"Doesn't SUNNY have a strict policy that this specific design can only be purchased, not rented?"
Claire hadn't expected the girl to lie straight to her face, so she decided to rip off the band-aid immediately.
Her friend Zara had suffered countless unspoken indignities at the hands of this step-sister growing up.
Claire figured she'd do her good deed for the day and get some revenge on Zara's behalf.
"How did you know that?" Zoe blurted out.
A second later, she instantly regretted it.
She shouldn't have lost her composure so easily.
Claire was baiting her!
Preston stared at Zoe. Watching her spit out lie after pathetic lie made him feel like he was looking at a total stranger.
Zoe noticed Preston's chilling gaze and scrambled to explain.
"I personally know the executive at the SUNNY studio. She pulled some strings to let me rent it."
"You know the executive at SUNNY?" Claire raised an eyebrow. "The one running the boutique here in Cabinda?"
Assuming there was no way Claire would coincidentally know the same person, Zoe's confidence surged back.
"Yes."
Claire looked at her with a cryptic smile. "Is that so? Then it sounds like that executive needs to be fired."
"Regardless of the excuse, SUNNY's policies are strictly non-negotiable." The smug smile froze on Zoe's face. "Aren't you overstepping a bit?" Was she?
Claire pulled out her phone and dialed Jenny's number.
She asked Jenny to contact the local branch manager in Cabinda.
She wanted to know definitively if this dress had been rented out.
At first, Zoe thought Claire was just putting on a dramatic act.
But when she realized Claire was actually speaking directly to Jenny, the global director of SUNNY, she was absolutely stunned.
The real kicker was that Jenny quickly exposed the lie, confirming that Zoe had personally purchased the dress at the boutique.
The expression on Zoe's face was far beyond a simple desire to cry.
And the last lingering shred of hope in Preston's heart finally withered and died. Zoe was still lying to him, even now.
The truth was, she could clearly afford a gown worth tens of thousands of dollars, yet her pathological need to lie made Preston's stomach churn.
"I'm leaving," Preston announced, turning his back and walking away without another word.
It was the very first time he had ever abandoned her.
Zoe felt a sudden, terrifying sensation that something vital was slipping through her fingers forever.
She wanted to reach out and grab him, but Preston didn't give her the chance.
Once Preston was completely out of sight, Zoe turned a look of pure, venomous hatred toward Claire. "Who the hell are you?"
Never mind anything else the mere fact that she had a direct line to SUNNY's top executive was absurd.
"What exactly is your relationship with SUNNY?"
Claire wasn't remotely intimidated by Zoe's aggressive tone. Instead, she offered a sunny smile. "It's quite a funny coincidence, actually, the vice president of SUNNY happens to be my aunt."
"It would be a real shame not to use such a convenient connection, wouldn't it?"
What could Zoe possibly say to that?
She just wanted to scream to the heavens-why the hell was SUNNY's vice president Claire's aunt?!
Wasn't SUNNY's entire brand built on the concept of independent women?
"Are you so determined to target me just because of Zara, Claire?"
Zoe took a shaky breath. "I don't know what misunderstandings Zara has about me, but whatever she's told you is clearly completely different from the truth everyone. else sees."
"You're standing up for her out of some misguided loyalty as college roommates."
"But whether she actually appreciates it or not is another story entirely."
"The truth is, I've known since I was a child that I wasn't born into Rose's family, so I've always been painfully aware of my place."
"If Zara didn't constantly make my life miserable, I would never have fought back against her."
"You probably look at me and think I live a luxurious life, that I don't look like someone living on charity."
"I don't even know what living on charity is supposed to look like."
"But the emotional abuse I've suffered goes far beyond anything money can make up for."
Incredibly, Zoe was now attempting to play the tragic victim for Claire and Skye.
Claire didn't have the patience to let her finish her sob story. She cut her off sharply. "If you feel so suffocated living on their charity and hate taking their money so much, why don't you just pack up and leave Rose's family?"