"Brad!" Shelley exclaimed in shock and queried, "What are you doing here?"
"What's with your response? Am I not allowed to be here?"
Brad had put on a simple yet elegant-looking sage set of outfits for the banquet, but it couldn't conceal the fact he was a handsome man.
The man, who had an androgynous appearance, had acquired the attention of the women that were around.
"No! Of course not! Are you guys acquainted?" Shelley asked with a peculiar smile, glancing at Brad and Carla.Brad wrapped his arm around Carla's waist and declared, "She's a childhood friend of mine, and we used to be course mates back in our university days. I guess you can consider me her guardian!"
"I see! It's just like Zayn and me!" Shelley replied with a bright grin.
Shelley would constantly remind Carla of her extraordinary relationship with Zayn.
When Shelley brought up Zayn in front of the duo, Carla recalled the deal she had with Zayn —she promised him she would stay away from Brad in the future.
If the Devil is conscious Brad's here, I think he's going to lose control over himself again…
Carla inched away from Brad and shrugged his hand off her waist when she thought about it.
Brad was taken aback by her action—disappointment was written all over her face.
"Since you're here to keep Carla company, I will leave both of you alone." Shelley smiled and sashayed in the direction of the crowd.
Benard went after Shelley because he would have to return to Zayn's side.
Similarly, Mosa went after the departing duo after she glanced at Carla.
Carla was about to leave, but Brad got ahead of her and stopped her. "Carla, we need to talk."
She shrugged him off and stated in a low voice, "Brad, have you forgotten your promise to stay away from me?"
"E-Er…" Brad's stiff hand was left hanging around in the middle of the air embarrassedly while his face turned gloomy in disappointment.
"I'm sorry…" Carla avoided his gaze and apologized.
After she walked away from Brad, she spotted a familiar silhouette that was a few feet away from her—Zayn peered at her in the eyes while he was surrounded by a few noble-looking corporate players.
They seemed to be in the middle of a conversation. Holding on to his glass of champagne, Zayn would occasionally reply to them, yet he wouldn't move his eyes away from Carla.
As he was aware of her interaction with Brad a short while ago, he cast a stern gaze at her.
Carla lowered her head and avoided the man's gaze, bringing herself to the back of the banquet hall as soon as possible because she had enough of the guests' odd gazes.
Although she had her sight on the ground, she could feel the onlookers' attention on her as she marched through the spacious hall.
The guests had one thing in common—a scornful look on their faces. While sizing her up repetitively, they made fun of Carla and thought she was another gold digger, with an ulterior goal.
When Carla reached the back of the hall, she heard the conversation of a few maids.
"She doesn't belong here! Look at the ridiculous gown she has put on!"
"I think she's one of the micro-influencers who's willing to sacrifice everything and anything as long as she gets to become a member of the upper echelon."
"You're right! She must be showing her chest and her thigh to seduce the guests that are around! Otherwise, why would she put on such an exposing outfit?"
"I don't get it! How did such a country bumpkin manage to earn the right to be invited to such an exclusive banquet?"
"She doesn't belong to the upper echelon! I wonder who's the one behind her?"
"I saw her with Miss Benday a few minutes ago! We should mind our words because we can't afford to offend Miss Benday."
"Miss Benday is such a kind woman. I think she must have been deceived by the cunning and filthy woman!"
"Yes! I think that's the case!"
…
Carla couldn't take it anymore. She trod away from the hall as fast as she could. Her absence wouldn't impact the progress of the banquet at all.
All she needed was to kill her time in an isolated space. Once the banquet was over, she would leave with Mosa.
There were only a few people at the back of the banquet hall, including a few servers and a few staff that were in charge of the flow of the banquet.
Carla found an empty lounge and was about to make her way in to take a breather from the cruel, harsh world. But when she reached the doorstep, she heard the voices of two women.
"What the hell is wrong with you? How could you hurt yourself right before the performance? Don't you know how important this banquet is? Are you trying to mess with me on purpose?"
"No! Miss Janol! I didn't mean it!" The girl started weeping and explained herself, "W-When I passed by the banquet hall, I accidentally bumped into someone called Miss Benday. As a result, she became infuriated and pushed me away from her with all her might. I-I bumped into another server, causing the server to spill her tray of drink to the ground. After I fell to the ground, Miss Benday…"
Share
