SWNOVELS Chapter 23
Chapter 23
Chapter 23
The crowd instantly broke into discussion. However, Caroline was unfazed as she said, “I wonder where you heard such a rumor from. Yvonne. Do you have any proof?”
“Of course! I know the general manager of Vera’s Chanacan branch. I can give him a call right now. Let’s see what he has to
say.”
Yvonne wanted to ruin Caroline’s reputation. Melissa did not stop her either because she, too, was dying for Caroline to meet her doom
“Sure. Go ahead and call him!”
Caroline smiled lightly, and her eyes were calm.
With that, Yvonne dialed the number of the Chanaean branch’s general manager that she knew. Once the call connected, she asked him, in front of everyone, who had bought the Vera Haute Couture.
The woman perked up her chin as she awaited the other party’s answer. In the meantime, the surrounding onlookers listened attentively as well.
Very quickly, the man’s voice sounded on the other end of the line, saying. “Ms. Yvonne Lewis, the Vera Haute Couture design that you took a liking to was bought out by a woman named Caroline Lewis.”
A look of disbelief flashed across Yvonne’s face when she heard this. “That’s impossible! Didn’t you say that a married businessman from Horbah bought it the other time?”
“You must be mistaken, Ms. Lewis. At that time, the Haute Couture you wanted was already sold, so you chose a different blue gown. However, that blue gown was bought by the businessman from Horbah, so you didn’t choose anything else after that. If you need anything, you’re welcome to come to any Vera flagship store…”
Yvonne did not hear whatever was said after that, and she ended the call in a panic.
Her plan to publicly shame Caroline had backfired. Instead, she had shot herself in the foot.
Now, everyone knew that Yvonne was not wearing a Vera gown, which implicitly proved that she was wearing a counterfeit! Snickers and murmurs could be heard coming from the crowd. Seeing her daughter embarrassing herself, Melissa rushed. over to smooth things over. She pulled Caroline over to the side and said, “Caroline, you’re rarely back. This is a good time to introduce you to some people. Come on!”
After Caroline was dragged away, Yvonne was rooted in her spot. She could feel the blood draining from her face as she stood there in a daze.
This was such an embarrassing moment for her.
It was too humiliating!
She truly wished she could faint and wake up with amnesia, forgetting anything ever happened..
The only reason she bought the counterfeit was that the one she wanted was bought by someone else, and she did not want to embarrass herself at the banquet.
Who would have thought that Caroline would turn the tables and expose her in public instead?
“Caroline Lewis, how could you be this wicked? I hate you!” Yvonne cursed in her heart as her fingernails dug deep into the flesh of her palms.
Janine hurried over to comfort her. “Yvonne, don’t take it to heart. It’s merely a dress. She said all that just now to humiliate you deliberately. Let’s go. I’ll go with you to get changed!”
While Yvonne was dragged out of the hall by Janine, Caroline was dragged in by Melissa. That was when she bumped into Harry and a few of his friends.
His friends could not help but toss out compliments, “Mr. Lewis, congratulations on finding your beloved daughter! She’s absolutely beautiful. Just stunning!”
“Now, Mr. Lewis suddenly has two daughters. What a blessing! On top of that, today is Mrs. Lewis‘ birthday. It’s a double celebration!”
“Haha… Thank you. Thank you…” Facing his friends‘ praises, Harry could only smile awkwardly and accept the kind blessings.
In actuality, he and Melissa were very nervous because they had an ominous feeling that Caroline would expose what happened that year.
After all, they all knew about the fire in the Lewis residence that year, but they chose to keep it under wraps and not report it to the police.
With a smile on her face, Caroline faced the crowd. “Five years ago, there was a fire in the Lewis residence, and I managed to
Chapter 23
escape by the skin of my teeth. Two months after that incident, my mother, unfortunately, passed away. Now, I have returned to the Lewis residence, and I must say there have been some huge changes. I can’t believe it’s already been five years since my father got remarried to Melissa. Times flies, doesn’t it?”
The audience was flabbergasted upon hearing this. After regaining their senses, they could not help but point fingers at the husband and wife.
What happened five years ago was a huge deal. Harry’s daughter nearly died in a fire, and he lost his wife shortly after. Then, the man remarried Melissa.
What kind of person would do that?
Melissa was no better. It was as if she could not wait to marry Harry right after her elder sister passed away.
If that was the case, the two must have been hooking up in private before that.
It wouldn’t have mattered if Caroline hadn’t mentioned it. Now that it was brought up, it was like a slap in the face for Harry and Melissa. They were like two deer caught in the headlights.
A guest tried to figure out the Lewis residence’s relationships and said to Melissa, “I can’t believe that Mr. Lewis‘ ex–wife, Ms. Lydia Thompson, was your biological sister. You went from being an aunt to a stepmom. Talk about making your way into the family!”
Melissa could feel her face heating up, but she maintained the smile on her face and explained, “I had no choice either. I was distraught by my sister’s passing, and I only wanted to help take care of her children. Hence, I treated Caroline as my own. daughter and helped take care of the Lewis residence!”
The woman was evidently lying through her teeth as if she did not realize how ridiculous her story was with all the loopholes.
She had coincidentally left out how she treated Lydia during the latter’s stay in the hospital and how she mistreated, humiliated, tortured, and abused her elder sister.
In order to replace Lydia, she had done whatever it took!
“Aunt Melissa treats me so well. My mom only had my little brother and me. Unfortunately, my brother went missing when he was young. Then, I had my accident five years ago before my mom passed away. I wonder which child of my mom is it that you wanted to take care of, Aunt Melissa?”
Melissa had no answer to Caroline’s question. She was embarrassed to no end.
Seeing that his wife was at a loss for words, Harry quickly stepped forward to help case the situation. “Caroline, you have no idea how happy I am now that you’re back. It’s been five years. Your aunt and I have missed you dearly!”
Melissa was a superb actress. She even managed to shed a few crocodile tears as she whimpered. “It’s true, Caroline. When you were gone, there wasn’t a day that went by that I didn’t think of you. It’s a miracle that you’ve come back alive and well.”
“Is that so? You missed me that much, huh? I guess I came back at just the right time, then?”
Caroline had a smile on her face that did not reach her eyes.
Melissa continued to pretend to be a good person. “Of course. We will be a family from now on. I will love you like daughter. You and Yvonne are biological sisters too.”
my own
“Oh, right. Yvonne and I are biological sisters. I guess that’s why you let me take her place to marry into the Ziegler family. You must’ve wanted me to live a good life, yeah? I understand. I’ll be sure to listen to you from now on.”
The people around now knew deep in their hearts just how biased Melissa was.
This pretentious stepmother was simply a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Caroline took the initiative to embrace Melissa and patted the woman on the back. “I’m eternally grateful to you, Aunt Melissa, for caring for me more than my own mother did. Don’t worry. You have my undying respect from now on.”
Melissa squeezed out a dry laugh. For some reason, Caroline’s words sounded inexplicably creepy with her tone.
Caroline let go of Melissa. The smile never left her lips, but her eyes were cold as ice.
She thought, “As if I would get along with you, cold–blooded animals. I came back to make you pay! You guys better watch your backs. Melissa Thompson, just you wait and see!”
Chapter 24