She made her way to Emline’s side, despite every atom in her body protesting at such an action. If it were possible, she would never want to go anywhere near Emline Hawthorne within her lifeti, but Aiden had raised a good point.
This charity was her precious baby. She’d be damned if she let Emline take credit for raising it when she was the one who changed its taphorical diapers and taught it how to walk!
As she got closer to the circle of guests surrounding Emline, she heard a snippet of the conversation that made her blood boil. To top it all off, their grandfather had left Emline’s side― that was probably why Emline even dared to spew such lies.
"I can’t believe you managed to turn this disaster around, Emline," one woman confessed with awe in her voice. "It’s truly incredible."
"It was nothing," Emline said, looking demurely at the ground. "Of course I had to help her, she’s my cousin after all. And those poor children deserve a chance to have a future they can be proud of."
"Emline, you’re really too kind for your own good. Even after she snatched Matteo away from you, you’re still willing to put in so much effort to make her charity a success..."
Emline let out a particularly aggrieved sigh, but before she could say anything more, Alia strode forward and cleared her throat, her smile a sharp slash on her face. She was gratified at how so of the won paled the mont they caught sight of her.
"Hello everyone, I couldn’t help hearing sothing interesting," Alia began, and the won took a marginal step back. Funny, Alia could have sworn her voice sounded perfectly cordial. "May I know how my dear cousin helped with the charity? I need to thank her personally."
"Oh, there’s no need for that. I know you’re very grateful for all the expertise I offered you," Emline said, batting her eyelashes delicately as she gazed back at Alia, not a single hint of sha in her expression.
Then again, why would she feel sha? This woman was out to snatch Alia’s future husband, what was a little credit in comparison?
"Funny. If your advice was so life-changing, the charity would have flourished under your hand years ago," Alia retorted easily. "I wouldn’t need to step in to clean things up."
"Well, circumstances change," Emline gave a proud little sniff before addressing the crowd. "Just like the market, nothing remains stagnant forever. Tactics that failed in the past could succeed today."
Like sheep, the other won nodded in agreent. Alia suspected they would have started bleating if not for their self-control.
Alia crossed her arms. "Since your only words to regarding the charity was to abandon it entirely, forgive for not thinking that it was good advice. I highly doubt it would have done well if I decided to treat it the sa way you had, all those years ago."
The circle of won blinked in confusion. This definitely contradicted the story Emline had fed them earlier.
Emline scoffed in response. "Since today is a day ant for celebrating the charity, I shall not quibble with you over the details. The most important thing is that the charity receives enough funding so that children like Karl can lead good lives."
Alia’s eyebrow twitched at the disrespect. She had to applaud Emline’s audacity; her sweet cousin had the nerve to pretend she was above petty fights and nitpicking when her grubby little claws were stained with blood and dirt to begin with!
To add insult to injury, she couldn’t even rember Carlo’s na!
"His na is Carlo," Alia corrected sharply. "Surely you can’t have forgotten it already. He’s our pride and joy, an honored guest. I would think soone like you, who claims to be so involved with the charity, would actually get his na right."
"Carlo, Karl, what’s the difference?" Emline waved a dismissive hand. "A rose by any other na would sll just as sweet, would it not?"
"Funny, I didn’t realize Miss Emline thought so highly of , since you called a stinking brat with no future when we first t," a young boyish voice chid in, and Alia whirled around to see Carlo standing behind her. "I’ve only seen you appear at the orphanage once, three years ago, for a photo op. You never showed up after the first day."
Emline’s lips curled. This little brat dared to call her out? She would put him in a world of pain― he didn’t know who he was ssing with.
"Just because I wasn’t there in person, it doesn’t an I don’t care for you, Carlo," Emline said with a sincerity that would have fooled a more gullible person. "I didn’t want to trigger more hostility, especially when you were so against my presence. But you must know that I had your case in the forefront of my mind."
"After all, did you think dear Alia could have possibly known about you to begin with? Especially after all the trouble you have caused your poor minder?"
Alia grabbed Carlo’s arm, wordlessly warning him not to say anything too incriminating that would jeopardize his future. However, she was surprised when Carlo rely smirked, looking so much like a young Caleb that she was taken aback.
"So you do admit that you tossed the responsibility to soone more capable than you the mont things got tough? You gave up because of a teenager?" Carlo asked without hesitation.
Emline gritted her teeth at his line of questioning. "I did what I thought was best for you. You were not open to receiving help."
Carlo blinked innocently, "Well I couldn’t trust you. And you never showed you cared. Alia did. I an, I’m just a teenager, but it’s pretty clear what caused the key difference between success and failure."
Caleb pointed to Alia, then to Emline. He said nothing more, but the implication was clear. Emline’s pretty face twisted into a snarl, and Alia pulled Carlo back, just in case Emline gave into her inner impulse to claw out Carlo’s eyes.
Then, a tall figure cast a shadow over Emline’s face.
It was Matteo. He had seen Alia confront the group of won, and he had every faith that his fiancée could handle it. But Carlo wouldn’t be dissuaded. When Matteo’s back was turned, Carlo had slipped away, forcing Matteo to look for him, just in case he ruined the evening by decking Emline in the face.
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