Chapter 114
Emily Windsor's POV
I kept my eyes lowered, using my long lashes to conceal every emotion beneath them.
Lawrence, enjoy your little victory while it lasts. You'll soon discover that even a caged canary's beak can pierce through the strongest prison.
Finally, the day of the Lowe family dinner party arrived.
Early in the morning, several servants roused me from bed.
Immediately after, an entire top-tier styling team filed into the room, pinning me down in front of the vanity.
Cold makeup brushes traveled across my face, expensive perfume was spritzed on my wrists, and a hand-sewn black mermaid gown was presented before me. The hem was adorned with tiny black diamonds that glittered with a cold, luxurious sheen under the lights.
Like a soulless puppet, I let them manipulate me as they pleased.
The woman in the mirror had delicate features, empty eyes, blood-red lips—beautiful as a lifeless corpse without warmth.
Lawrence leaned against the doorframe, wine glass in hand, leisurely admiring his "masterpiece."
"Gorgeous." He walked behind me, his cold fingertips resting on my shoulder. Through the mirror, he locked eyes with me. "Tonight, you'll be the most dazzling woman in the room."
I stared at his smiling face in the reflection. Finally breaking days of silence, I asked in a hoarse voice, "I'm going tonight too?"
"Of course." He leaned down, his warm breath brushing against my earlobe, his tone carrying a domineering certainty. "You're Lawrence's woman. How could such an occasion do without you?"
I tugged at the corner of my mouth, forcing out a cold, mocking smile. "Lawrence, are you trying to get me killed?"
His movements paused. A flash of displeasure crossed his eyes. "What do you mean?"
"The Lowe family dinner party—a den of vipers. How many people want you dead?" I turned to face him, meeting those unfathomably deep eyes directly, enunciating each word clearly. "You're bringing a traitorous woman like me along. Are you worried your target isn't big enough? Want to draw more hatred toward me so they can eliminate me along with you?"
Lawrence seemed genuinely surprised by my words. He froze for a moment, then burst into low laughter that carried a hint of pleased appreciation.
"Emily, you're still so clever." He gripped my chin, his thumb stroking across my vividly painted lips, his gaze flickering with an almost pathological confidence and arrogance.
"Don't worry," he leaned closer, his voice dropping to a volume only we could hear, pronouncing each word like a promise. "As long as you stay by my side, no one will dare touch a hair on your head. Tonight, I'll make everyone see clearly who the future master of the Lowe family is, and whose woman you are."
The moment his words fell, I could almost hear the string called rationality in my heart emit an overloaded hum from unbearable strain.
This elaborate dress was my armor. This exquisite makeup was my mask.
I allowed him to lead me out of the villa and stuff me into that flashy sports car, my heart frozen in deathly silence.
Before departure, the villa's heavy carved door swung open once more.
Anna click-clacked in on silver heels, swaying her hips as she entered. Today she wore a fire-red backless gown, like a burning flame forming a stark contrast to my cold, dark ensemble.
When she saw me, her smile stiffened momentarily. Those carefully lined eyes flashed with undisguised jealousy before she expertly concealed it.
"Emily, you look absolutely stunning today." She approached warmly, naturally linking her arm through mine, pressing her whole body intimately against me as if we were long-time close friends. "Lawrence has such good taste. This dress is perfect on you."
Her warm body pressed tightly against mine, but her fingertips traced coldly across my arm with barely perceptible warning pressure.
Lawrence's gaze instantly sharpened with vigilance, like a beast guarding its food. He swept a cold look over Anna's arm linked with mine, his eyes flashing with something ominous.
Anna seemed to sense that chill. Her body stiffened imperceptibly, but her face maintained that innocent, sugary smile. "Lawrence, don't we look like sisters standing together? Tonight at the dinner, I'm going to stick close to my big sister and protect her."
Lawrence's scrutinizing gaze swept back and forth between us. Seeing my calm expression without any hint of repulsion, the wariness in his eyes gradually dispersed, replaced by the contempt one might have watching pets play.
In his view, these little games between women were harmless—even rather entertaining.
"Let's go." He ignored Anna, simply wrapping his arm around my waist and steering me toward the door.
Taking advantage of Lawrence turning away, I lowered my voice to a volume only we could hear and asked quickly, "What's your plan?"
Anna kept her arm linked with mine, walking forward without looking sideways, a triumphant curve playing at her lips. Her voice was equally suppressed: "What's the rush? Just sit back and enjoy the show."
The Lowe family estate blazed with lights, luxurious as a medieval palace.
The air was thick with the decadent scent of champagne and cigars. Behind every smiling face lurked invisible daggers and swords.
Lawrence's arm was like an invisible shackle, tightly clamped around my waist as he led me through those hypocritical smiles. I could feel countless sticky gazes landing on me—some contemptuous, some probing, but most carrying undisguised hostility.
I was Lawrence's brazenly erected target, his trophy used to announce his rebellion to the entire family.
"Lawrence! So you do remember to come back!" An elderly man leaning on a cane blocked our path, naturally commanding respect. Several Lowe family elders with unfriendly expressions stood behind him.
"Grand-uncle." The smile on Lawrence's face faded slightly, though his tone remained that same devil-may-care drawl.
The elder's cloudy eyes glared viciously at me, as if I were some mortal enemy. He barked at Lawrence: "Look what you've dragged back here! A treacherous woman who got her own husband killed! You've made the Lowe family a complete laughingstock! Come with me to the study immediately. Your grandfather has questions for you!"
Lawrence's expression darkened, but he ultimately didn't make a scene.
He released me, leaning down to my ear with a possessive warning tone: "Wait here for me. Don't go anywhere."
He followed those elders away, leaving Anna and me isolated in a corner of the banquet hall.
The whispers around us immediately grew louder, and those gazes became even more unbridled.
"Look at her acting like she's already the future lady of the Lowe household."
"Just a social climber who got ahead by latching onto a man. Her day of reckoning will come soon enough."