A stifled laugh broke out.
All eyes fell on Hailey, and then on Marianne's neck.
Hailey and Marianne's faces instantly flushed crimson with humiliation and fury. They shot daggers at Serena.
"Y-You're lying!" The pain in Hailey's face flared with her anger. "You're one to talk, wearing a knockoff. What right do you have to judge me? My gown might be outdated, but at least it's authentic! And you? All you can afford is this fake!"
As if trying to reclaim her dignity, Hailey thrust the gold-stamped invitation in Serena's face. Even with her face swollen like a balloon, the smugness in her expression was obvious. "See this? This is our invitation to the Blackwood family's banquet! I am a formally invited guest of the Blackwoods!"
"And you're just a lowlife from the slums, dressed in counterfeit clothes! Your only skill is using cheap tricks to sneak into the Blackwood banquet so you can seduce the wealthy heirs here. Marry into a wealthy family? Keep dreaming!"
In her fury, she had completely forgotten to maintain her carefully crafted persona.
All she wanted was to slap Serena in the face with the invitation in her hand. Serena's cold gaze swept over the invitation in Hailey's hand.
It was actually real.
“Just because your mind is in the gutter doesn't mean everyone else's is. Don't project your filthy thoughts onto me." Serena's eyes were like ice as she glanced at Hailey's swollen face, a mocking smile playing on her lips. "But... even if you did get into the banquet now, I doubt any of those young masters have the stomach to be seduced by you."
Hailey stamped her foot in fury. "You-!"
She knew it. Serena had done this on purpose.
She deliberately slapped her.
She deliberately wanted to ruin her chances of marrying into a wealthy family!
“Furious at being exposed?” Serena scoffed, her gaze growing more contemptuous. "What? Now that Adrian is a hundred million dollars in debt, you're ready to dump him and find another sucker?"
"You... You're talking nonsense!" Hailey's face, already swollen, turned an even deeper shade of red.
She shrieked and lunged at Serena.
It was Benedict who had the sense to realize that Serena had gone completely off the rails, ready to take a swing at anyone.
To prevent Hailey from getting hurt again, he quickly grabbed her arm. “Hailey!”
After pulling Hailey back, he frowned and looked at Serena with displeasure: "Serena, what's happened to you? You've become so sour and mean not a hint of the
pleasant girl you used to be!om
putting my foot down. You will apologize to Hailey and Mom, right now!"
Serena found this self-appointed decision-maker hilarious.
Back when she poured her heart and soul into pleasing the Wynn family, she hadn't been liked by anyone.
Now that she wanted nothing to do with them, he was complaining that she wasn't as pleasant as before?
"Do I need you to like me?" Serena lifted her cool gaze and shot Benedict a sideways glance. "If you still want to get into that banquet, you'll stop prancing around in front of me like a buffoon."
"Serena!" Benedict's face darkened.
This adopted sister of his was
becoming more and more
disagreeable acti
as if the
the Wynn
family had truly wronged her all
prickly and defensive.
Even if the family had neglected her in the past, they had at least raised her!
They gave her a roof over her head and food on the table.
When she tried to win them over with her cooking, they ate it.
When she tried to please them with massages, they let her.
When she made them custom fragrances to appease them, they used them.
They were all so busy. The fact that they even accepted her attempts to please them was already a form of acceptance.