Chapter 7

Melanie's POV

I saw Chloe Carter draped in a current-season haute couture gown, surrounded by a flock of socialites.

Her rumors with Damien Lawrence had taken the entire city by storm over the past few days. The wealthy heiresses who had once ignored her were now eagerly crowding around her.

Some praised her gown, while others pried into when she and Damien were getting engaged.

Chloe's eyes curved into crescent smiles, her chin tilted high.

Catching sight of me at the entrance, she pushed through the crowd immediately and came over with a sweet smile.

"Melanie, you're here?"

The surrounding socialites went quiet, eager for a show.

I didn't spare her a glance and kept walking straight ahead.

As I brushed past her, out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of her earrings. My footsteps abruptly ground to a halt.

Those were the earrings my late mother had loved most, sketched by her own hand and custom-made by a master jeweler.

"Where did you get those earrings?!"

Chloe's eyes darted away evasively before she straightened her back. "I bought them myself!"

"You're lying! Those belong to my mother! Give them back!"

Tears instantly welled up in Chloe's eyes as she looked around with an aggrieved expression.

"I really bought them myself! What right do you have to humiliate me like this?"

Trembling with rage, I lunged forward, grabbed the earrings, and ripped them off.

Chloe shrieked, clutching her ear as blood seeped through her fingers.

Ignoring her, I held the earrings up for everyone to see.

"These were custom-made by my late mother. The back is engraved with 'W,' the initial of her maiden name! They were kept locked in her jewelry cabinet! You stole them!"

A few onlookers leaned in close, and sure enough, a tiny 'W' was engraved on the back.

Murmurs rippled through the crowd.

"I heard Chloe Carter is just the daughter of the Sterlings' housekeeper, only taken in as Mr. Sterling's adopted daughter."

"A housekeeper's daughter... sticky fingers, figures."

"Stealing jewelry from the deceased—what a rotten character."

Chloe's face flushed from pale white to bright red.

Just then, Damien Lawrence strode over from the edge of the crowd.

Clutching her bleeding ear, Chloe threw herself into his arms, weeping hysterically.

"Damien, save me! My ear hurts so much, I can't hear anything..."

Seeing the blood covering her hands, Damien's expression twisted in distress as he held her tight.

"Don't be afraid, Chloe. Who hurt you? Tell me."

Chloe sobbed, shaking her head.

"I don't blame Melanie. She was just too worked up. She thought my earrings looked like her mother's, so she got angry..."

Damien raised his head and glared at me, fire burning in his eyes.

"Melanie Sterling, apologize!"

I clutched the earrings tightly in my fist, refusing to back down.

"The earrings belong to my mother. She's the one who should apologize!"

Damien grew even more furious.

"Melanie Sterling, I'm giving you one last chance. Apologize!"

I glared right back at him, my voice turning ice-cold.

"Damien Lawrence, she stole my mother's earrings."

Damien let out a harsh, mocking laugh.

"Fine. Completely unrepentant. Today, I'll teach you some respect."

He took hold of Chloe's wrist, raised her hand, and swung it hard across my face.

A sharp slap echoed shrilly through the hall.

The blow knocked my head to the side, and my left cheek flared with instant swelling.

I turned my head back, staring at Damien in utter disbelief.

We had grown up together for over twenty years, and he had rarely even raised his voice at me. Yet now, in front of an entire room of guests, he was holding Chloe Carter's hand to hit me.

Gasps broke out all around us.

"Looks like Melanie really has fallen out of favor with Mr. Lawrence."

"Chloe Carter grew up with them, too. Maybe Mr. Lawrence loved her all along."

"But she's just a housekeeper's daughter."

"So what if she's a housekeeper's daughter? Once she becomes Mrs. Lawrence, none of us can afford to cross her."

Looking at my swollen, red cheek, Damien momentarily froze.

Chloe huddled in his arms, shivering as she cried.

"Damien, I... I don't dare hit her..."

Damien paused, looking down to scold her gently.

"What's there to be afraid of? When someone bullies you, you hit them back. Again!"

Before I could react, another vicious slap struck my face.

Chloe's fingernails raked across my cheek, leaving a bloody scratch.

The searing pain jolted me awake. I raised my hand to strike back.

Damien gripped my wrist and shot a glance at the bodyguards behind him.

Two bodyguards stepped forward at once, pinning my arms behind my back and holding me in place.

Holding Chloe's hand, Damien slapped me ten more times in a row.

Blood seeped from the corner of my mouth, and my ears buzzed violently. Whatever the people around me were saying faded into white noise.

I stared straight into Damien's eyes, my gaze devoid of any warmth.

Damien avoided my eyes.

"Don't let it happen again."

Leaving those cold words behind, he shielded Chloe and hurried away.

The bodyguards released their grip, and I swayed before regaining my balance.

The guests watched me, whispering incessantly among themselves.

"To think the proud Sterling family heir would be slapped in public by a housekeeper's daughter. What a disgrace."

"Who's ever going to take her seriously after this?"

I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth, straightened my back, and walked out of the banquet hall.

That night, I went home and pressed an ice pack against my face.

In the mirror, my cheek was horribly swollen, and the scratch was still oozing blood.

The front door opened, and Damien Lawrence stepped inside.

Seeing my face, a flicker of pain flashed across his eyes.

Yet the moment he recalled Chloe clutching her ear and crying, his expression hardened once more.

"Learned your lesson?"

I set down the ice pack and sneered.

"Mr. Lawrence, we're over. You're trespassing on private property. Please get the hell out!"

Damien was beside himself with rage.

He snarled under his breath, "Melanie Sterling! Chloe was right—who taught you to play hard to get? Are you really so incapable of tolerating her?!"

Without a word, I stepped up and slapped him hard across the face.

"Damien Lawrence! When I say we're over, what part of that don't you understand?!"