Chapter49 Where Did You Run Off To?
In this "war," Vivienne believed her chance of winning was one hundred percent.
Even though her marriage to Caius was technically nonexistent, with no marriage certificate, the public still believed it was real. Everyone thought their marriage began four years ago, after the interrupted wedding.
Every year on that date, Caius would still wear the diamond ring she had custom-made. He would show up at the Knight family’s anniversary event. He often stayed for only five minutes. But that was enough.
Just those five minutes allowed the Knight family to buy headlines and brag about their connection to the powerful man.
And Linnea?
A down-on-her-luck stripper. Her money, status, and dignity had long been crushed under Vivienne's heel. What more could this bitch possibly use to compete with her?
"How dare you let a poor, shabby stripper into a high-end jewelry store? If she steals something, you couldn't pay it back even if you sold yourselves in a bar!"Vivienne said.
The clerks mumbled, "But this miss, she..."
Vivienne ignored their faint protests.
Her venomous gaze fixed on Linnea.
Linnea looked panicked, trembling all over, "accidentally" revealing a jewelry box hidden in her sleeve. My god, was that the piece by Ms. Selah that Vivienne had tried so hard to get but couldn't?
"You stripper, you actually dared to steal something? Security? Please arrest her."
"I didn't steal anything... this is mine!"
But she seemed overly frightened. Her hands shook so badly that Vivienne easily snatched the "stolen goods" from her.
Vivienne held the item up high, chin raised, as if she had performed a righteous deed. "Where is your manager? Why isn't he here yet?"
But no one moved. The clerks stared at her with stiff expressions.
Vivienne finally sensed something was wrong. She instinctively looked back at Linnea.
Linnea smiled at her.
That damn look of arrogance again... Vivienne clenched her back teeth in hatred. She truly wanted to rip that bitch's face off!
Just then, the jewelry store manager arrived, shouting dramatically:
"My god, is this a public robbery? I should call the police immediately!"
"Of course, it's a robbery..."
"...Wait, why are you looking at me?"
"Because you stole from our most important guest. The item you're holding is the pure gold bracelet she just picked up from us!"
Meeting the manager's cautious and disdainful eyes, Vivienne was stunned. "How is that possible? Her? A cheap stripper..."
"Please respect my guest!"
"You dare shout at me?" Vivienne couldn't believe a mere jewelry store manager would show her disrespect. "Do you know I belong to the Knight family? I could shut down your entire store with a snap of my fingers..."
"The Knight family? Fine."
The general manager made a ten-second phone call, hung up, and instructed everyone:
"Effective immediately, as per our boss's orders, all our brand's stores will no longer serve members of the Knight family."
"Why?"
Ignoring her, the general manager sincerely apologized to Linnea. "The boss told us to take care of you, but we let a shrew harass you. I'm truly sorry. Please accept that bracelet as a gift. It's a rare, hard-to-book piece..."
Linnea didn't expect Soren owned such a huge enterprise.
But Linnea still politely declined. After refusing, she held out her hand to Vivienne, smiling calmly, a stark contrast to Vivienne's frantic expression. "Give it back to me."
Vivienne gritted her teeth and threw the jewelry box back. "Who knows which rich old man you've hooked up with!"
"Alright, Vivienne, don't be so rash." Linnea maintained her graceful smile despite this baseless "insult." She glanced at the plain jewelry box in Vivienne's other hand. "This is your wedding anniversary diamond ring, right? Congrats on another happy year with Caius. By the way, I just heard you really wanted a jewelry box designed by Ms. Selah?"
"None of your business!"
"Oh, no, it's not my business, of course," Linnea chuckled. "I just want to remind you that Ms. Selah is known for understated, luxurious aristocratic style. The diamond ring you chose is a bit too gaudy and common, it doesn't quite match Ms. Selah's design style... it's more like something a rich slob would like."
"What do you mean?"
"I don't mean anything. I was just thinking, Caius has the best styling team. Since your fashion sense is so terrible, why don't you ask for their help? You don't want to? Or are you not even qualified to contact them?"
"I hear there's a new woman around Caius. She casually got a $10 million amethyst necklace."
"And you? You can't even get the box. How ironic."
"Linnea... you dare insult me!"
"Yes, I'm insulting you."
As Vivienne's eyes completely shattered, Linnea finally showed a victorious smile:
"I'm warning you—you wicked, foolish illegitimate bitch, stop obsessing over things you don't deserve. It makes you look like a joke!"
Vivienne furiously lunged forward, but a security guard grabbed her and pushed her toward the exit. Vivienne's bodyguards rushed in to intervene. The shoving reached the doorway, and the scene became chaotic.
But her movements abruptly stopped when she caught sight of the luxury car on the street.
That car... was it Caius? Why was he here? No, Linnea was still here. If Caius found out this was his former fiancée, it would cause a lot of trouble!
But when a panicked Vivienne looked back, Linnea was nowhere to be seen.
The employees had also dispersed. Vivienne walked alone toward the daunting man, nervously tucking the diamond ring box into her pocket, afraid Caius would witness the humiliating fact that she, a prominent young lady, had been kicked out. "Caius, what are you doing here..."
Caius paid her no attention. "Who was that?"
"Caius, why are you interested in her? She's just a low-class dancer!"
"Did you forget what I told you on our 'wedding' day?" Caius suddenly asked.
Vivienne froze, realizing.
Right, no marriage certificate, no real marriage. Caius could take back the benefits the Knight family gained from this fake relationship at any time. She absolutely couldn't complain like a resentful wife to her "husband."
She didn't dare say another word, only watching helplessly as Caius left.
A few minutes later, a subordinate reported to Caius:
"This jewelry store belongs to Soren, one of the Sterling family heirs. He works as a clinical development manager at Thorne Medical Devices and is the lead person for the upcoming artificial heart project..."
"I don't care about irrelevant things," Caius coldly interrupted. "Just tell me how he hooked up with Linnea."
The subordinate paused.
"...Yes, sir."
On the other side, Linnea managed to recover her mood and headed to the gym.
Soren was wearing a sleeveless, fitted workout top, showing off his well-developed bicep muscles. He greeted her enthusiastically, glancing "unintentionally" at her empty wrist, his smile faltering for a moment. "Why didn't you want it? It was my apology gift..."
"It was too expensive," Linnea smiled apologetically.
Soren looked at her intently for a few seconds. "Fine, I respect your choice."
Leaving Soren for a moment, Linnea went to the locker room to change into suitable workout clothes. Her mind replayed the dangerous moment she was almost caught by Caius while confronting Vivienne, and she sighed in relief.
Just as her nerves relaxed, a ringtone pierced the quiet. Linnea picked up her phone, glanced at it, and couldn't help but curse.
...Just great! Why was Caius trying to video call her now?
Linnea quickly hung up, about to text him an excuse to avoid it.
Caius's message popped up.
[Not taking the video call?]
[Afraid to show me where you are?]
[So... my naughty little kitten, where did you sneak off to run wild this time?]