Yvette’s helpless attempt to explain only made her more flustered.
Over the years, Yvette beca increasingly inept at explaining herself.
Henry grabbed Yvette’s wrist and pulled her close. "Okay..."
The rest of Yvette’s words got stuck in her throat, as she stared at Henry in a daze.
"Ask anything you want, I will agree." Henry gazed down at Yvette’s wrist, noticing the scars — remnants of past attempts.
"Was it... really hard in there?" Henry asked softly.
Yvette sat on the floor in front of Henry, her gaze devoid of energy.
Was it hard?
Not particularly.
After all, hell has its ways of communicating.
Whether outside or inside, it’s rely the difference between the eighteenth circle of hell and the seventeenth.
"These scars, they can be removed," Henry said, looking at Yvette.
Yvette pulled her wrist away and covered it with her sleeve. "No... it’s unnecessary."
No need to perform pointless gestures.
"You don’t need to go to the club anymore. You follow , and obviously you won’t be working reception. Stay with for three years; I’ll have soone deposit a hundred thousand into Sumrs’ account every month, and the rest into yours. My secondary card is yours to use, or just tell whatever you need money for."
Henry had no idea how to make it up to Yvette, except to potentially fulfill any material needs.
"No..." Yvette said quietly. "I promised Holly I’d help..."
Henry frowned slightly. "Think carefully."
Yvette nodded, then spoke up again. "I’d rather... it not go public."
She proposed this for Henry’s sake; she herself cared little about reputation now.
Henry patted Yvette on the head, without addressing her directly. "Not sleeping yet? Planning on keeping company for the night?"
Yvette quickly stepped back with alarm.
Henry chuckled. "I won’t touch you until you’ve thought it over, but I hope you won’t make wait too long."
Yvette’s lashes were still glistening with tears, evidence she had recently been crying.
Henry mulled over things for a mont before speaking again. "Don’t want to bring Sumrs over?"
Yvette rose to her feet and shook her head.
Bringing Sumrs over would an truly being trapped by Henry.
"Go to sleep, and once the banquet concludes, I’ll go back with you for a while." Henry seed to promise Yvette.
Yvette nodded, then rushed back to her room.
Henry sighed in frustration, the feast before him untouchable, agonizing...
But what could he do, he had brought it upon himself.
After all, he had stood by passively for far too long.
...
The Nightfall Club.
Yvette arrived at work, with everyone at the club sneaking glances her way.
Yvette was used to it, following the breakfast incident with Henry and the public confrontation involving Ethan. That’s how the staff is now.
Even Maya was becoming cautious. "Yvette, um..."
Maya glanced around, then quietly asked, "What’s your relationship with President Jennings?"
Yvette kept her head down. "Nothing...we knew each other before."
Maya inhaled sharply. "Yvette, you’re quite the celebrity here now. Look over there."
Yvette glanced at the stairs, packed with dozens of won staring at her.
They were all wondering which woman at the club had managed to capture the notoriously picky President Jennings.
And Yvette had beco the key figure.
"Several big clients will be visiting today, everyone should stay alert and get back to work." The manager called towards the stairway.
The crowd dispersed, and the manager walked over to Yvette with a smile. "Yvette, have you had breakfast? The reception work is dull and tireso. Would you like to switch positions?"
The manager intended to transfer Yvette to a higher-paying and more leisurely job.
Yvette shook her head and refused.
And the manager couldn’t say much more.
A red sports car stopped outside the club’s revolving doors, from which erged a woman dressed in high fashion tossed her keys to an attendant and walked confidently through the entrance.
Yvette kept her head down, not bothering to look up.
"Miss, and you are..." The manager quickly approached and asked.
The woman pushed the manager aside, quickly surveying the room. Recognizing Yvette, she strode over directly.
"Slap!" A resounding smack echoed through the hall silencing everyone.
Yvette lifted her head numbly; her natural reaction upon seeing Claudia was an imdiate urge to flee.
"Run?" Claudia laughed, leaning against the bar and watching Yvette. "Keep running. If you don’t kneel today and beg, I’ll sell that little brat of yours to Rividia."
Yvette froze in her steps, breathing rapidly as she turned to face Claudia. "What are you... planning..."
"No more running?" Claudia chuckled, stepping closer to Yvette.
"Who are you?" Maya finally shook off her shock and bravely placed herself in front of Yvette. "How can you just hit people like that?"
The manager and the security staff realized what was happening and rushed over.
"Are all of you blind?" Claudia raised her head haughtily, her tone mocking. "I’m Claudia Bell, from the Bell Family. To you, I’m your boss Henry Jennings’ fiancée."
The manager stared stunned at the security supervisor, indeed they’d heard about the Jennings-Bell family engagent.
Claudia was indeed the second daughter of the Bell Family, the one set to marry Henry Jennings.
Years ago, Claudia had orchestrated an incident on Lynn Chase, dumping a whole cup of tea on Lynn in front of the entire crew and even got Lynn beaten. The scandal had gone viral then, though Henry quickly quashed it.
Henry hadn’t been angered by Claudia’s actions towards Lynn; instead, it seed to bolster Claudia’s audacity.
For years, Claudia had claid the title of Henry’s fiancée, strutting around with little regard for the negative gossip — Henry always managed to resolve it for her.
Knowing the ’real deal’ had arrived, the manager was montarily at a loss.
"Yvette, escaping to Montville from ridia, quite the talent." Claudia shoved Maya aside and tugged at Yvette’s hair. "You’ve bedded all of ridia’s social elite, now you’ve co to seduce my man?"
Yvette clenched her trembling fingers, choosing to remain silent.
The hall soon filled with onlookers, all of whom were stunned by what they were witnessing.
The main wife catching the mistress?
"Take a good look everyone. Do you know who she is?" Claudia jeered, talking loudly enough for all to hear. "Yvette, rember the country-wide scandal six years ago about the real and fake heiress? Ring any bells?"
Murmurs arose among the gathering crowd.
Yvette felt darkness engulfing her; it was another scene of public judgnt, criticism, unbearable.
A sense of suffocation grasped her, leaving her wishing for sothing worse than death.
"This is the one who spent twenty years living as the Aston family’s heiress, a thief and a slut," Claudia yanked Yvette’s hair while making her accusations. "You know what the n in ridia call her? A piece of trash... used up and discarded."
Yvette bit down on her lip hard, blood streaming.
How could she explain or confront such rumors?
"I’ve even got videos of her; a whole collection... want to see? Rated 18 and over, restricted, featuring several n..." Claudia produced her phone and began to sift through past recordings made while tornting Yvette.
Yvette wept, attempting to prevent it, fingers growing numb.
"Scared now? Seducing my man, where was the fear then? Yvette... you’re quite skillful." Claudia laughed wildly, treating Yvette as a re plaything. She delighted in bullying others.
"Rember? Six years ago... oh, I forgot, you were pregnant then, even in the alley they didn’t spare you..."
Claudia’s words felt hellish, dragging Yvette back to her mories, each like tornt beyond asure.
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