Chapter 174: Acting
As soon as she walked into the living room, she felt the mocking stares from the guests. But with Felix by her side, they held back a bit.
Gianna stayed calm, showing no emotion.
Seeing Felix, Julian quickly brought Lauren over to greet him.
"Felix, I didn't expect you to come tonight! It's an honor!" Julian said.
Gianna was surprised by Julian's hypocrisy.
Felix chatted with Julian about the Clinton Group and Redstone Group's cooperation.
Gianna wasn't interested in what they were discussing, so she told Felix she would head to the dessert area.
She was surprised to see the desserts she liked. 'Why did Lauren change?' she thought.
Just as she picked up a piece of fresh milk pudding, a mocking voice came from behind.
"Only certain people can eat food obtained through threats!"
Gianna turned and saw an unfamiliar socialite. She cocked an eyebrows, asking, "Were you talking to me?"
The socialite sneered, "Is there anyone else here?"
The woman's disdain left Gianna baffled. She planned to ignore her, but the woman got angrier.
"Hey, Gianna! Are you admitting to the disgraceful things you've done?"
Gianna frowned, "What disgraceful things?"
The woman hesitated, then said, "Everyone knows you threatened Lauren to prepare only the desserts you like for this birthday, or you wouldn't come. Stealing Bella's parents' affection from her is ridiculous!"
Gianna remembered. This socialite had a frail sister raised in the countryside, often neglected in favor of the elder sister.
'Is this woman empathizing with Bella?' she thought.
Gianna smiled, "This has nothing to do with you."
The woman sneered, "Everyone knows what you did. If you can still eat, you're shameless!"
Gianna took a bite of the pudding, "Why wouldn't I eat? If you believe such nonsense, I question your intelligence."
Gianna turned to leave, but the woman blocked her way.
"Stop! Everyone knows Bella loves chocolate desserts, but there isn't a single chocolate dessert here. Isn't that because you threatened Bella?!"
Bella's voice came from the side.
"Miss Morgan, stop. Today is also Gianna's birthday. Preparing what she likes is the same as preparing what I like. Gianna didn't know I was allergic to vanilla. If she knew, she wouldn't have let Lauren prepare vanilla cake."
Bella stood there, looking innocent and kind, pushing Gianna into controversy.
Miss Morgan got even more agitated, pointing at Gianna angrily, "Gianna, how could you be so vicious?!"
Gianna shot her a cold look, too lazy to argue with someone clueless, and turned to Bella, "I didn't know you were allergic to vanilla, but even if I did, I wouldn't care. You mean nothing to me, so why should I bother about your allergies?"
Bella's face went pale, looking at Gianna with a sorrowful expression, "Gianna, I thought you came to the party to mend our relationship."
Gianna smirked. "What relationship? I came to see if Lauren would really make a vanilla cake."
Seeing Bella's distressed look, Gianna continued, "But she didn't disappoint. If I came, I'd be accused of competing with you for our parents' affection. If I didn't, I'd be called unfilial. Quite a scheme."
Bella looked shocked, "Gianna, how can you say that? Lauren genuinely wants to fix our relationship. She had the kitchen prepare your favorite foods. How can you see that as malicious?"
Gianna's aggressive stance and Bella's innocent demeanor quickly swayed the crowd to Bella's side, and their looks towards Gianna turned disapproving.
"Now I get why the Redstone family doesn't like Gianna. She twists everyone's kindness into schemes. With such a heavy mind of vigilance, who could ever like her?"
"If you ask me, the Redstone family should have just gotten rid of her at birth. It would have saved us from this eyesore now!"
"I really feel for Bella. Ever since Gianna came back, everything has to cater to her ego. If I were Bella, I'd be suffocated!"
Hearing everyone siding with her, Bella lowered her eyes, hiding a victorious smile. As long as she played the victim, she could turn Gianna into the villain, making everyone criticize her. With this alone, Gianna could never win against her!
Gianna's expression remained unchanged, looking at Bella with a faint smile.
Gianna said, "Your acting has really improved. You've even learned to garner sympathy."
Bella stiffened, biting her lower lip, looking at Gianna with a wronged expression, "Gianna, what do you mean by that?"
"Don't you know exactly what I mean? Bella, Julian and Lauren brought me back not out of guilt for losing me, but because you needed a bone marrow transplant! Since I returned, except for today, which of your birthdays hasn't been a grand affair? You've always been the princess, while I was just the ugly duckling hiding in the corner without even a new dress. This year, they prepared my favorite foods and insisted I come back only because they didn't want to offend Felix. But I didn't expect Lauren and you to use this to slander me, painting me as a scheming girl vying for our parents' affection!"
As Gianna spoke, Bella's eyes filled with shock and disbelief, her lips trembling uncontrollably. Bella felt that Gianna's purpose wasn't just to say these words.
"Stop it... Gianna, I'll apologize, okay? I was wrong..." As she spoke, Bella quickly signaled to a nearby servant to take Gianna away.
However, as the servant approached Gianna and was about to touch her, a cold voice rang out.
"I dare anyone to touch her!"
