Shelley turned her head towards the person standing in front of her. Carla Lierger stood proudly in the room, surrounded by a powerful and intimidating aura, composed and elegant. Every inch of her screamed wealthy.
She was obviously a world of difference when compared to the timid, ignorant Carla Wigston from the past.
Perhaps it's just a resemblance…
Moreover, so what if she really is Carla Wigston?
If that's the case, she's the same person that I humiliated and plotted against. The same person grovel at my feet back then!
What's there to be afraid of?
At that thought, Shelley straightened her posture and lifted her chin. The fear pounding in her heart slowly dissipated.
"Mr. Giblo is here!" All of a sudden, someone from the crowd cried out, turning everyone's attention to the entrance.
Even the merchants fawning at Carla Lierger a second ago hurriedly rushed forward to welcome and greeted Zayn Giblo.
Although it's true that Carla had an outstanding demeanor, Zayn had an irreplaceable status in the corporate world, and the rest of the merchants present were smart enough to offend neither party.
Normally, Zayn despised socializing and dealing with pesky businessmen and businesswomen, but he was surprisingly out of character that day. Not only was he pleasantly easy-going, all smiles and courtesy, he even asked Mosa to jot down the names of all those who approached him that night in hopes of an appointment.
In just a short span of a few minutes, Zayn had stolen the spotlight from Carla, becoming the center of attention.
Taking in the scene, Shelley's eyes shone, feeling immense pride for Zayn.
As the crowd surrounding him finally dispersed, Shelley quickly went up to greet him. "Zayn!" she called out, waving.
Zayn instinctively frowned at the sight of her, hatred showing in his eyes. However, he swallowed the initial disgust and forced out a smile at Shelley. "Long time no see, Shelley, " he greeted, in hopes to gauge Carla's reaction.
"Yeah, it has been a while!"
Shelley looked at him affectionately. All that had happened in the past didn't matter to her, not even the fact that he had so cruelly abandoned her. To Shelley, Zayn would always be the most flawless man, and she would always have a soft spot for him.
Zayn sneaked a glance at Carla. The latter was surrounded by many young men, chatting with those around her and oblivious to Zayn's attention.
Zayn took a glass of champagne from a waiter and casually walked in Carla's direction.
"Have you heard? I've managed to get my hands on the piece of land in Summerbank…" Shelley followed him closely, attempted to curry favor with Zayn by discussing topics he'd like. "There's also an underground casino in Lightspring that recently contacted us, hoping for partnership…"
"Casinos in Lightspring are all legally operated, you could consider the offer, " Zayn replied Shelley absent-mindedly, his gaze never once leaving Carla.
"The business in M Nation is also now under my supervision since Daddy has too much on his plate. Good thing too, since Daddy is way too soft with the staff and so indecisive. There have been multiple headaches ever since he's in charge of the family business two years ago." Shelley pursed her lips before continuing, "We used to be one of the top thirty companies in Aploth. Now we've been ranked down to top eighty…" Relentless, Shelley still tried to get Zayn's attention. "But the Giblo family will always be the best and that's the biggest difference-"
"Says who?" a voice responded icily, sending a chill down Shelley's spine.
Finally turning her gaze away from Zayn, Shelley found herself face to face with none other than Carla Lierger. The latter's cold eyes bore into Shelley's soul.
"The latest data has yet to be revealed. I wouldn't be so confident, " Carla stated with an eyebrow raised. A hint of arrogance laced her voice.
That's odd. Why does this lady look so familiar? Carla frowned slightly, staring at the woman in front of her.
Not only so, why am feel so irritated by her presence? Carla felt a wave of unexplained fury and loathe surging through her at the mere sight of Shelley Benday, as if they were born to be nemesis.
Flustered, Shelley looked away, breaking eye contact with Carla. The glare Carla gave her made her skin crawl.
Nevertheless, with all eyes on her, Shelley refused to back down. As reluctant as she was, Shelley bit the bullet and retorted, "Even if the data is revealed, the Natch family is still going to come first. No one can snatch that status from them!"
"Snatch?" Carla narrowed her eyes into a dangerous glint. "It's all fair play in the corporate world. Everything is determined by data and numbers. Why would I need to snatch the first place from them?" The clicking sounds of her high heels rang clear in the room as she elegantly strode towards Shelley as she talked, like a predator who had cornered its prey.
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