Chapter 204 Slander Her
Before Cecilia could think deeper about the meaning behind Anna's words, she saw Anna suddenly raise her hand.
Anna's hand holding the wine glass swept through the air in an exaggerated arc.
The crimson liquid traced a glaring trajectory through the air.
But the liquid didn't splash toward Cecilia—instead, it poured entirely onto Anna's own expensive mermaid-style gown.
The rich red color quickly invaded the high-end fabric, the stain spreading rapidly, creating a dirty and jarring sense of destruction under the lights.
In an instant, that originally flawless dress, like a work of art, was ruined.
A sharp scream, piercing enough to burst eardrums, tore through the elegant string music and restrained conversations in the banquet hall.
Anna acted as if seized by tremendous shock, her wrist going limp.
A loud crash.
The crystal glass hit the polished marble floor and shattered into countless fragments, glittering with scattered light under the chandeliers.
The commotion was so loud that the entire venue fell silent in an instant.
The music stopped.
The conversations ceased.
Everyone's eyes, filled with shock and curiosity, focused on this corner.
"Oh my God! Anna, your dress!"
"What happened? What's going on?"
The socialites closest to them were the first to react, lifting their skirts and hurrying over, all talking at once to express their concern.
Anna's face turned pale, her exquisite makeup unable to hide her panic.
Her eyes immediately reddened, her body trembling uncontrollably as she stared in disbelief at the large stain on her dress.
She looked like an innocent victim who had suffered a terrible injustice and been publicly humiliated.
She lifted her head, and those beautiful eyes brimming with tears looked past the layers of people, locking precisely onto Cecilia.
"Ms. Martinez..."
Anna's voice was soft, with an obvious sob, yet it clearly reached the ears of every guest listening nearby.
"I know you're unhappy with me because Stefan brought you to the family dinner."
"But I never wanted to compete with you for anything. How... how could you do this?"
"How could you deliberately ruin my dress in front of so many people? Aren't you deliberately trying to embarrass me?"
In just a few words, she had convicted Cecilia.
The crowd immediately became lively.
Everyone's gaze instantly shifted from Anna, playing the victim, to Cecilia, whom they assumed was the perpetrator.
"Is that her? The woman Mr. Hensley brought tonight?"
"She looks so gentle and refined, who knew she'd use such low and dirty tactics? Is this jealousy?"
"She doesn't even consider what kind of occasion this is!"
"Ms. Clark's dress is the latest haute couture, the only one in the world, custom-made just for her! Can this woman who came out of nowhere afford to pay for it? Even if you sold her, she couldn't afford it!"
Comments flooded in from all directions.
Before Cecilia could respond, Tessa, a middle-aged woman in a dark teal gown, stepped forward.
Tessa was a relative of the Clark family, so naturally she had to stand up for Anna.
Tessa walked up to Cecilia, looking her up and down with a harsh expression, contempt practically overflowing from her eyes.
"Miss, you're quite unfamiliar. I've never seen someone like you in Harmony City's high society circles before."
"No matter what despicable methods you used to latch onto Mr. Hensley, you should at least understand basic etiquette."
"To attack Anna at such an occasion—is this how your parents raised you? Or do you simply have no upbringing at all?"
Another lady immediately chimed in with a shrill voice: "Exactly! This kind of woman is a disgrace to our circle! How could Mr. Hensley possibly be interested in someone like you?"
Cecilia stood quietly in place.
She ignored the noisy insults around her, only watching coldly as Anna played the fragile, innocent victim, protected by the crowd.
So this was what Anna meant by the difference between clouds and mud?
Anna was the princess on cloud nine, adored by everyone. Just one tear, and countless people would rush to feel sorry for her and defend her.
And I, Cecilia, was the mud on the ground.
Whether I did anything wrong or not, these people would naturally step on me, even grind me into the dirt and spit on me.
This was Anna's scheme.
Simple, crude, yet at this moment, extremely effective.
In this social scene where everyone wanted to curry favor with the Clark family and the Hensley family, the truth didn't matter at all.
Taking sides was everything.
"Why aren't you saying anything? Are you guilty? Too afraid to admit it?"
Seeing Cecilia's silence, Tessa became even more aggressive, almost pointing at Cecilia's nose.
"Let me tell you, this isn't over! You must kneel down and apologize to Anna, and then compensate her for the dress!"
"That's right, you must compensate!" someone in the crowd immediately echoed loudly.
"Someone with no class like this should be thrown out of The Hensley Mansion!"
They enjoyed seeing this kind of drama—a common girl latching onto the wealthy only to be harshly kicked out. It would give their dull social lives some exciting gossip.
In the midst of this clamor that threatened to swallow her whole, Cecilia finally spoke.
"Madam, which eye of yours saw me attack her?" Cecilia's steady and clear tone instantly cut through all the noise.
"You say I deliberately ruined this dress. Where's the evidence?"
Tessa was momentarily stumped by Cecilia's calm questioning, then became angry from embarrassment.
"Evidence? Anna's dress is ruined, and you're standing right here—you still dare ask for evidence?"
"Isn't this the evidence? Could Anna have spilled it on herself?"
"Why not?" A faint curve appeared at the corner of Cecilia's mouth, full of cold sarcasm.
Everyone froze.
What kind of answer was that?
Ignoring their bewilderment, Cecilia continued in her unhurried tone to analyze the entire incident.
"Since you say I spilled wine on Anna, then tell me, what did I use to spill it?"
Cecilia raised the champagne glass in her hand, showing it to everyone.
"The champagne in my hand is full."
Then she lifted her chin, indicating the fragments on the floor.
"That broken glass on the ground is Ms. Clark's own. The red wine from it also spilled on her own dress."
"Tell me, is there a third glass at the scene? Or what container did I use to splash liquid onto Anna's dress?"
Tessa's face flushed red as she forced an explanation: "Who knows what methods you used! Maybe, maybe you bumped into Anna and made her spill wine on her own dress! Yes, that must be it!"
"Bumped into her?"
Cecilia's gaze fell on her right arm, covered by a long sleeve, then she looked up at the crowd, her tone taking on a playful edge.
"I'm sorry, but I was injured a few days ago, and my arm is still wrapped in bandages. I've been carefully avoiding crowds while walking to prevent any contact."
Cecilia took a step forward, closing in on Tessa.
"Or are you saying that I used my injured arm to forcefully bump into Ms. Clark, then precisely made the wine in her hand spill entirely on herself, rather than splashing on me or the floor?"
"What kind of high-difficulty maneuver would that require? Would you like to demonstrate it for me yourself?"
"I..." Tessa was left speechless, her face turning pale.
The murmuring in the crowd died down, and some people's gazes toward Cecilia began to change subtly.
Yeah, something seemed off about this.
Seeing the tide turning, Anna cried even harder, tears streaming down her face.
"Ms. Martinez, you're bullying me!"
"Just because you're articulate, you think you can twist the truth? Everyone saw with their own eyes that my dress was ruined because of you."
Anna abandoned reasoning and turned to manipulating public opinion with emotion.
But Cecilia wouldn't give her that chance.
"Twisting the truth?" Cecilia laughed coldly. "I think there's one thing that can best clarify what really happened."
Cecilia looked around, her gaze finally settling on an inconspicuous black hemisphere in a corner of the ceiling near the dessert area.
"Surveillance cameras."