Chapter 30
"Counterfeit invitations hold no validity here," Evelyn stated, arching one perfectly sculpted brow with deliberate condescension.
"You're hardly worth my time."
She added with a calculated pause, "Though if you spend over fifty thousand today, I might reconsider serving you."
The Delaney fortune wasn't bottomless. Isabella had limited funds, and after squandering thirty-one million on that diamond bracelet, Evelyn knew she was financially drained.
Even if she miraculously scraped together the money, it would only boost Olivia's sales figures.
Either outcome meant victory for Evelyn.
Vanessa, ever the fool, started egging Isabella on. "Let's buy out this entire store! That'll show her!"
Isabella kept her gaze lowered, pointedly ignoring Vanessa's outburst.
"Financial difficulties?" Evelyn projected her voice just enough for surrounding shoppers to hear.
"If you're broke, why waste money on black market invitations to gawk at what you can't afford? Security will have to escort you out."
High society could be vicious. Within minutes, gossipmongers were already live-tweeting the scene.
Notifications pinged across the boutique as the scandal spread.
Isabella and Vanessa stood frozen as muffled laughter surrounded them.
Humiliation burned through them.
"Evelyn, your arrogance will be your downfall," Isabella hissed through clenched teeth, her cheeks flaming.
Evelyn's smile remained unshaken. "And what will you do about it? This is simply who I am."
On cue, sunglass-clad security personnel materialized behind the two women, gesturing firmly toward the exit.
They fled the boutique under a hail of whispered judgment.
The disastrous encounter killed Isabella's shopping mood entirely.
After berating Vanessa, she stormed to her waiting car, abandoning her companion to seethe alone on the sidewalk.
Vanessa's rage grew with each passing minute. She yanked out her phone and dialed Nathan.
Nathan was at a downtown lounge with his inner circle when Vanessa's call came through.
"Nathan! Evelyn's gone too far this time!"
Her screeching voice made him wince, the mention of Evelyn's name intensifying his headache.
"What now?" he snapped.
"She humiliated Isabella and me! Called us paupers and had security throw us out!"
"You must divorce that woman immediately! I can't stand the sight of her!"
Nathan terminated the call mid-tirade. He drained his whiskey in one swallow.
Gregory, seated beside him, had overheard the entire exchange.
He refilled Nathan's glass. "We've got your back if you file for divorce."
"That scheming gold-digger trapped you by exploiting your grandmother's gratitude."
"Now that she's successful, she's discarding you and tormenting your sister and Isabella. We warned you—"
"Enough," Nathan cut him off sharply.
For reasons he couldn't explain, he couldn't tolerate anyone speaking ill of Evelyn.
He fixed Gregory with a dangerous stare. "Is that your genuine opinion of her?"
Gregory gestured toward their card-playing friends. "Not just mine. Everyone thinks so."
"She's just some peasant who got lucky with her looks. None of us approved. She only landed at Sterling Enterprises because of you. What real talent does she have?"
He took a swig of bourbon. "You kept the marriage secret because you're ashamed of her, right?"
Nathan's fingers tightened around his glass. He yanked at his constricting tie.
The truth was, he'd chosen secrecy to protect Evelyn from society's vipers.
He never anticipated this would lead to such gross misinterpretations. Because of it, Gregory believed he despised Evelyn, that he'd never truly accepted her as his wife.
If his closest friends thought this way, had Evelyn been laboring under the same painful misconception?