“Michael!” Sharon exclaimed in shock and queried, “What are you doing here?”
“What’s with your response? Am I not allowed to be here?”
Michael had put on a simple yet elegant-looking sage set of outfits for the banquet, but it couldn’t conceal the fact he was a handsome man.
The man, who had an androgynous appearance, had acquired the attention of the women that were around.
“No! Of course not! Are you guys acquainted?” Sharon asked with a peculiar smile, glancing at Michael and Charlotte.
Michael wrapped his arm around Charlotte’s waist and declared, “She’s a childhood friend of mine, and we used to be course mates back in our university days. I guess you can consider me her guardian!”
“I see! It’s just like Zachary and me!” Sharon replied with a bright grin.
Sharon would constantly remind Charlotte of her extraordinary relationship with Zachary.
When Sharon brought up Zachary in front of the duo, Charlotte recalled the deal she had with Zachary—she promised him she would stay away from Michael in the future.
If the Devil is conscious Michael’s here, I think he’s going to lose control over himself again…
Charlotte inched away from Michael and shrugged his hand off her waist when she thought about it.
Michael was taken aback by her action—disappointment was written all over her face.
“Since you’re here to keep Charlotte company, I will leave both of you alone.” Sharon smiled and sashayed in the direction of the crowd.
Ben went after Sharon because he would have to return to Zachary’s side.
Similarly, Lucy went after the departing duo after she glanced at Charlotte.
Charlotte was about to leave, but Michael got ahead of her and stopped her. “Charlotte, we need to talk.”
She shrugged him off and stated in a low voice, “Michael, have you forgotten your promise to stay away from me?”
“E-Er…” Michael’s stiff hand was left hanging around in the middle of the air embarrassedly while his face turned gloomy in disappointment.
“I’m sorry…” Charlotte avoided his gaze and apologized.
After she walked away from Michael, she spotted a familiar silhouette that was a few feet away from her—Zachary peered at her in the eyes while he was surrounded by a few noble-looking corporate players.
They seemed to be in the middle of a conversation. Holding on to his glass of champagne, Zachary would occasionally reply to them, yet he wouldn’t move his eyes away from Charlotte.
As he was aware of her interaction with Michael a short while ago, he cast a stern gaze at her.
Charlotte lowered her head and avoided the man’s gaze, bringing herself to the back of the banquet hall as soon as possible because she had enough of the guests’ odd gazes.
Although she had her sight on the ground, she could feel the onlookers’ attention on her as she marched through the spacious hall.
The guests had one thing in common—a scornful look on their faces. While sizing her up repetitively, they made fun of Charlotte and thought she was another gold digger, with an ulterior goal.
When Charlotte reached the back of the hall, she heard the conversation of a few maids.
“She doesn’t belong here! Look at the ridiculous gown she has put on!”
“I think she’s one of the micro-influencers who’s willing to sacrifice everything and anything as long as she gets to become a member of the upper echelon.”
“You’re right! She must be showing her chest and her thigh to seduce the guests that are around! Otherwise, why would she put on such an exposing outfit?”
“I don’t get it! How did such a country bumpkin manage to earn the right to be invited to such an exclusive banquet?”
“She doesn’t belong to the upper echelon! I wonder who’s the one behind her?”
“I saw her with Ms. Blackwood a few minutes ago! We should mind our words because we can’t afford to offend Ms. Blackwood.”
“Ms. Blackwood is such a kind woman. I think she must have been deceived by the cunning and filthy woman!”
“Yes! I think that’s the case!”
…
Charlotte couldn’t take it anymore. She trod away from the hall as fast as she could. Her absence wouldn’t impact the progress of the banquet at all.
All she needed was to kill her time in an isolated space. Once the banquet was over, she would leave with Lucy.
There were only a few people at the back of the banquet hall, including a few servers and a few staff that were in charge of the flow of the banquet.
Charlotte found an empty lounge and was about to make her way in to take a breather from the cruel, harsh world. But when she reached the doorstep, she heard the voices of two women.
“What the hell is wrong with you? How could you hurt yourself right before the performance? Don’t you know how important this banquet is? Are you trying to mess with me on purpose?”
“No! Ms. Goldstein! I didn’t mean it!” The girl started weeping and explained herself, “W-When I passed by the banquet hall, I accidentally bumped into someone called Ms. Blackwood. As a result, she became infuriated and pushed me away from her with all her might. I-I bumped into another server, causing the server to spill her tray of drink to the ground. After I fell to the ground, Ms. Blackwood…”
