Chapter 88

When the two of them saw Margaret together, Stella knew there was no way to avoid it, so she curved her lips into a sweet smile and took the initiative to greet Margaret.

"Margaret, what a coincidence! I didn't expect to see you at the mall. Since you're here, why don't you help me pick out a wedding dress? I'm going to wear it for my wedding with Howard. There are so many dresses here that I'm overwhelmed."

Margaret couldn't help but roll her eyes at this. She thought Stella was being ridiculous, asking her to help pick out a wedding dress was clearly intentional.

But Stella acted as if she didn't see the unpleasant expression on Margaret's face and continued to hold Howard's arm, looking at her cheerfully.

"This is my first wedding, so I don't know what to prepare. Each of these wedding dresses has its own unique features, and I really can't decide. And since Howard is a guy, I hope you can help me out, since we're all girls here."

Margaret couldn't help but smirk at Stella's insincere words, but with Tenley standing next to her, she didn't want to make a scene, so she said, "Didn't you already get engaged? Why are you picking out a wedding dress now?"

"I want to wear something a little different at the wedding."

A little different?

Margaret looked into the bridal shop and, after spotting a dress, pointed to it and said lightly, "How about that one? I think it suits you."

Stella looked over and saw a light pink wedding dress that indeed looked dreamy.

She had actually wanted to try it on earlier, but her skin tone didn't suit that color, and she was afraid the pink dress would make her skin look even duller.

But just as she was about to say she wanted to try it on, she noticed the sales clerk and Tenley beside Margaret stifling their laughter.

She was quite puzzled, so she looked at Howard and asked, "Howard, is there something wrong with this dress? Why is Margaret laughing?"

Howard had no idea what the problem was, so Margaret kindly explained, "This pink wedding dress is the same one that the famous star Flora wore for her second wedding. I think it suits you perfectly, don't you?"

Stella's face turned dark after hearing Margaret's words. She hadn't expected Margaret to embarrass her in such a setting. She was about to lose her temper, but Howard remained silent and showed no intention of standing up for her.

Feeling a bit aggrieved, she looked at Howard, "Howard, I just wanted Margaret to help me pick out a dress. Why is she treating me like this? This is my first wedding, how can it be a second wedding?"

Howard was already uncomfortable running into Margaret here, and now hearing Margaret's sarcastic remark about a second wedding made him want to leave even more. Seeing Stella pouting beside him, he had no desire to comfort her.

He pulled his arm out of her grasp, "If you can't decide today, let's go home first. You can come back another day when you have time."

He didn't criticize Margaret at all and didn't side with Stella, which made Stella even more upset.

After making her sarcastic remark, Margaret happily linked arms with Tenley and left the bridal shop.

As they walked away, Tenley gave her a thumbs up, "You were amazing just now. One casual remark and Stella was speechless. Did you see her face? It was awful."

Although Tenley hadn't had any interactions with Stella before, she knew that Margaret was supposed to marry Howard, and it was Stella's interference that caused the change.

So in Tenley's eyes, Stella was just a homewrecker.

Margaret laughed lightly along with Tenley. Actually, that remark had slipped out before she even realized it.

They continued shopping and picked out a beautiful necklace for Tenley at a jewelry store before deciding to head home.

Tenley asked, "Are you going home by yourself today, or is your husband picking you up?"

Tenley remembered Margaret saying she was waiting for her husband after a previous event, so she thought Leonard might come to pick her up today as well.

But Margaret shook her head, "He's probably busy with work. I'll go home by myself."

Margaret lived quite far from the city center, and it would take about forty minutes by taxi. Since Tenley had driven today, she offered to give Margaret a ride.

"I'll drive you home. I don't have anything else to do today, and I don't feel comfortable letting you go home alone."

Hearing this, Margaret felt a bit helpless, "You don't feel comfortable letting me go home alone, but do you think I feel comfortable letting you drive forty minutes back home alone after dropping me off?"

Her words left Tenley speechless. No matter who drove whom, one of them would end up going home alone, which was indeed a bit of a dilemma.

"Alright, we're all adults here. Going home alone is no big deal. I'll head off now."

With that, Margaret walked briskly towards a taxi, not giving Tenley any time to react. By the time Tenley looked up again, Margaret was already in the taxi.

As soon as she told the driver her destination, her phone rang.

She looked at the caller ID and saw it was John.

John hadn't called her much lately, especially after the incident with Stella and Howard. He seemed to feel guilty towards Margaret and wouldn't call or message her unless it was important.

Seeing his name on the screen, Margaret thought it must be something important, so she answered the call.

"Margaret, are you free today? Come home for dinner, I have something to discuss with you."

The voice on the other end wasn't John's but Layla's, sounding stern and commanding, as if asking Margaret to come home for dinner was a favor to her, without caring whether Margaret was available or not.

Hearing Layla's voice, Margaret felt reluctant to respond and even considered hanging up the phone.

"I'm being discharged today, and your uncle is out buying groceries. He wants you to come home for dinner."