Chapter 27
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The second Dale heard Mabel cross Aileen and almost drive Aileen away, he flew into a rage.
Thanks to Mabel, he finally connected with the Preston family. Ever since those in the upper class heard the Prestons would be his in–laws, many looked at him differently, praising his insight into adopting Mabel from an orphanage.
Deep down, Dale felt he deserved all the credit; after all, he took care of Mabel for years.
But today, Mabel had the nerve to call off the engagement and even offended Aileen unscrupulously in public. It was totally unacceptable!
Furious, Dale took it all out on Beatrice. “See what your precious daughter has done? Go get her to apologize to Aileen!”
Beatrice was obviously in a dilemma. Mabel suddenly acted as if she was a completely different person today on her 18th birthday. That meek, obedient Mabel, who was practically a pushover, was gone. Her temper was so fiery that anyone who upset her would suffer.
Unfortunately, reluctant or not, Beatrice had to do as Dale said. After all, he dealt with bigger things such as socializing with those bigwigs, and of course, she had to handle trivial matters, including disciplining Mabel.
“Are you serious? You want me to go apologize to her?” Mabel was completely stunned.
Glaring at her, Beatrice said, “Who else? Dale will have important business dealings with the Prestons soon. You should have thought about it before you quarreled with Mrs. Preston in front of so many people. You brought disgrace to the family!”
Mabel didn’t give a damn about the damage she had caused, as the Harpers were the ones who got implicated.
“Forget it. I’m not going,” she said firmly, squinting at Beatrice. “Besides, shouldn’t you be glad that Mrs. Preston and I quarreled?”
After a pause, Beatrice said, “What’s there to be glad about?”
Mabel raised her chin in Rhea’s direction. “You’ve always wanted Matthew to be your son–in–law, right? You can’t wait to be Mrs. Preston’s in–law. Don’t miss out on such a great chance. You might not get this lucky again.”
Her reminder was based on solid ground. After all, Matthew was a playboy, and perhaps he might dump her, and find someone else.
soon get sick of Rhea,
Being seen through, Beatrice felt both awkward and angry. “What are you talking about? That’s so not true. I don’t care. Matthew is your fiancé, and Mrs. Preston is your future mother–in–law. You’re obliged to patch things up with her.”
Mabel refused, saying, “The engagement is not going to happen. You had a nice chat with her together with Rhea, didn’t you? I bet Rhea is more than willing to do it for me.”
“You…” Beatrice was losing it. “You’re so willful! You have no idea what’s good for you! Rhea, let’s go! You and I will Preston!”
کو
go
to Mrs.
She thought, ‘At least I can get Rhea to come with me. After all, Aileen adores Rhea. Perhaps I get to talk to her about letting Rhea and Matthew get engaged!
“No, Mom,” surprisingly, Rhea turned her down, too. “It’s not a big deal that Mabel doesn’t want to be engaged to Matthew. Can’t you just let her be? Besides, Mrs. Preston isn’t leaving. All you have to do is go over and chat with her a bit.”
Meanwhile, Rhea thought, ‘Who cares about Aileen? I’m trying to find a chance to get Mabel to tell me who the man backing her up is.
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Chapter 27
Beatrice widened her eyes, not knowing what was going on in Rhea’s mind.
Mabel was equally surprised. For the first time, Rhea sided with her and no longer sounded sarcastic.
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She pondered, “What’s gotten into Rhea? Why is she suddenly so nice to me? Is she suddenly friends with me? No way. I’d never believe that.
‘I bet she’s up to something.
As it turned out, she was right. In the next second, Rhea said to her pitifully, “Mabel, I suddenly feel something wrong with my stomach. Would you please go to the bathroom with me?”
Smiling, Mabel thought, ‘It’s about time.
‘Rhea used the same trick in my previous life. She tricked me into going to the bathroom using the same excuse, then stuffed the bracelet in my purse when I wasn’t looking and waited to frame me.
‘Seems she hasn’t changed at all.‘
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Fearing that Mabel wouldn’t take the bait, Rhea repeated even more pitifully, “Please, Mabel. Today is my first time in such a luxurious hotel. It’s like a maze, and I can’t even find the bathroom. Lead me the way, will you?”
Hearing that Rhea was having a stomachache, Beatrice was nervous at once. “What’s wrong, Rhea? Is it because of something you ate? That’s weird. This is a seven–star hotel. I’ll take you to the hospital…”
Before she could finish, Rhea cut her off, saying, “No need, Mom. You should go chat with Mrs. Preston and the others. I’ll be fine after I go to the bathroom. Mabel…”
She looked at Mabel expectantly.
Mabel looked into her eyes, stared at her for a few seconds, and smiled when she started to feel a chill down her spine, “Sure.”
They walked toward the bathroom together.
It was the first time Rhea got to be alone with Mabel tonight.
She grasped the chance at once and beat around the bush, asking Mabel, “I’m sorry, Mabel, for getting you wrong earlier. Is this dress really the one worth 600 million dollars from the auction the other day?”
Mabel said flatly, “No. It’s a knockoff.”
Opening her mouth, Rhea found no words coming out. She was planning on asking Mable who had given her the dress after she got an affirmative answer from Mabel. With this answer, how should she ask that now?
After pondering for a few seconds, she asked, “Really? It’s a knockoff? I thought the man who drove you home the other day bought it for you. Come on, Mabel. We’re family, right? If you’re seeing someone, take him home so that Mom and Dad can see if he’s the right one for you.”
To her surprise, Mabel shook her head. “He was an Uber driver.
Rhea thought, ‘You’re lying again. Who could request a limited–edition Rolls–Royce with Uber?‘
Not willing to give up, she continued, “But I saw a man in the back seat…”
“We carpooled,” Mabel replied, putting an end to the topic for good.
Gritting her teeth, Rhea was furious. Of course, she knew Mabel was lying.
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Chapter 27
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She thought, ‘Mabel gets so wary, not wanting to tell me anything at all. It gets me even more curious. Now I’ve got to know
who that man was.‘
Soon, they reached the bathroom.
Mabel looked at Rhea, asking, “Does your stomach still hurt?”
“What? I… No. Not anymore,” Rhea stuttered.
Mabel immediately tossed her purse into Rhea’s arms. “I’ll go in then. Hold it for me.”
After that, she walked into the bathroom.
Clutching Mabel’s purse, Rhea couldn’t believe how lucky she was. She was trying to find a chance to stuff the bracelet into Mabel’s purse when no one was looking, and before she could do so, Mabel actually handed her the opportunity.
While Mabel was away, she quickly took off the bracelet, wrapped it in tissue, and carefully tucked it into the bottom of Mabel’s purse.
While doing this, she checked out Mabel’s exquisite purse. She had seen the brand in a fashion magazine some time ago. The products of this brand were ridiculously expensive, and the price of a handbag cost as much as a car.
She was pissed off again, assuming the mysterious man bought the purse for Mabel.
She pondered, ‘Mabel doesn’t get to be so lucky. All this will be mine when I snatch that man away from her.’
