As Gloria hated seeing the two, she dragged Rachel and walked away. “Let’s go.”
Rip! Just then, a sound pierced between the quartet.
“Ah!” Amber screamed. “Gosh, Tina-your dress!”
Unfortunately, it was already too late by the time Rachel realized it. Her heel had been on Tina’s dress right then, tearing the white lace apart with an accidental step and causing a big hole in her outfit.
“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?!” Tina exclaimed, her face filled with fury.
Meanwhile, Rachel hastily stepped aside. At that moment, they heard another ripping sound. It turned out that her heel was stuck in the hole she had just made on Tina’s dress, and Rachel ended up enlarging the hole as she jerked her leg away, and it seemed rather ridiculous.
I’m sorry!
“What are you signing about?” Tina was utterly vexed as she exclaimed. “You must have done it on purpose! You want to embarrass me in front of everyone, don’t you?” As she spoke, she shoved Rachel away.
“Be careful, Rachel!” Thanks to Gloria’s swift senses, she quickly held onto Rachel before getting in front of her. She then said, “It’s just an accident. It’s pretty obvious to me that Rachel was trying to apologize. What do you want more from her? It’s just a dress!”
“Just a dress, you say?” Amber crossed her arms. “Oh, little girl! Do you know how much effort was put into making this dress? A craftsman from Italy spent one whole year sewing every single thread with his own hands! This dress could buy an entire city!”
While Amber was adding fuel to the fire, Tina yelled with a dull face, “Security, send her out of the building!”
At once, the security guards rushed over. When the guards grabbed Rachel, she staggered and almost fell, feeling so ashamed that she wanted to dig a hole and hide herself. Upon witnessing this, the people around them had no idea who she was, and they gave her judgmental stares while criticizing her.
Seeing this, Gloria shouted, “How are you all being so unreasonable? Let go! Let go of her!”
“This is my engagement banquet! This is my house! Who are you to give orders?”
Tina proceeded to leer at her guards. “What are you waiting for? Send her out right away!” she yelled.
Tactfully, the security guards tossed Gloria outside the premises as well.
“Ah!” Gloria shrieked as both women fell onto the ground simultaneously.
Out of the blue, a figure walked out from the shadows of the crowd. When he saw that the two of them had collapsed to the ground, Justin hurried over and helped Gloria up before interrogating Tina, “What’s the big deal?”
Once Gloria got up, Rachel, who was still lying on the ground, felt the weight off her. Although her knees were still tingling, she forcefully supported herself against a table beside her and barely managed to stand up, all the while remaining silent.
For some reason, Justin withdrew his extended hand as he looked at Rachel in confusion.
“Did you bring her here to throw shade at me, Justin?” Given Tina’s temper and the fact that she was the highlight of the night, she was remarkably bold. “She deliberately destroyed my dress and ruined my banquet! How is she going to pay for this?”
To that, Justin’s eyes darkened. “So that’s why you had the guards throw them out?”
Immediately, Tina was stunned.
“Who laid their hands on these women?” Justin swept his gaze across the squad of security guards, who instantly lost their uniformity upon the man’s intimidation.
“Perhaps I should break all of your arms!” As he casually spat those words, the room consequently got quiet.
Among the crowd, some stared at each other in a baffled manner while others gasped out of shock. Rachel was stunned as well, for she had never expected Justin to be this outraged.
In the nick of time, Jason and Noah arrived at the scene upon hearing the chaos. “What’s all this about?”
As he held Tina’s hand, Noah then questioned, “Are you hurt, Baby?”
The woman had a long face as she shook off Noah’s hand.
Several people from the crowd quickly ran toward Noah and briefly relayed what had happened earlier in a whisper. At once, Noah chuckled and said, “It’s no big trouble. It’s just a dress, Baby. I’ve got another one prepared just for you. Why don’t you go and get changed?”
Having said that, he turned to Justin and stated, “We’re a family. Justin, so don’t be so hostile. It’s just a minor
quarrel, and it’s not like you don’t know how Tina’s temper is. She’s just her stubborn self! But for some reason, there are voices constantly telling her to misbehave!”
Despite fooling around most of the time, Noah was pretty perceptive when it came to determining what kind of personality one possessed. He then proceeded to give Amber a threatening scowl.
At that, the woman’s face turned pale. Noah then continued, “The banquet is starting soon. Spare me some pride, will you, Justin?”
When he saw how Justin had no intention of pursuing the matter, Noah asked Tina to go and get changed before he dispersed the crowd, finally keeping the situation under control.
“I’ll come and drink with you later, Justin. Hope that’s enough for an apology.” After he finished speaking, Noah walked away.
Meanwhile, Rachel slowly calmed down as she stood by the side.
“You good?” Justin’s voice was heard from the front.
Rachel was momentarily dazed by this, and she raised her head to see Justin holding Gloria’s hand, checking to see if she had any injuries. “Let’s visit the doctor later.”
“I’m fine. Tina’s a bullying b*tch! That’s right-Rachel!” As Rachel popped up in her mind, Gloria turned around
and quizzed, “Are you fine, Rachel?”
In response, the woman shook her head.
At the same time, Justin’s eyes fell upon Rachel, who was lurching while holding herself up at the table. In that instant, there was a trace of sympathy in his eyes, but it quickly vanished when the woman turned to him.
“Go get rested if you’re hurt.” It was yet another emotionless string of words, but that didn’t affect Rachel since she had long gotten used to his apathy.
Meanwhile, Gloria witnessed the darkness in his eyes and it made her ponder.
Since Rachel was injured, her knees were in so much pain that she couldn’t walk properly. As such, she could only stay still in the resting area while Gloria tended to the guests along with Justin. When she saw the both of them traveling among the masses, Rachel felt even more like a stranger, not knowing why Justin insisted that she attend the banquet. All this stepping on me just for the sake of the Burtons’ dignity?
“Honestly, who’s that Gloria lady?”
A familiar voice sounded from her back, and before she realized it, Amber was already right beside her. At her sister’s presence, Rachel immediately frowned.
“Earlier on, I heard that Justin hired a young, female secretary who’s constantly following him around. I guess seeing is believing, and reality has smacked me in the face tonight. How could you allow her to stick around him so much like a bug?”
As she glanced at Amber, Rachel responded by signing a few words. Aren’t you constantly sticking to him too?
“D*mn you…” Amber was visibly tilted. “Where is she from?” Earlier on, she had assumed that Justin was only protecting Rachel, but upon careful observation, she realized that the man only cared for Gloria, and the guards were only hesitating because they were aware of Justin’s relationship with the younger woman. Thus, knowing that made Amber on edge.
I have no clue.
“How could you not know? Don’t you work at Burton Group? That’s his secretary! When did he hire her, and where is she from?”
If you want to know it so badly, why don’t you go and ask her in person?
