’s voice floated over from behind me. She deliberately sized me up from head to toe, her eyes gleaming with jealousy and malice.
"You’re really shameless. Blake forbade you from coming, yet you still sneaked in."
"In Blake’s heart, you aren’t even worth a toe of mine. I casually faked an audio recording blaming you for my miscarriage and he believed it without a second thought. He even tied you up and forced an abortion in front of everyone..."
"Speaking of which, your first miscarriage wasn’t my fault. It was just bad luck. I only had someone smear oil on the stairs to embarrass you. How was I supposed to know you were already carrying that bastard child?"
"If I were you, I would’ve packed up and left a long time ago. Oh, and did you know? The only bottle of special medicine that could have saved your mother’s life. Blake bought it at a high price, but not for you. He used it to save my little kitten instead."
As my face drained of color, Alison’s smugness only grew stronger.
She shoved her phone in front of me.
On the screen, Blake and Alison were beaming, lighting candles in celebration, a tiny kitten nestled in her arms.
My eyes caught the date stamped in the corner, the very day my mother died.
I could no longer hold back the fury burning inside me. With a surge of anger, I grabbed Alison by the throat.