Chapter 23
The sophisticated champagne tower toppled over with a loud crash. The glasses shattered into pieces, and everyone in the crowd watched with abject horror as Isabel and Natalie lay on the ground.
Save for a small cut on her face, Isabel was relatively unharmed by the broken glass thanks to her jacket. But Natalie wasn’t so lucky; her face was fine, but her dress left much of her skin exposed, and the broken glass had left tiny cuts on her arms.
The golden pink of the champagne mixed with blood formed a jarring sight.
“Nat!” Eleanor cried in alarm as she ran over to inspect Natalie’s wounds.
Anathea limped over to Isabel, who’d eased herself upright.
Isabel seemed shocked as she gaped at Natalie’s unmoving form on the ground. It was like she’d passed out.
Isabel didn’t remember being too forceful with Natalie. More importantly, she’d nearly lost a chunk of her hair courtesy of the
latter’s vicious grip.
And yet, it was Natalie who’d blacked out from the fight, not Isabel. It was even more baffling that when Isabel had tried to veer away from the champagne tower upon noticing they were staggering in its direction, Natalie had clutched her arm and dragged
her toward it.
“Isabel! How could you push Nat?” Eleanor demanded seethingly.
Isabel went still at the accusation, then argued, “It wasn’t me! She was the one who-”
She broke off when she met Gregory’s frigid gaze. A chill ran down her spine as the rest of her words died on her tongue.
Gregory mutely scooped Natalie into his arms and told a maid to fetch the family doctor.
“Right away,” the maid replied dutifully.
In her hurry, she knocked Anathea on the shoulder. Anathea had to grip the table beside her to keep from losing her footing.
She’d only just regained her balance when she met Gregory’s gaze. She froze when she saw the deadly look in his eyes. It was as if he wanted nothing more than to throttle her.
The next second, he walked past her with Natalie in his arms. When he thought no one could get a clear look at them, he hissed menacingly, “I’ll settle the score with you when I get home.”
Anathea stiffened. It wasn’t until Gregory had left the garden with Natalie that she snapped to her senses.
Her lips curled in exasperation. Was that what he thought of her–that she’d manipulated Isabel into picking a fight with Natalie? Did he think she was so petty that she’d stoop so low for his attention?
She nearly snorted.
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Chapter 23
Eleanor stood up and stared at the broken glass beneath her feet. Her birthday party was ruined! Her chest tightened with anger as she glared at Anathea. “If anything happens to Natalie, I’ll make you and Isabel pay!”
With that, she stormed off in her high heels, leaving a few members of the cleaning staff to clean up the mess on the ground.
The main takeaway of the
fight was Gregory’s heroic actions. The guests couldn’t help gushing over his valiant effort to save his precious damsel–in–distress. While they were horrified by the fight, they were also eager to discuss Gregory and Natalie’s blossoming relationship.
“Did you see how Mr. Sinclair scooped Ms. Whitman up in his arms after she blacked out? He’s like a shining knight in armor
from a fantasy novel!”
“I totally get it! I can’t think of a better match than a stoic but soft–hearted CEO and a beautiful, delicate young lady!”
“From the looks of it, Ms. Whitman is on her way to marrying into the Sinclair family. No wonder Mr. Sinclair and his mother
made such a fuss over her.”
As the guests chatted among themselves, Isabel peered at Anathea cautiously, thinking she would blow her top over the incident.
Surprisingly, Anathea said nothing as she stepped forward to pick off the shards of glass from Isabel’s clothes and helped her up. Isabel was so taken aback by Anathea’s gentle actions that she couldn’t help the guilt that rushed through her.
She’d seen how condescending Gregory had been with Añathea when he’d left with Natalie in his arms. He’d been fuming, and the look he’d given Anathea was nothing short of mutinous.
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