Hannah breathed a sigh of relief, feeling the invisible weight on her shoulders lifted. She was honestly worried that she might faint from the amount Franchot would quote.
“In that case, I’ll be on my way then, but thank you so much. I love it!” Hannah quickly got out of the car, but not before flashing Franchot a genuine smile.
As she walked towards the entrance, Hannah called her colleague who was supposed to be her cameraman in that event. To her dismay, he had not arrived, so she headed inside alone.
When she entered the hall, the place was still not crowded. No spotlights shone on the spacious stage either. Clearly, the important guests had yet to arrive.
Hannah made her way to a quiet corner and took a seat. She disliked attending formal events as she would much prefer to relax and enjoy a quiet moment to herself.
Glancing at the fancy cakes served on the table, Hannah swallowed her saliva hungrily. She yearned to have a taste but was afraid to smudge her makeup and ruin her look. An inner dialogue started within her mind. Remembering that Yvette would be attending the event, Hannah ultimately decided to give up on her craving. Hmpf, with Franchot’s help today, there’s no chance I’d look inferior standing next to her.
Hannah was certain that Yvette would have a personal stylist as a celebrity. Even so, Hannah was confident that she would be prettier than Yvette even without putting on any makeup. Not to mention she got a makeover by the amazing Franchot Dunn.
Soon, the crowd in the hall grew larger. Hannah found her colleague among the crowd, carrying a bulky camera with him and he left right after that. Following the cheers and screams of the crowd, all eyes were turned to the stage.
Right that instant, Yvette Tanner made her entrance—shining bright like the star. She was dressed in a white flowy gown that reached her ankle with her feet in a pair of silver heels with studded diamonds. Her shoulder-length hair danced behind her while an exquisite necklace hung around her neck, adding more glam to the outfit. She looked as though an angel had stepped down from heaven into the receiving crowd.
Seeing Yvette’s dramatic entrance, Hannah twitched her lips in annoyance. “Such a showoff,” mumbled Hannah to herself.
Reluctantly, Hannah lifted the camera to capture a few photos. Staring at the photos, Hannah rolled her eyes again. Tsk, you’re still not as pretty as me even with all the makeup!
Soon, the loud atmosphere began to mellow. Yvette shook hands with some people in the crowd from time to time. Most of the audience that day were upper-class socialites, which was why Yvette treated them with caution and curtesy.
“How pretentious!” Following Yvette waltzing through the crowd with her eyes, Hannah could hardly hear her own voice as she scoffed.
“Hello, miss, are you here alone?” a voice called out to Hannah.
Tearing her eyes away from Yvette’s silhouette, Hannah raised her guard as she sized up the man in front of her. “Why? Is there anything?”
Hmpf, I’m nothing like Yvette. I’m not gonna flash you a fake smile or try to please you. If it wasn’t a stern order from Mr. Dijon, I wouldn’t even be here now.
“Erm… I just thought you looked a little lonely, so I thought I’d approach you. Hope you don’t find me rude,” replied the man apologetically.
Hannah nodded in response. She didn’t find the person in front of her irritating. He looked and carried himself like a gentleman, all dressed up in a black suit. He probably did not have any bad intentions, but Hannah just did not have the habit of approaching strangers nor making small talk.
“I’m not some wealthy heiress, so there’s no need to address me as ‘miss’ or anything as such. My name’s Hannah Young. I’m a journalist for a magazine company and I’m here to interview Yvette Tanner. We are probably not of the same social status, so there’s really no need for you to sit here with me,” rejected Hannah curtly.
Shock flashed across the man’s face. He had not expected Hannah to turn him down in such a straightforward manner. “Hannah Young,” chuckled the man awkwardly. “I shall keep your name in mind.”
With that, the man got up to leave. After making a few steps, he suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned around to face Hannah. “By the way, my name’s Xavier Jackson.” With a smile, he left.
As the man walked away, Hannah peered at his shrinking silhouette out of the corner of her eye. What does your name have anything to do with me?
Hannah gently wiped away her lipstick and picked up a glass of wine on the table. As she was preparing to take a sip, a sharp voice interrupted her movements. “Hannah Young, are you drinking alone? Poor thing, does Fabian not want you anymore? Well, I did tell you that Fabian is not gonna like a woman as shabby as you. He was probably just messing around with you.”
