Thinking about it, Emily felt even more indignant and resentful.
Because of this, her face turned cold instantly, and she said sarcastically, "I advise all you ladies to better not get to know that woman. She is not any Mrs. Mercer, just a mistress kept by Mr. Mercer."
As soon as she said this, the ladies surrounding her were stunned.
Emily didn't care and walked towards Deanna.
She would not allow Deanna to be more pleased with herself than she was.
However, as she approached, she heard many people praising Deanna.
"Mrs. Mercer and Mr. Mercer really make a handsome couple, so enviable."
"Indeed, I've never seen Mr. Mercer so gentle."
"Truly, outstanding people always attract each other."
Hearing these comments, Emily smirked sarcastically and suddenly raised her voice, "Mr. Mercer is indeed outstanding, but his choice in people is terribly poor."
With these words, the previously lively scene fell silent instantly.
Everyone was shocked and turned to look at Emily, curious about the kind of person who would speak like this.
Deanna and Lance also saw Emily approaching, their expressions slightly darkened.
"What are you doing here?" Deanna demanded.
Emily raised an eyebrow and retorted, "What, you can be here and I can't?"
Saying this, her gaze swept over Lance. Remembering the past grievances Lance had caused her, her hatred surged and she couldn't help but mock loudly, "I never thought that the high and mighty Mr. Mercer would fancy playing stepfather to two bastards. What an eye-opener for me."
Almost immediately after these words were spoken, the crowd erupted.
"What did she mean by playing stepfather?" Could it mean what I think it means?"
"I see Mr. Mercer and Mrs. Mercer looking upset; maybe what that woman said was true."
The crowd murmured among themselves, casting strange glances at Deanna.
Even some high-society ladies showed angry expressions.
After all, they had previously flattered Mrs. Mercer to get closer to Mr. Mercer.
It turned out that this woman was promiscuous, which disgusted them immensely.
Seeing the change in attitude towards Deanna among the people around her, Emily felt a surge of satisfaction.
She looked triumphantly at Deanna and continued to the crowd, "What you don't know is that the woman standing beside Mr. Mercer was once our Jones family's young mistress."
With this revelation, the puzzled crowd suddenly understood.
Since Deanna was not a big celebrity and rarely active in social circles, even if there had been past scandals, people had almost forgotten about her.
"So it's that woman."
"Mr. Mercer's choice..."
Although the rest of the sentence was not spoken aloud, everyone knew what it implied. They looked oddly at Lance and then cast disdainful glances at Deanna.
At this moment, the two children also realized what was happening.
"Don't bully our mommy!"
They angrily charged at Emily.
Emily had long disliked these two brats and seeing them rush at her now, she unceremoniously pushed them away.
Being just children, they didn't have Emily's strength and were pushed to the ground.
"Gregory, Chloe!"
Deanna cried out in alarm and hurried to help the two little ones up.
As the children stood up, she raised her head angrily and gritted her teeth, "Emily, you've gone too far!"
"How have I gone too far? It was your children who hit me first. Truly, like mother like child, no manners at all."
Emily sneered coldly, looking mockingly at Deanna.
However, as soon as she finished speaking, a sharp pain spread from her stomach and she was sent flying to the ground.
Gasps of shock rang out around her.
Lance stood beside Deanna, his body radiating a murderous aura as he glared at Emily on the ground.
Clearly, he had been the one to act.
"Who gave you the audacity to insult my fiancée and lay hands on my children?"
Lance glared down at Emily from his height, his dark eyes looking as if they were staring at a dead person.
Emily clutched her stomach and struggled to stand up, defiantly saying to Lance, "What? The great Mr. Mercer can't handle the truth? You should know that the incident from five years ago is well known by many. Deanna was promiscuous, got pregnant before marriage, and even caused her own mother's death."
As these words fell, many in the crowd quietly agreed.
"I know about this too; I was there at the time."
"I was there too; it was quite a scandal back then."
"Mr. Mercer usually has such sharp business acumen; how could he fail so miserably in choosing women?"
Hearing her own reputation being dragged down with Lance's, Deanna was furious.
She glared back fiercely and bit out, "Emily, stop causing trouble here. We both know very well what really happened back then."