Perfect victim

Perfect victim
Paulina took a while to notice the man who approached Nathaniel, and when she did, she was surprised to find the person she thought it would be difficult to see again, especially in a completely different environment from the previous times. Tony wore the same weird smile as a few days ago, dressed in all black like one of the event staff, and accompanied by a white-furred dog, his blue eyes slowly scanning the face of each person at the table.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen!" he greeted them with false kindness. "It's a pleasure to have you here tonight."
"You... we've met before," Nathaniel narrowed his eyes.
"We had an interesting conversation at a bar after your date with her," Tony Marshall said, turning to Paulina and making her the center of attention. "Did you two get back together?" Before Paulina or Nathaniel could answer, Tony looked at Cherry and exclaimed theatrically, "You're here too? Did everyone make up in the end?" He looked benevolently at Paulina again. "Don't be fooled. Nathaniel was really upset about hurting both of you by listening to the advice to cheat on you."
"Are you crazy?" Isabele asked, pushing back a thick strand of straight golden hair behind her ear. "You're not making any sense, dude."
Like the blonde and the other two women with them, Paulina didn't fully understand Tony's statement. Somehow, he knew about her, Nathaniel, and Cherry, but what did he mean by "advice to cheat on her"?
The fact that her stalker knew Nathaniel left Paulina disoriented. Everything that came out of his mouth only added to the confusion, but more surprises were in store.
"What a pleasure to have you at my party, darling!"
Liquid ice ran down Paulina's spine, paralyzing every nerve, muscle, and limb in her body. Her wide eyes filled with pure horror searched for the source of the voice that haunted her nightmares until they landed on the man behind Tamara, dressed in all white, his hands, whose memories disgusted her, resting on his ex-wife's shoulders. Saadi also seemed uncomfortable with the unexpected presence and showed it by moving away from Pierre Franklin Renoir's touch, standing up, and putting the chair between them.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Tamara asked, visibly nervous.
"I already told you, darling..." Pierre replied with a contemptuous smile. "I planned the event."
"Seriously, Pierre? For victims of violence?" Tamara let out a bitter laugh, her expression shocking the other women as she ranted uncontrollably. "And what's going to be the main attraction, a rib-breaking performance? Oh no! A sermon on how it's the woman's fault and how sorry and in love he is, complete with damn flowers that can barely be seen through swollen and sore eyes."
"Wait and see, Tamara." A cruel smile formed on his lips.
Astounded, Paulina watched as Saadi picked up her purse and tried to leave, throwing the metallic object in Pierre's face when he tried to grab her. She would have hit him much more if Tony hadn't put himself between them.
The people at the surrounding tables began murmuring and reproaching, their eyes fixed on the unfolding scene.
"I've missed this fierce and combative version of you, Tamara," Pierre commented, rubbing the red mark on his face, still sporting his evil smile. "I get hard just thinking about how wild we can be."
"If you touch me again, I'll kill you!" she threatened, her eyes filled with tears that Paulina realized were not of sadness, but of pain and anger. "Once and for all, Pierre: even if you were the last man in the universe, I wouldn't go back to you."
Simon and Gabriel arrived at that moment. Saadi wrapped his arm around his sister's waist. Mimicking Tamara, Paulina, Isabele, and Cherry grabbed their bags and stood by the Saadis, ready to leave.
"Relax, relax! Don't hurry before the time," Pierre pleaded. "The real reason for gathering you, Tamara, is not you," he explained, giving Paulina a look that made her tremble and seek refuge in Simon's arms. "It's her. Perez looks stunning, I'm beginning to understand Salvatore."
"Let's go!" Simon encouraged the group, rubbing Perez's arm to calm her down.
"Wait a minute, my friend..."
"We're not friends and we never will be," the dark-haired man shouted.
"Oh, don't say that!" Pierre said, enjoying the chaos he caused. "It would be a shame for you to leave before Paulina tells us what it's like to be with Salvatore, knowing he sent Nathaniel to screw someone else."
Pierre's hurtful words made Paulina look at Simon, realizing he was clenching his lips tightly.
"You must be the chosen woman," Pierre asked, probably referring to Cherry. "It was clever to use the pregnancy ploy, my dear."
"Watch how you speak to my friend!" Isabele warned, outraged.
"Of course they're friends, scammers always travel in packs," Pierre sneered, infuriating Albuquerque who cursed at him without caring about the audience.
Isabele intended to fight with Pierre, but she was held back by Gabriel and Tamara. Everyone continued to watch and speculate about the situation, with some even taking out their phones to document the scene with the intention of posting it on social media at the first opportunity.
However, Paulina didn't care about the argument, the people watching, or even Pierre's fear anymore; her eyes were fixed on Simon's face. Renoir's words echoed Tony's, but she didn't want to believe such nonsense, she couldn't believe it.
"Simon, is what he said true?" The Salvatore took a deep breath.
"It wasn't quite like that..."
"Is it true?" Paulina broke free from his arms eagerly, her abrupt movement attracting Pierre's attention back to them. All the suffering she had gone through since Nathaniel confessed to the affair ran through her mind, as did all the advice and support Salvatore had given her to change and win back Muller. She refused to accept that he had contributed to her pain, that he had been so petty and heartless as to throw Nathaniel into Cherry's arms while insinuating that it was her fault, that his behavior had caused her ex-fiancé's slip-up.
"Oh, you didn't know?" lamented the grey-haired man with feigned regret. "Ask Muller if he has any doubts."
"Is it true?" she repeated with a choked voice, desperately searching Nathaniel's blue eyes for the answer. He averted his gaze with embarrassment, his silence being more eloquent than any words.
"Oh, darling, he just wanted some sex," Pierre cruelly commented. "A hot and easy maid like you is the perfect victim."