"Since we have an audience, why don't we ask Sloane to come out and explain it?"
Levi's eyes flashed with anger. "Explain what?"
"Have I not made myself perfectly clear?"
He just wanted to kick Claire out as fast as possible.
Unfortunately for him, Sloane had already heard the commotion and walked over.
She had been on her way out to greet guests anyway.
After all, today's attendee list wasn't just limited to her college classmates; her relatives, family friends, and various social connections were all present.
Eleanor Sterling accompanied her daughter to the entrance.
Eleanor was busy greeting the older crowd and had zero interest in teenage drama.
However, someone causing a scene at her daughter's birthday party still rubbed her the wrong way.
"Sloane, go see what's happening. Tell everyone to head inside so they aren't blocking the door."
"What will your grandfather and your father's friends think if they see this mess?"
With her mother's orders, Sloane didn't dare waste any time.
She hurried over, her brow furrowing slightly the moment she spotted Claire, though she quickly smoothed her expression into a polite mask.
"Levi, what's going on?"
"It's nothing, Sloane. Just go greet Julia and Whitney!"
"I can handle this right here." Levi desperately wanted to spare Sloane any displeasure.
But at this point, Sloane couldn't just walk away.
She looked at Claire. "You made it. Why aren't you going inside?"
The surrounding crowd exchanged surprised looks upon hearing Sloane's words, breaking into quiet whispers.
"Is Sloane only letting Claire inside to save her from embarrassment?"
"I don't know how Claire can be so shameless. A birthday party like this is basically a networking event for wealthy families, not some casual Fclass dinner."
"The worst part is she showed up without a decent gift, fully intending to just freeload. This year's freshmen are something else."
"Sloane hasn't even kicked her out, so why do you guys care?"
Opinions flew back and forth. Some praised Sloane for handling the situation with grace, agreeing there was no need to make a scene at such a public event.
But those words drifted into Claire's ears, and it was hard to just stay silent and take
it.
"I didn't expect your birthday party to be held at Ridgeview Pass today."
"But your timing is perfect. Perhaps you can explain to this hard-of-hearing guy and everyone else here exactly who rejected whom."
Sloane's face paled slightly.
Yesterday in the cafeteria, Claire had
openly rejected her invitation. Later,
when the
rumor twisted into Sloane
rejecting Claire, she had actually
been quite pleased.
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Nobody liked losing face. If word got out that she was the one who had been turned
down, she would have been a laughingstock.
Sloane hadn't cared enough to stop the rumors.
She had assumed Claire wouldn't care either.
Who would have thought Claire would actually track her down at Ridgeview Pass, demanding a public explanation?
It seemed incredibly petty to her.
"Regardless of who rejected whom, you're a guest now. Let's not stand around out here. Let's head inside."
Sloane tried to brush the entire incident under the rug.
But there was no way Claire was going to agree to that.
"It's better to clear the air now, especially since I'm not actually here for your birthday party."
"I just happened to bump into these
people, and they blocked my way
accuse of begging you for an
and
invitation, getting rejected, and showing up anyway to freeload."
"If you don't explain this clearly to everyone right now, I have no idea how wild the
rumors will get once we're back on campus."
Claire hadn't planned on setting the record straight before, but since she was already face-to-face with the instigators, why not?
She wasn't a pushover they could just bully for fun.