Chapter 398 I would like to thank Ms. Bridges as well
Briana's face went ghostly white, and she pleaded, "Mr. Wendy, I have to support my whole family. My husband died in a car crash a few years back. If I lose this job, my family's done for. Please, don't fire me!"
Tears streamed down her face, and she was shaking like a leaf.
Leo's face stayed icy, and he didn't say a word.
Briana's eyes darted around, landing on Sharon. "Ms. Roach, please, have some mercy. I can't lose this job! I'm begging you!"
Before Sharon could say anything, the crowd started murmuring.
"Come on, why make it hard for her? She's already in a tough spot, just let her be!"
"It's not easy for a woman to support a family. Give her a break!"
"She didn't mean to do it. Everyone messes up. If Ms. Roach keeps pushing her, it's just cruel."
Sharon's face was stone cold. They could talk about forgiveness all they wanted because they weren't the ones who almost got cut up by broken glass.
She looked at Briana and said slowly, "This is my first time at the Bridges family party. How did you know my last name is Roach?"
Panic flashed across Briana's face, but she quickly covered it up. "Ms. Bridges had us memorize all the guests' names and faces. Ms. Roach, you're so beautiful, I couldn't forget."
Sharon wasn't buying it and kept her face blank. "Is that so?"
Briana didn't flinch. "Yes, Ms. Roach, I really can't lose this job. I'll apologize however you want, just don't fire me, please."
"Alright."
Briana's face lit up, but then Sharon pointed to a girl in a white dress nearby. "If you can tell me this lady's name, I'll let you go."
"What?" Briana's face went pale, and she froze.
After a moment, seeing her lips quiver but no words coming out, Sharon's eyes turned icy. "What? Can't say it?"
Briana bit her lip. "I forgot."
"But didn't you just say you memorized all the guests' names and faces?"
Sharon's voice wasn't loud, but it was firm. The guests who had felt sorry for Briana quickly realized she had been set up to bump into Sharon on purpose.
Their expressions changed. They had been all high and mighty, pretending to be generous.
Now that they knew they'd been played, their looks turned to disgust and anger.
"Ms. Roach, this servant is a liar and doesn't deserve any sympathy. Call the cops!"
"Yeah, call the cops! They'll find out who's behind this!"
"A servant who tries to hurt a guest should be arrested!"
Hearing the voices around her, Briana trembled with fear, her face drenched in cold sweat, wishing she could just pass out.
"Ms. Roach, no one told me to do it. It was really an accident. Please let me go. I'll leave right now!" She tried to get up and run, but a cold voice stopped her.
"Stop!" Leo's gaze was icy. "Who told you to do this? If you don't say, I'll have you sent to the police right now!"
Under his cold stare, Briana collapsed to the ground.
She knew Leo's methods.
But if she ratted out Ayla, her fate would be even worse.
When she thought of this, a look of determination flashed in her eyes.
"Mr. Wendy, no one told me to do it. If you don't believe me, call the cops. It was really an accident!"
As she finished, the place went silent.
Just then, a gentle female voice broke the silence. "Leo, what's going on? Why is everyone gathered here?"
Everyone turned to see Ayla walking over with a gentle smile.
As she got closer, Ayla noticed Briana on the ground and looked surprised. "Briana, what are you doing here?"
Briana's eyes flickered, and she quickly lowered her head. "Ms. Bridges, I accidentally bumped into Ms. Roach, but she thinks I was told to do it and is trying to make me confess. I'm innocent."
Ayla frowned and looked at Leo. "Leo, you know Briana. She wouldn't hurt a fly. There must be some misunderstanding."
Leo's face stayed cold. "Anyway, Briana caused a scene at grandfather's birthday party by bumping into Ms. Roach, and she owes everyone an explanation."
Ayla nodded and sighed, then turned to Sharon. "Ms. Roach, the party's about to start, and your clothes are stained with wine. How about I take you upstairs to change? After the party, you can decide what to do, and the Bridges family will back you up. What do you think?"
After a moment, Sharon smiled. "Alright, I'll go with Ms. Bridges' plan."
The moment Ayla showed up, Sharon had already figured out who was behind the whole thing, but there was no point in calling her out just yet. Sharon was curious to see what Ayla had up her sleeve.
"Ms. Roach, please follow me."
As Sharon was about to leave, Seb grabbed her wrist.
Seb leaned in close and whispered, "If anything goes wrong, call me right away."
Sharon gave a small smile, "Okay."
But since Ayla had the guts to take Sharon away in front of everyone, nothing too crazy was likely to happen.
After Sharon left with Ayla, Leo had Briana detained and reassured the guests.
"Sorry for the disturbance. The party will continue. If there's anything we've overlooked, please bear with us."
The atmosphere quickly bounced back to its lively state, like nothing had happened.
Meanwhile, Ayla led Sharon into her walk-in closet and smiled, "Ms. Roach, these dresses are all new. I've never worn them. Pick whichever one you like."
Sharon glanced at the open wardrobe, filled with outdated designs from several years ago.
Raising an eyebrow, Sharon suddenly understood why Ayla had orchestrated this scene.
It was because Sharon looked too stunning and had stolen Ayla's spotlight.
Without showing any emotion, Sharon picked up a white long dress and said, "Ms. Bridges, I'll take this one."
"Alright, Ms. Roach, you can change here. I'll wait outside."
"No need. I don't mind, and if Ms. Bridges isn't here, it would be hard to explain if something goes missing."
Ayla's smile stiffened, because she didn't expect Sharon to be so blunt. "Ms. Roach, I trust you."
With that, Ayla turned and left.
Once the door closed, Sharon quickly changed into the white dress. The waist was a bit loose, so she used a paperclip from her bag to cinch it. She then folded her stained dress and took it with her.
As soon as she stepped out, Ayla looked over.
If Sharon had previously resembled a mermaid swimming in the ocean, she now looked like the serene moonlight, untouchable and beautiful.
Ayla's hand clenched and unclenched at her side, her smile almost cracking.
"Ms. Roach, you look beautiful in anything. This white dress suits you perfectly!"
Not missing the flash of jealousy in Ayla's eyes, Sharon smiled, "Really? Thank you, Ms. Bridges, for lending me the dress."
"It's my pleasure. Let's go downstairs."
"Alright."
Ayla and Sharon descended the stairs together.
Ayla was wearing a red strapless gown, which had initially dazzled the crowd. But compared to Sharon's white dress, Ayla's outfit seemed overly garish and even a bit vulgar.
Noticing the guests' lingering gazes on her and Sharon, Ayla almost faltered her smile.
"Ms. Roach, I have some matters to attend to, so I'll leave you now."
Sharon smiled, "Alright, Ms. Bridges, you go ahead."
After Ayla left, Sophie quickly approached.
"Sharon, I heard about what happened earlier. I'm sorry. If I had been with you, this wouldn't have happened," Sophie said, concerned.
Seeing the guilt in Sophie's eyes, Sharon smiled, "Sophie, it's not your fault."
Ayla would have found a way to embarrass her regardless of whether Sophie was there.
What puzzled Sharon was why Ayla, whom she had just met today, would harbor such hostility over a dress, even risking ruining her grandfather's birthday party to get at her.
Sophie frowned, "But that servant was definitely instructed by someone. After the party, you should call the police."
Sharon nodded, "Alright, I will."
Seeing that Sharon understood, Sophie didn't say more but looked at her dress hesitantly.
She wondered where Ayla had dug up such an outdated dress for Sharon. If it were anyone else, Ayla might have succeeded in outshining them.
After a moment of hesitation, Sophie whispered, "When I went out for some air earlier, I saw Ayla with Grace. I don't know what they were talking about, but be careful of Ayla."
If Grace had said something to Ayla, then this whole situation made sense.
Five years had passed since Sharon's near-drowning incident, and Seb had made Grace pay for it, so Sharon hadn't planned to pursue it further.
But if Grace insisted on avenging the past, Sharon wouldn't hold back.
"Sophie, I understand. Thank you."
"No need for thanks between us!"
Sharon and Sophie changed the subject and started talking about other things.
After leaving the hall, Ayla was heading towards the back garden when a hand suddenly reached out and pulled her into a nearby rockery.
Startled, Ayla was about to scream when she saw it was Leo and frowned.
"Leo, why didn't you say anything? You scared me!" Ayla patted her chest to calm her heartbeat, looking at Leo with a mix of annoyance and affection.
Leo looked at her indifferently. "Why did you have Briana confront Sharon?"
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