Chapter 44
Chapter 44
Lisa had that all–knowing smirk on her face as she spoke, her voice dripping with sarcasm and disdain. “I never imagined that at the tender age of sixteen, he would start fooling around with women. And not just any woman–a mature one at that. Looking to gain some experience, are we?” She covered her mouth with a handkerchief as she spoke, feigning modesty as if afraid she’d catch something from Karla, her expression an open display of contempt and revulsion.
Karla wasn’t a fool. She knew exactly what Lisa meant by her words. Oh, hell no! She was being mistaken for a lady of the night? And this woman dared to tarnish Rowan’s reputation?
That was the last straw.
“Who the hell are you, lady? Why are you barging into someone’s home, spouting nonsense that only a dirty mind could come up with? And what’s with the handkerchief? Are you aware of your own bad breath and trying not to subject others to it?” Karla emphasized the word ‘dirty‘ with a bite. When it came to a verbal spar, she had never been bested. After all, the title “She–Devil” wasn’t earned for nothing.
Lisa was still processing Karla’s accusation of being at the wrong door and was slow to react. It took a moment for her face to turn a shade of thunderous purple before she thought of a comeback. “You got the nerve to insult me? Do you even know who I am?”
Karla rolled her eyes. “Lady, are you hard of hearing? If I knew who you were, would I have asked?”
“This is outrageous! No manners whatsoever. No wonder you live in such a dump, a clear sign of your lowly status and disgraceful job.” Lisa’s face twisted with fury, her long red–painted fingernails almost poking Karla’s face.
Karla wanted to retort about how outdated the whole concept of job hierarchy and social status was, but then
she remembered she was in 1970s France.
Well, that made more sense.
With a fierce expression, Karla slapped the doorframe and pointed to the number 302 on the wall, ins take a good look. “See this? This is my place. You’ve got the wrong door.”
“I’m looking for 302. Doesn’t Rowan live here?” Lisa’s confidence faltered, thinking she really had made a
mistake.
she
Karla knew she was here for Rowan, but with her ill intentions, she wasn’t about to let the woman see him. So, Karla flat–out denied knowing any Rowan. This was her home, she declared, and with that, she slammed the door shut right in Lisa’s face.
Lisa stumbled back, narrowly avoiding a nose injury. She turned to the middle–aged man by her side with a gloomy expression. “Didn’t you say he lived at 17 St. Rose’s Street, apartment 302? How could we get it wrong?” The man, sweating, suggested, “Maybe the information was incorrect?”
“A bunch of useless fools! A complete waste of my time. Make sure you get it right when we get back.” Lisa stormed off, her outrage palpable as the man hurried after her.
Karla pressed her ear against the door, listening intently to the footsteps as they descended the stairs and faded away. Only then did she relax, letting out a sigh of relief.
She had a pretty good idea of who Lisa was. Charles had once mentioned that one of the reasons Rowan left the estate was because of his stepmother’s pressure.
This stepmother, Lisa, was about the same age as Joana. She’s a woman of immense vanity and greed. It was a mystery how she had caught Landon’s eye and bore him a son.
Landon was unaware that she had raised the child on her own. It wasn’t until later that Landon found her, and he
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Chapter 44
then brought her and the child back to the estate together.
Lisa, having lived in poverty for far too long, flaunted her newfound wealth at every opportunity, desperate to announce to the world that she had married into affluence and become a lady of high society.
Clearly, she had clawed her way to this position on her own and would do anything to avoid returning to her former life of hardship. She was determined to eliminate anyone who threatened her or her son’s standing.
And Rowan was her biggest threat.
Landon saw him as his successor, the future caretaker of the company. So, for the sake of her own son’s future, Lisa would stop at nothing to keep Rowan from returning.
Chapter 45