Chapter 35 - Snagged a sugar daddy

Chapter 35 - Snagged a sugar daddy
~Harriet~

The moment my name left my lips, a ripple of murmurs spread through the crowd. Harriet. Not Kylie’s shadow, not the forgotten daughter. Standing beside Rael Morgan, dressed in a gown that outshone every other woman in the room–including my half-sister.

Mr. Beaumont’s grip on my hand tightened slightly, his sharp eyes flickering with recognition.

“Ah, Harriet…Anderson,” He emphasized my last name, and I could practically hear Kylie’s teeth grinding from across the room. I could guess how my name had spread, after all, I was the second daughter of Mr Anderson who kissed her sister's fiancé openly.

“Yes,” I replied smoothly, withdrawing my hand gracefully.

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Beaumont.”

Rael’s presence beside me was like a silent storm—unreadable, yet commanding. He didn’t speak, but his mere aura ensured no one dared disrespect me.

Then, like a viper slithering through the crowd, Kylie appeared, her sickly-sweet smile plastered on her face. “Harriet,” she cooed, her voice dripping with false warmth.

“I didn’t expect to see you here.”

I tilted my head, letting the chandelier’s light catch the silver pins in my hair.

“Funny. I could say the same about you.” My gaze flickered pointedly to the older man beside her—Mr Whitlock, a known associate of my father’s. Her date for the evening.

Kylie’s smile faltered for a fraction of a second before she recovered.

“You look… different.” Her eyes raked over my dress, the slit, the way the fabric clung to my curves.

“I do, don’t I?” I mused, swirling the champagne flute a server had handed me.

“It’s amazing what happens when I stop wearing your hand-me-downs.”

A muscle in her jaw twitched.

“I'll be handling some work,” Rael muttered to me, making me nod, and I watched as his back disappeared in the crowd. And then I finally turned to Kylie.

“I have things to do as well.” I muttered, my gaze moving to rest on her clenched fingers. Just then, I caught sight of the two people walking over–my father, as well as his mistress, Miranda.

On seeing the smile on my father's lips as he approached me, I could immediately tell what he was thinking.

“Harriet, Child. The last time was a mistake on my end. Why don't you return home?” He asked, his eyes shining with greed, and I could only smile.

“I'm perfectly fine without returning home,” I stated, wanting to walk away, but Miranda stopped me.

“You should be lucky we're calling you back. Don't be ungrateful and return with us!”

I turned, not missing the glare my father cast at her. They must have said something before approaching me. If not, never would I have expected Miranda to want me back home. For as long as I could remember, she had always wanted my father to kick me out of the house. Now that it happened, how could she ask me to return?

I smiled.

“No, thanks,” I declined.

“You–” my father started, but I'd already lost interest in listening to them.

I went to the restroom to touch up my lipgloss. Just as I finished, and was about to return to the banquet hall, the door was pushed open. Kylie walked in, her gaze dark, completely undisguised.

She stared at me as though to swallow me.

“You–why are you with Rael?” She asked, her gaze darting all over my body. My expensive dress, my shoes, my jewelry –she had never had belongings this expensive, yet I had worn them just one night.

I smiled on seeing her reaction.

“Isn't it obvious why I'm with him? I'm his companion,” I calmly said, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. My smile had not fallen as I stared at her.

“He couldn't have asked you, you must have forced yourself on him,” Kylie said, refusing to believe the reality that the man she had been about to marry was now with me. Fuck! The look on her face was everything. I'd waited weeks for this reaction.

I licked my teeth before smiling at her.

“On the contrary, he had asked me to be his companion. Amazing, isn't it?” I asked, not waiting for her answer before walking past her. She grabbed me by the arm, and I turned, flashing her a deathly stare that made her shiver before letting me go.

“And in case you're wondering who the woman who Rael had been cheating on you with, wonder no more. She's right in front of you, sister,” I leaned in close, muttering in her ear. Her eyes widened, and I caught the obvious dampness in the corner of her eyes. This was just the beginning. Stealing Rael Morgan from her still couldn't amount to what I felt when she'd sent those men to have their way with me. It was only the beginning.

My lips twisted into something sinister as I left the rest room.

I'd just walked into the banquet hall when someone walked over to me, yet I completely ignored them.

“Looks like the rumor about you snagging a rich sugar daddy is true, he even had to be your sister's fiancé,” I heard the familiar voice say, and it wasn't until I turned before I met the person's gaze–Malfoy. He was equally dressed extravagantly in a tuxedo, yet no matter how handsome he was or how many girls at school crushed on him, he simply could not compare to a certain someone in my eyes.

I ignored him, picking up another champagne flute from the tray of a passing waiter and taking it to my lips. I took a sip before my eyes moved to stare at Malfoy again.

“Perhaps rumors had indeed been right. Isn't my sugar daddy quite capable? And how could I not admit how good he is in bed,” I muttered, my lips curling up.

“You're shameless!” Malfoy said, shaking his head, yet there seemed to be no hint of his usual bully nature.

My gaze scanned the room, eventually falling onto a pair of eyes. My heart skipped a beat. It was as though he'd heard me just now.