Hanging up the phone, Wendy Sterling cast a smug glance toward the fitting room.
This time, Chloe Austin would be skinned alive.
Infidelity during marriage would surely mean she’d be kicked out without a penny, and then Wendy could claim all those assets for herself.
Just as she was daydreaming, Chloe walked out, holding up the hem of her dress.
A regal expression graced her near-perfect face, her collarbones faintly visible.
The white gown she wore accentuated her incredibly slender waist.
“Chloe, you look absolutely stunning in this dress,” Jensen Austin praised without holding back.
Wendy had just opened her mouth to speak when two security guards grabbed her arms and began dragging her out.
“Miss, someone complained that you were causing a disturbance.
Please cooperate and leave the premises,” one of them said.
Wendy struggled against their grip, shouting, “What do you mean?
I’m a paying customer!”
The guards looked at Jensen with complicated expressions.
“President Austin…” This woman was acting like a banshee, and she was surprisingly strong!
Jensen merely looked down at her with disdain.
“Throw her out.
I don’t need customers like her.”
Shocked, Wendy turned her head.
Before she could even react, she was tossed out the front doors of the mall.
Now, Wendy’s face was flushed red with humiliation.
The moment she scrambled up from the ground, she saw Chloe standing on higher ground, her arm linked with Jensen’s.
Chloe was looking down at her, a faint, mocking smile playing on her lips.
If it weren’t for Chloe, she wouldn’t have made such a fool of herself today!
She blamed Chloe for everything that had just gone wrong.
Back inside, the security guards stood ramrod straight, terrified that President Austin might fire them over the incident.
“Your timing was perfect,” Chloe said, instantly saving them from their predicament.
“Well done.
You’re both getting a raise,” Jensen said.
He then turned to Chloe with a smile.
“Our family holds shares in this mall, and this particular boutique happens to be a subsidiary brand under our company.
So, you see, being powerful in our own right has its perks, doesn’t it?”
He was constantly reminding Chloe, terrified that she might turn around and plunge right back into the abyss that was the Morgan family.
Chloe sighed softly in her heart before heading back into the fitting room to change out of the dress.
“My little sister looks incredibly elegant in this gown,” Jensen continued.
“It was designed specifically for you; it’s the only one of its kind.
Mom and Dad know you’re coming home, and they’re planning to throw you a grand birthday banquet.”
Hearing this, Chloe felt a lump form in her throat.
She hadn’t expected her family to still dote on her so much after she had been away for so long.
Yet, an inexplicable emotion clouded her heart, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was.
Jensen stepped forward and gave Chloe’s cheek a gentle tug.
“Alright, you little crybaby.
Let’s get ready to head back.
Mom and Dad are waiting for you.”
Meanwhile, Wendy watched this entire scene with a twisted expression.
Raising her phone, she snapped a photo and sent it directly to Caden Sterling.
It was already midnight by the time Chloe flew back to Ardendale.
Hearing the sound of the car, Mark Austin and Winona Hayes hurried to the front door, greeting Chloe with warm smiles.
“Chloe, from now on, just stay home and keep your mother and me company.
You can never leave again!” Mark said.
Winona’s eyes welled with tears as she gently swatted Mark’s arm.
“Our child just got home.
Don’t say things that will put so much pressure on her!”
Looking at her father’s graying temples and her mother’s somewhat haggard face, Chloe couldn’t hold back any longer.
“Dad, Mom…
I’m so sorry.
I made you worry so much.”
Mark rubbed her head affectionately.
“Silly girl, what are you crying for?
It’s good that you’re home.
You will always be our family’s precious treasure.”
“But I haven’t been by your side all these years.
I feel like I owe you both so much.”
Mark sighed inwardly, feeling a mix of heartache and anger over her past decisions.
“It’s all in the past now.
Just don’t be so foolish from now on.”
Back then, Chloe had been so opinionated; once she made a decision, no one could change her mind.
They had thought that since the Morgans were also a prominent family, they would dote on her once she married over, especially since she had been raised in the lap of luxury by the Austins.
Who knew she would be treated worse than a servant there?
How could a daughter of the Austin family be allowed to be bullied by others?
Mark silently made up his mind right then and there.
“Okay!
Mom, Dad, I missed you both to death!” Chloe said playfully, steering the conversation to lighter topics.
On the day of her birthday, the Austin family estate was incredibly lively.
Wealthy elites and aristocrats had all gathered at the Austin villa.
Some had even flown back from abroad, and quite a few had brought their sons along to the banquet.
They had long heard that the Austin family’s daughter was exceptionally outstanding, though she had never been publicly flaunted.
“President Sterling, are wedding bells ringing for you soon?”
“What a gorgeous couple!
A match made in heaven.
I’m sure you two will have a beautiful baby in the future.”
Hearing those words, Chloe instinctively touched her own stomach.
She stood on the balcony, coldly watching Caden Sterling and Vivian Sullivan.
From the moment they arrived, they had been continuously showered with flattery.
Vivian was being praised to the heavens, her face flushed with coy shyness.
Right now, she was the publicly acknowledged Mrs.
Sterling.
As for Chloe?
She could just bow out of the picture.
A barely perceptible flash of ruthlessness crossed the depths of Vivian’s eyes, but she quickly reverted to her innocent, harmless little lamb persona, basking in everyone’s praises.
Taking in the scene, Chloe’s red lips curled up slightly.
Wearing a nonchalant smile, she turned and headed downstairs.
Suddenly, the grand hall dimmed, and a dazzling white spotlight shone on a woman.
She descended the stairs slowly, the train of her white gown trailing behind her.
Her fair legs were faintly visible through the fabric, and the dress accentuated her stunningly slim waist.
Paired with her elegant, aloof makeup, she gradually came into everyone’s view.
“Bro!
Bro!
Is that Chloe Austin?!”