Chapter 10

Melanie and Mia felt chills run down their spines. Eventually, Melanie gritted her teeth and stepped forward. "It's all my fault for not catching the bracelet that Ms. Moore handed to me, so… I'll pay for the bracelet." Mia was shocked. "But Melanie, it was obviously that scheming woman, Vivienne, who did this on purpose! Why should we have to pay for it?" "Mia!" Melanie cut her short, her expression serious. "I didn't catch it, so don't blame Ms. Moore." As she said this, she bowed solemnly in Vivienne's direction. "Ms. Moore, I apologize to you for my behavior just now. I'm sorry." Despite being the one who was apologizing, Melanie's red, swollen eyes brimmed with tears, looking as though she had suffered some great injustice. Vivienne watched Melanie's performance emotionlessly, not saying a word. Finally, Mia couldn't stand it anymore and stepped forward. "This has nothing to do with Melanie! I wanted to snatch that bracelet because I hate how Vivienne always cries and makes a big scene whenever she doesn't get her way. All this while, Melanie's never said that she wanted this bracelet!" She looked up with an air of righteousness, then pointed at the staff member next to her. "If you don't believe me, just ask her!" Sebastian's eyes shifted to the staff member. The staff member nodded profusely, "It's true. Ms. Schafer never said she wanted this bracelet." After a moment of silence, Sebastian said, "Go back first, Melanie. I'll take care of this." Melanie's face crinkled into a tortured smile, remarkably like that of a martyr. "Sebastian, regardless of anything, I didn't catch the bracelet. It's only right for me to compensate for it." Vivienne watched the charade quietly. She almost couldn't resist applauding Melanie's wonderful acting. She didn't shirk responsibility, but neither did she admit that she wanted to snatch the bracelet. Her apologies were only limited to her not catching it. And now that Mia had taken the initiative to admit fault, Melanie looked all the more like the victim. As for Vivienne, she was beginning to look like the petty, uncharitable spouse. Vivienne glanced around at the people around her. Sure enough, their gazes at Melanie had changed considerably. Even Mia stared at Melanie with a look of touched admiration. Sebastian's expression was even gentler as he said, "Melanie, go back first. I still have some things to deal with here." Melanie was a clever woman. She knew that she would look hypocritical if she kept badgering Vivienne at this time. She nodded gently, then fawningly whispered, "Okay." ... Mia left together with Melanie. After the crowd was gone, Sebastian looked at Vivienne icily. "Vivienne, why do you keep making trouble for Melanie? I've told you, haven't I? As long as you stay in your lane, no one can shake your position as Mrs. Holt." Vivienne raised her eyebrows and chuckled. "I was here carefully picking out my bracelet when those two came out of nowhere, trying to snatch it from me. How did this turn into me instigating trouble with Melanie? Why don't you go check the surveillance footage and see what 'first come, first served' means, Mr. Holt?" Sebastian's eyes were murky with enigmatic darkness. "Do you think I didn't see you deliberately drop the bracelet on the ground?" Vivienne's face was not flustered nor surprised. She kept smiling. "I always thought that your eyesight wasn't very good, Mr. Holt, but it seems I was wrong. It looks like you do have your eagle-eyed moments, after all." There was no question that Sebastian picked up on Vivienne's sarcasm. But he hadn't expected her to admit it at once—and with such brazen confidence. The man's deep eyebrows suddenly narrowed in coldness. "What was your behavior just now, then, if you claim that you haven't been picking on Melanie?" Vivienne smiled faintly. "Isn't this what Ms. Schafer has always been doing to me? Why? Do you feel bad about it now that it's Ms. Schafer's turn?" Sebastian's eyes darkened. Suddenly, he remembered a time when Melanie had been handing a glass of wine to Vivienne. Vivienne had missed the glass, spilling the wine all over Melanie. Vivienne had explained that it was an accident and that Melanie was the one who hadn't held the glass steady on purpose. But he hadn't believed Vivienne's words. Looking at Sebastian's handsome, indifferent face, Vivienne's lips parted slightly. "That's right. I did it on purpose. I would rather break that bracelet than give it to her. From now on, no one will take anything that's mine away from me. And also..." Vivienne looked up into Sebastian's eyes. "Are you feeling sore about this? You should be. So long as you refuse to divorce me, this sort of thing will happen many, many more times. And even if you feel bad… well, you're just going to have to bear it." Melanie was important to him, wasn't she? Vivienne wanted to see whether Sebastian saw Melanie as just as important as the interests of his company. Hearing Vivienne's words, Sebastian saw the woman before him in a new light. Vivienne had changed a lot recently. Not only had her temperament changed, but even her appearance seemed far more attractive than before. She was no longer that old plain Jane. She was gorgeous and alluring, exuding charm in every frown and smile. Her beauty was almost aggressive in its intensity. Of course, that was not to say that Vivienne had not been beautiful before. She had always had flawless facial features and impeccable bone structure. However, that beauty had been as bland and boring as plain water. And with what she had just done, Sebastian regarded her with an additional degree of hatred. What use was such beauty, with a heart as deceitful as hers? Vivienne's attitude was confusing him. Was Vivienne playing hard to get, or was she going against him on purpose, asking him to negotiate bargaining chips with her? "Vivienne, I told you that as long as you behave, I won't give you a cent less..." Vivienne interrupted him coldly, "Who cares about your filthy money?" Sebastian sneered. "If you don't care, why would you come to a jewelry store owned by the Holt Group to buy a bracelet?" "What do my purchases have to do with you?" "You just publicly announced yourself as Mrs. Holt. Weren't you planning to put that purchase on my account?" Vivienne didn't expect Sebastian to think that way. After a few stunned seconds, Vivienne smiled. "Yeah, over the past three years, I've made millions of dollars from you... more than I can spend in a lifetime." Sebastian's eyes flickered slightly. He suddenly remembered that he had never received a single bill from Vivienne over the past three years. Sebastian frowned slightly. "Where did you get the money to buy jewelry like that?" "I wasn't spending your money, so what does that have to do with you?" Suddenly, Sebastian recalled how Spencer had helped Vivienne out back at the banquet. His face darkened. "What kind of relationship do you have with Spencer Goodhall?"