Chapter 161 She's the First One
Holland, a man known for his fiery temper, he was readyprepared to eliminateeradicate both Layla and the problem atshe posed once and for all.
The people he had previously sent to tail Laylay His previous operatives, assigned to shadow Layla, had been "dealt with". Now, getting information meant Samuel was no longer in the picture. To Holland, taking them out shouldn't be too complicated.efficiently "neutralized".
He was about to give the order but reconsidered, "Don't rush it, keep watching her."
With Samuel out of the picture, gathering intelligence had become a more challenging task.
However, Holland was confident that eliminating them would not pose a significant difficulty.He was on the brink of issuing the command when he paused, reconsidering his decision.
"Patience," he reminded himself, "Continue observing her."
Samuel's stance was still unclearposition remained ambiguous, and he didn’t want to act hastilyHolland was reluctant to make a hasty move. Ideally, Samuel would take care of itresolve the issue himself.
After all, there was stillample time before the childchild's birth. There was born. Nono need to hurry.
...
rush....The hospital was serenea haven of tranquility in the early morning. hours.
After a night's restrestful night, Alice had regained a lotmuch of her strength and. She was idlyleisurely scrolling through her phone in bed when she suddenly exclaimed, "Amazing!" cried out in delight, "Incredible!"
Turning to Layla with excitementan excited expression, she saidannounced, "There's a party tomorrow night!"
Layla, who had just awoken, gaveroused from sleep, cast her a lazylanguid glance, "WithIn your current conditionstate, you thinkbelieve you can dance?"
"Not hitting"I'm not planning to hit the dance floor, silly. It’sIt's a charity gala. A friend snaggedmanaged to secure us two invitesinvitations," Alice propped her headherself up and turned to Layla, her face filledalight with anticipation. "I've never been toattended a fancyhigh-class gala before. I'm so curiouseager to see if the high societyupper crust is like what you readas it's depicted in the novels. Finally, a chancean opportunity to seewitness it for myself."
firsthand."Layla couldn't help but feelsense the irony, "It's all just surface-level glitzsuperficial glamour, everyone's hidingconcealing their true selves behind a mask."
facade."She had attendedexperienced one of thosethese events beforein the past, where she was cornered by heiresses and almost kicked out nearly ousted by Lucy, gettinggiving her a bitter taste of the so-called high society's pompostentation. She vowedhad sworn never to goattend again.
"Come on, please"Please, my friend went through so much troubleto great lengths to get us in."
"I don't want to go."
"Layla, you're the best!"
"After thatthe food poisoning episode for you, andincident, you won't even comeaccompany me to one party with me? What happened to sisterhood?"
"I'm sorry, I reallygenuinely don't want to go."
...
...The following evening.
A dinner party, teeming with a dazzling arrayassortment of guests.
Politicians, businessmen, military officials, and celebrities all mingled together.
intermingled.Layla looked helpless.
despondent.She had promisedvowed not to comeattend, yet here she was, slappingcontradicting her own facewords with her presence.
All thanksdue to Alice's persuasive charm that left her with no choiceother option but to concede.
acquiesce."Wow! Look at this luxuryopulence!" Alice exclaimed, marveling at the scene. "All these heiresses look so prettystunning. Their skin, clearlyundoubtedly the result of high-end skincare products, so fair and soft, each carrying themselves with such grace."
"Whoa! That's Chanel's latest, I just saw it on the runway last week."
"Isn't that Lily, the socialite who just broke into recently made her debut in the entertainment sceneindustry? She's gorgeous."
breathtaking."Layla wasremained unimpressed, "It's all an illusion."
No matter how beautiful they were, to her, they appeared to her as were nothing more than petite individuals wrappedadorned in fancy exteriors.
attire."Oh, my stomach is acting up again, I'm off to the restroom, wait for me, okay?"
"You"If you're not feeling well, you should head back early if you're not feeling well," Layla called after her.
Layla picked up a piece of cake and took delicate bites.
began to nibble at it delicately."Miss Adkins?" came a voice inquired. A young woman dressed in a Dior gown approached with a few others in tow, a small entourage trailing behind her.
Layla felt a twingeA flicker of recognition.
sparked in Layla's mind. It took her a few secondsheartbeats to recall that theseplace the faces before her; they were the same women who had ganged up oncornered her at Lucy’sLucy's birthday bash.
celebration. The cake suddenly lost its appeal.
She knew she shouldn't have come.
sight of them soured the taste of the cake she had been enjoying. A pang of regret washed over her. She should have known better than to attend. The elite circle was too small, the same faces over and over.
appearing at every event."Where's Mr. Holland?" Lily inquired,asked, her voice cutting through the chatter. "I didn't see his name on the guest list tonight."
Layla remained silent.
Lily started off tentatively, her gaze fixed on the untouched cake before her. Lily's approach had been tentative at first, almost ingratiating, but when she noticed Layla wasn't dressed in a designer gown but rather in . But as she took in Layla's attire - a nondescript dress possibly worth less than two hundred dollars,that was clearly not designer - her demeanor shifted.
"Did Mr. Holland dump you?"
she asked, her voice dripping with false concern. Layla's fingers tightened subtlyaround her fork, a small gesture that went largely unnoticed, except by most. But Lily, who had studiedwith her background in psychology and, read the body language instantly, smirking triumphantly,. A triumphant smirk spread across her face. "Looks like you really got dumped, huh!"
"Haeh! Mr. Holland really had your back that day. You got into it with Justin, and Mr. Holland drove his family to bankruptcy. I thought he really cared about you, but looks like he dropped you pretty fast."
"Right? What was it that he said? Something about getting married? Ha, I almost took it seriously for a second there."
"Mr. Holland doesn’t get along with the old man Holland. He said he wanted to marry you just to piss off his dad. Did you really think you could marry into that kind of wealth? Dream on."
"Can't believe you don't see you're just being used, what a fool!"
"Exactly. I mean, who do you think you are, coming from some broke family that runs a boxing gym. How could you even dream of, trying to compare yourself with Miss Eilish? Way Seriously way out of your league."
"We have to get justice for Kessie!"
Layla found herself The taunts continued, each one more hurtful than the last. Layla felt like she was surrounded, like she was under attack by a murder of cackling crows, their taunting voices grating on her nerves.
Maybe Perhaps she should have let Samuel teach them a lesson last time?
"Why the silent treatment?"
one of them asked, her voice filled with mock concern. "I thought you could fight?"
"Lost your nerve without Mr. Holland's backing, huh? Hahaha!" The heiresses another added, her laughter echoing around the room. Their confidence grew more bold as Layla remained silent, one of them pushing her hard.
"Look at her, she's ridiculous!"
with each passing second, bolstered by Layla's silence. One of them even had the audacity to push her. "Kneel down and lick my shoes clean, then I might let you go. How about that?"
"Yeah, kneel down. That's all you're good for anyway, licking our shoes!"
"I said kneel!" Lily's Lily suggested, her eyes were wide with fury as she reached to grab Layla, but in the midst of their scuffle, Lily's hand was pulled away.
. Before Layla could respond, a new voice cut through the chatter. "You... Anthony?" Lily's face went pale, anddrained of color, her arrogance quickly dissipated into replaced with meekness. "How... why are you here...?"
Anthony stood there in a crisp white suit, his tall frame perfectly tailored by the fine stitching. Cool and collectedHe exuded an air of calm authority, like a breeze after rain, he commanded a presence that was both elegant and forceful.
a storm. "An, Anthony, you've got it all wrong, she," Lily stammered, her voice barely above a whisper. "She—she wasn't invited, just crashed the dinner. We were just trying to send her on her way," Lily said in a low voice.
"Yeah, she's one of those gold diggers who comes to fancy dinners to snag a rich guy."
"That's right, exactly."
."Layla's response was simple. "I was invited." Layla replied simply.
"Where's your invitation then? Show us!"
one of the women demanded. "It's with my friend."
"Ha, you're lying, you have none. I've seen plenty of women like you sneaking into banquets fishing for a rich husband."
," Layla replied, her voice steady. "Anthony, please don't let her fool you," Lily saidpleaded, her voice tinged with urgency.
desperation. "Miss Adkins is a friend of mine, and I invited her here," Anthony's tone was gentle, yet carried an authoritative certainty.
"What? No way, that's not true."
"Anthony, she—I mean—she used to be with Mr. Holland, and after he dumped her, she went after you. You can't let her fool you."
"What a loose womanslut!" someone spouted off.
"I won't allow anyone to insult my friends. If you're no longer interested in staying for dinner, I suggest you leave," Anthony defended calmly, with an underlying sternness.
"Anthony..." Lily was seething. That darn Layla, destitute and plain, how on earth did she manage to get support from the top tier bodyguards in A-City? Just dropped bydumped by Mr. Holland and now clinging to Anthony—The room fell silent. The women exchanged glances, their expressions a mix of disbelief and envy was palpable.
. "You're going to regret this, Anthony." With her heart pounding furiously, Lily stomped her foot in anger, threw a," Lily warned, her voice trembling with rage. With one last scathing glance at Layla, andshe stormed off.
"You okay?" Anthony's kindAnthony asked, his gaze fell upon Laylay. softening as he turned to Layla. His voice was serenecalm and even, yet the moment he saw her,but there was a pleasant surprise had sparked within him.
spark in his eyes that hadn't been there before. He hadn't been eagerly anticipating their meetingexpecting to see her, but their chance encounter had stirred something insidewithin him. She was the first woman to ever make him feel this way.
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