Chapter 3
It was Cecelia’s birthday two days later.
The birthday party was held in the castle. The main hall was decked out in intricate gold decorations, with meticulous care taken for every element, from the fresh flowers down to the birthday cake.
The guests who attended the party were from the country’s most elite circles, yet they were all still in awe when they saw how grand and beautiful the event was.
“I heard that these flowers were flown in fresh this morning by Mr. Dalton himself! And because Ms. Dalton loves pastries, he also flew out the Royal Cook to prepare the treats for her birthday today! He’s so considerate of her!”
“Ms. Dalton is probably the only person in the world who would get to enjoy such luxuries. After all, she’s the one being pampered and spoiled by both Mr. Dalton and Mr. Spencer. It’s just a mere birthday celebration for her, but how it’s executed is something that none of us could ever dream of!”
“Of course! She’s not like some ugly duckling who doesn’t even have a proper dress for such a huge and important banquet. Does she not know that she’s an embarrassment to the family?”
The guests started gossiping among themselves, throwing disdainful glances in Ruby’s direction from time to time.
Ruby was just minding her own business in a corner. She looked down and gave her dress another once-over.
This dress had been her 18-year-old birthday gift from Patty. Ruby had only ever worn it thrice, and it looked as new as ever. Yet, to the guests who were used to high-end luxuries, her dress wasn’t even worth mentioning at all.
Still, Ruby didn’t think that it was an embarrassment. She just sat by herself in the corner and ignored the guests who gossiped about her.
Eventually, it was time for the gift-giving ceremony.
Ian gave Cecelia a private yacht, and Henry bought and named a constellation in the sky after her.
Everyone present let out exclamations of awe and wonder, and some even out of envy. Cecelia just blushed and looked at Henry with a bashful expression on her face. “Henry, if I told you I’d like another gift from you, would you still indulge me?”
Henry looked at her with loving eyes and said, “No matter what it is, I will give it to you.”
Cecelia didn’t hesitate any further and pointed at his neck.
“I want this!”
Ruby followed the path of Cecelia’s finger and saw that she was pointing at an emerald pendant hanging around Henry’s neck. Her eyes trembled slightly at the sight of it.
From the moment their engagement was set, Ruby had given plenty of things to Henry, but he never thought much about any of them. Instead, he just scorned every gift she got him.
The only exception was this emerald necklace. Ruby had given it to Henry after he got involved in a serious accident and went into a coma for three days and nights. Ruby had stayed by his side to care for him the entire time.
That moment—when Henry found out—was the only time he had ever looked at Ruby with even a hint of affection and allowed her to clasp the necklace on him.
It had meant a lot to her because Emma had given her that necklace, which was meant to keep her safe from harm.
Now, Ruby watched as Henry unclasped the necklace from his neck and handed it to Cecelia with a fond look in his eyes.
As soon as Cecelia took it from him, she hooked it around her pet dog’s neck and gave him a charming, innocent smile.
“I always thought that the necklace was too cheap and ugly for you. You deserve so much more than this, Henry. That’s why I wanted to give it to the dog. At the very least, it’s where it belongs now.”
Ruby’s face paled at that as she dug her nails into the palms of her hands.
She knew that Henry had every right to do whatever he wanted with the necklace since she’d already given it to him, so she chose to keep quiet and suppress her bubbling anger.
Ian seemed to have noticed something and cast a side glance at the far corner. He then spoke mockingly, “You’re mistaken, Cecelia. Our dog is worth at least half a million dollars. I don’t know where that stupid pendant came from, maybe the ditch or some other filthy place.
“Even our dog is too good for it. But at least it can still serve as some sort of cheap deco, don’t you think?”
The entire hall erupted into polite laughter at his words. Meanwhile, Henry nodded and gently bopped Cecelia on the nose.
Ruby felt uneasy. She turned and was about to walk away, but Cecelia called out to her and stopped her.
“Didn’t you buy me anything, Ruby? I know that you’re broke as shit and can’t afford to get me anything good, so the least you could do was to give me a toast. Okay?”
Everyone immediately turned and focused their attention on Ruby. With no other choice, Ruby inhaled deeply and picked up a glass of wine.
Just as they clinked their glasses together, Cecelia purposely hooked her wrist around Ruby’s glass and yanked it toward her dress. Immediately, the wine in Ruby’s glass spilled out and stained Cecelia’s dress in a dark, wet patch.
Cecelia’s eyes immediately rimmed red. She looked at Ruby with a pitiful look. “I know that you hate me, but this is in public! How could you be so rude and shameless and disrespect me like that? Why must you always ruin things for me?
“Ian, look! She ruined the dress Mom and Dad bought me for the banquet! They’re going to be so upset when they find out!”
Then, Cecelia burst into inconsolable tears.
As the tears streamed down her face, Ian and Henry immediately felt terrible for her. Henry quickly held her in his arms and yelled for his bodyguards.
“Ruby Lynch! Cecelia graciously invited you to her birthday banquet, and you had to ruin her special day for her! You ungrateful swine! How dare you bully her on purpose? Apologize to her right now!”
Ian glared coldly at Ruby and shoved her to the ground.
“Ruby Lynch, I knew that you come from a dirt-poor family, but I never imagined that you were as petty and despicable as this! Where are your basic manners? Do you even know the meaning of ‘respect’?
“Well, since you want to play it the hard way, we’ll indulge you! Don’t blame us for being unmerciful with you because you’re the one who started it first!
“Guards! Pour all these glasses of wine down her throat, and make sure she doesn’t waste a single drop!”
At his order, the bodyguards swarmed around Ruby and held her captive before forcing her mouth open and pouring glasses upon glasses of the wine into her mouth.
The icy alcohol splashed all over Ruby’s face, getting into her eyes, nose, and mouth, making her sputter and choke. She wouldn’t stop struggling as she screamed as best as she could, “I-I’m alcohol intolerant!”
Everyone heard her, but nobody made a move to stop them.
Henry just continued carefully wiping Cecelia’s tears away and comforting her gently, completely ignoring the struggling Ruby.
