Chapter 402: Chapter 402: I Splashed You Because I Wanted To
"It’s actually... delicious?" Ann Vaughn looked at the plump dumpling with a surprised gaze, irresistibly picking another piece to eat.
Watching her cheeks puffed like a little hamster filled with food, a faint smile flashed in Cyrus Hawthorne’s eyes.
At this moment, the black phone on the table rang urgently.
Cyrus glanced at the caller ID on the screen with a slightly somber expression, picked up the phone to stand up, and then said to Ann Vaughn, who was devouring the food, "I need to take a call."
"Mhm!" Ann, already captivated by the delicious food in front of her, nodded without even lifting her head.
After eating and drinking to content, Ann Vaughn closed her eyes comfortably, leaning back in the soft chair leisurely sipping fresh cranberry juice, her whole being like a satisfied, well-fed cat.
"No way? I heard your dad got seriously ill after returning from abroad, and Chambers Group’s stock dropped significantly. How come you still have the leisure to come out for a meal? Or were those just rumors?"
From behind a screen on the right, an ironically sinister voice suddenly came, making Ann Vaughn turn her head for a look.
Through the gaps in the carved bamboo screen, one could vaguely see several fashionably dressed girls sitting at the table.
"Not as exaggerated as you say." The Chambers Group heiress, Iris Chambers, sipped her coffee calmly and said, "You know what the media is like. A common cold can be exaggerated into a terminal illness."
"Really? Then why doesn’t your family issue a statement to clarify? Everyone outside is saying your dad contracted an epidemic abroad, and that’s why he returned because treatment was useless..."
Iris’s hand holding the coffee cup tightened; just as she was about to respond, someone spoke up, "Look, isn’t that Eldest Young Master Sheridan’s fiancée?"
The ladies present immediately looked towards Ann Vaughn’s dining table, catching sight of her delicate, fair skin and exquisite side profile...
"She must’ve had some cosmetic injections; no normal person’s skin could glow that white."
"I bet her face is all cosmetic surgery; otherwise, how could a poor country bumpkin like her catch Eldest Young Master Sheridan’s attention?"
"I heard she’s also the former wife of Mr. Hawthorne from The Imperial Capital... It’s hilarious. She was seen being affectionate with her ex-husband at Sheridan’s birthday banquet, isn’t she afraid Sheridan will dump her?"
"She’s just a discarded woman; what abilities does she have to become Sheridan’s fiancée?"
Hearing their relentless gossip, Iris frowned slightly in disapproval, saying, "Sheridan chose his fiancée himself; isn’t the responsibility also on him?"
Her words drew ghost-like stares from those around her.
"Are you crazy? If it weren’t for this woman seducing Sheridan, would he even notice her?"
"Exactly, since Sheridan’s not in the country now, why don’t we teach her a lesson, so she’ll see her real status and stop dreaming beyond her means?"
"I don’t believe it; with my years-long relationship with Elliot, he’d really choose her over me!" With that declaration, the woman in the red dress stood up and headed towards Ann Vaughn.
The other socialites followed suit, while Iris hesitated briefly but eventually went along.
Meanwhile, Ann Vaughn was savoring the freshly served dessert, chocolate mousse, eating it leisurely one spoonful at a time.
"Ha, clearly a country bumpkin who’s never seen the world; is it her first time at a high-end restaurant like this? She should learn to keep a low profile and stop embarrassing herself."
The sharp sarcasm instantly shattered the previously pleasant atmosphere. Ann Vaughn swallowed the last bite of cake unhurriedly, then looked up at the intruder.
"Do you know who I am?"
"Why should I know who you are?" The woman in the red dress replied disdainfully.
"Good, you shouldn’t know." Ann Vaughn chuckled coldly, a chill on her pretty face, "With your character and intelligence, you’re not worthy of knowing me."
The expressions on the faces of the woman in the red dress and the other socialites instantly changed, "You dare talk to us like that?!"
The woman in the red dress sneered, "Don’t think just because you used some underhanded means to seduce Elliot and became his so-called fiancée, you’re a match for us! If we wanted, we could make you disappear from Marinia anytime!"
"Exactly! A fiancée isn’t even a wife yet. Do you really think Sheridan will marry you? He’s just playing and amusing himself with you temporarily. You took it seriously?"
"The greed of commoners once swells is truly grotesque, snatching others’ boyfriends like a madwoman!"
"Being too close to such a woman would surely get you infected with some unhealthy germs! Ugh, it’s truly disgusting!"
Each socialite took turns belittling Ann Vaughn, itching to trample her into the dirt beyond recovery.
Iris witnessed this and felt a bit disheartened.
She always thought her friends were decently principled, kind, and striving for improvement...
But unexpectedly, now with her father having just faced trouble, they didn’t even bother maintaining facades in front of her, revealing their true monstrous faces...
"Have you said enough?" Ann Vaughn’s gaze was indifferent as she looked at the socialites before her, "Tsk, jealousy truly distorts people’s faces; no amount of makeup can cover the ugliness of your hearts."
"What do you mean by that!" The woman in the red dress looked at Ann Vaughn in disgust, "You dare mock us?"
"Please, first see how much your clothes are worth and how much you yourself are worth before speaking to us, won’t you? Look at how vulgar and cheap you are." The socialite next to the woman in the red dress remarked dismissively.
The woman in the red dress suddenly laughed, "Don’t say that, Miss Vaughn is quite something, relying on her skills in bed, she not only climbed to be Sheridan’s fiancée but also made it into this upscale restaurant. Huh, she’s really - uh!"
Red wine flowed down from the top of the woman in the red dress, seeping into her low-cut cocktail dress.
The crowd was stunned by Ann Vaughn’s daring act of pouring wine over them!
Iris stood stupefied at Ann Vaughn’s painting-like gesture of pouring the wine over the woman in the red dress, radiating a composed elegance, suddenly dumbfounded.
"You dared pour wine on me?!" The woman in the red dress was so furious her hands shook, her voice sharp with anger.
Ann Vaughn leisurely set down the wine glass, and upon hearing the woman’s question, burst into a smile, "I poured it because I poured it. Does it need to be on a special day?"
"You wretched woman, do you have a death wish!"
With that, the woman in the red dress grabbed the red wine bottle on the table without hesitation and swung it at Ann Vaughn’s face!