Just hearing Susanne’s na made Anna’s blood run cold. So much ti had passed, yet the wounds of humiliation still festered beneath the surface, bleeding anew at the re thought of her. And now, faced with the prospect of seeing her again, the old ache threatened to burst open, raw and unforgiving.
But she had to brace herself. She was no longer the weak-hearted Anna Hyde.
"I’m sorry," William’s voice cut through her spiraling thoughts, pulling her back to the present. "My assistant is calling . I’m afraid it’s urgent—I have to take this."
"Of course, go ahead," Mrs. Bastien said with a dismissive wave, as if giving him permission to slip away.
Anna turned to him, her gaze betraying a flicker of unease. Sensing her rising panic, William gave her arm a reassuring squeeze, his silent ssage clear: You’ve got this.
She nodded, barely mouthing a quiet thank you before watching him disappear into the crowd.
Anna knew the call was fake. It was a test—a deliberate push to see how well she could stand on her own. Like a child learning to swim by being tossed into deep water, or a patient urged to confront their worst fear in exposure therapy.
And now, standing there, her pulse hamring against her ribs, she heard it. The sharp, deliberate click of Susanne’s designer heels against the marble floor. Each step rang out like a warning, a countdown to an encounter she had long dreaded.
Then, finally, Susanne stood before her.
Sothing inside Anna’s chest snapped.
She hadn’t changed at all. The sa overly confident posture, the sa smug, knowing smirk, the sa piercing gaze that dissected everything in sight. And the aura—the suffocating presence that seed to draw in the very air around her, thick with venom, like a snake coiled and ready to strike.
"Ladies, I’d like you to et Susanne Hyde," Sophie said with a smile, pulling Susanne closer. "Susanne, this is my mother, Giselle, and this is Chloe Dumas."
"Nice to et you," Susanne greeted, extending her hand first to Giselle before turning to Anna. "Nice to et you, Ms. Dumas."
Her gaze lingered on Anna’s face just a mont too long, and a chill ran down Anna’s spine. She was certain Susanne didn’t recognize her, but those sharp, predatory eyes felt like daggers, piercing through her with unnerving intensity.
"Do you ladies mind switching to English?" Sophie interjected, sensing the silent tension only Anna could feel. "Susanne’s French is a bit lacking."
"I’m really sorry, I feel so embarrassed," Susanne giggled, her tone syrupy and insincere. Anna couldn’t help the scoff that slipped past her lips, though thankfully, no one noticed.
Of course, she thought bitterly, watching Susanne blush with exaggerated modesty. She couldn’t even be bothered to learn a second language. Anna almost wondered how she had managed to learn any at all.
Before Anna’s expression could betray her true thoughts, a hand appeared from her right, offering a glass of wine.
"Gabriel?" Anna’s eyes widened in surprise, but she accepted the glass with a smile as the man leaned down, his grin playful.
"I noticed you were here alone," he whispered, gently taking her empty champagne flute from her hand. "Ca to offer so moral support."
Anna turned back to the won before her, now grateful for the interruption.
"Mrs. Bastien, Ms. Bastien, I’m sure you know Gabriel Garrel," she said smoothly. She then turned to Susanne, her voice slipping into a practiced politeness, "And this is Miss Susanne Hyde. She doesn’t speak French, so we’re speaking in English to make it easier for her."
It was a subtle sting that Susanne didn’t seem to catch, but Gabriel was far more perceptive. "Nice to et you, Miss Hyde," he grinned, deliberately speaking near-perfect English. "Sha about your French, though. My grandmother always says that being bilingual in this day and age can only benefit a woman."
Susanne’s face twitched, a faint hint of embarrassnt creeping up again. "Well," she began, her voice faltering slightly, "as a woman of my status, I––"
"Your status?" Gabriel interrupted, scratching his chin as if contemplating the significance of the word "status" in relation to her na. "Oh, did you say Susanne Hyde? That must make Robert Hyde your brother then!"
"Yes, that’s right!" Susanne’s face brightened instantly, her previous discomfort forgotten. "My brother owns a very successful software developnt company!"
"Ah, yes, security software," Gabriel nodded knowingly. "I’ve heard of it. Very innovative work. I’m no expert in computer science, but I know your brother’s ideas have left a lot of tech security companies scrambling."
Mrs. Bastien and her daughter exchanged looks, both impressed and intrigued by Robert’s achievents. Gabriel gave Anna a light pat on the back before continuing with a teasing glint in his eyes.
"Say, wasn’t your brother involved in so kind of scandal early on? Sothing about tax fraud or stock manipulation?"
Susanne visibly stiffened, the smile she had worn so confidently vanishing in an instant. Anna braced herself, knowing how this would play out.
As expected, Susanne’s expression shifted like the flip of a switch. She was quick to recover and redirect, a master at changing the subject when the pressure was on.
"Yes, those were truly dreadful tis!" Susanne whined, her tone almost theatrical. "But my late father-in-law was to bla. He was the one causing all that damage behind my family’s back, sabotaging my brother’s business. I understand he thought he was helping, but we spent years trying to undo the harm he caused. That man deserved everything he got!"
Anna’s grip tightened around the stem of her glass, her jaw clenching with simring anger. Gabriel gave her a nearly imperceptible nudge, silently urging her to snap out of it.
"Oh my, Ms. Hyde, how can you speak so ill of a dead man?" he cooed, his tone a mixture of mockery and reprimand. "That’s rather rude, don’t you think?" His eyes then flicked to Mrs. Bastien and Sophie, shifting the uncomfortable spotlight onto them.
Giselle, sensing the rising tension, swiftly redirected the conversation. "Oh, Miss Hyde, have you decided which piece you’ll be bidding on tonight?"
Susanne answered, but Anna barely heard her. Every sound around her blended into a distant, jarring cacophony, while her gaze remained fixed on Susanne’s sickeningly sweet, yet hollow, expression.
Ten months. I’ve rebuilt myself, beco soone entirely different. But you... No, I’m almost glad you haven’t changed at all. This will make your eventual humiliation so much sweeter.
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