Chapter 9

Mia was overjoyed when she saw who had arrived. "Sebastian!" Mia pointed at Vivienne, hurling out her accusations. "I don't know what's gotten into Vivienne, but she just grabbed something that Melanie had her eye on! And now, she's spreading such terrible rumors, telling people not to buy from the Holt Group!" Mia's ability to twist the truth was truly exceptional. Before Vivienne could speak, Sebastian's dark, icy gaze fell on her face. "Vivienne, give that bracelet back to Melanie." Mia's face brightened with smugness. Even Melanie had a barely noticeable smile tugging at her lips. Give it back? What an interesting way to put it. Vivienne remained unbothered, and her voice was even when she said, "Mr. Holt, don't you want to understand the whole situation first before you make that call?" Sebastian's face was indifferent. "Ever since Melanie came back, you've been picking on her all the time and always claiming your innocence. But I saw you bully Melanie with my own eyes. What else is there to understand?" In the beginning, whenever Vivienne and Melanie got into arguments, Sebastian had indeed checked the surveillance footage to get a better idea of the situation. Ironically, the images would always be used to back up the story that Vivienne had been "picking on" Melanie. Over time, Sebastian had gotten tired of hearing Vivienne's side of the story. Vivienne glanced at Sebastian's frosty face, then at the malicious faces of Melanie and Mia. She smiled lightly. "Alright, then. If Ms. Schafer likes it, I'll give it to her." Sebastian's face relaxed, and the smile on Melanie's face widened. Mia was so elated she was practically wagging her metaphorical tail. Vivienne handed over the bracelet. "Here you go, Ms. Schafer." To Melanie, this bracelet symbolized the evidence of Sebastian's favor, and it was also the spoils of the battle she had won against Vivienne. Melanie gladly reached out to receive the bracelet. But just as she was about to take it, the bracelet slipped from her hands, falling onto the ground with a clatter. The pearls scattered across the floor into unseen corners. Everyone was stunned. Melanie herself was shocked beyond words for a good few seconds. "Ms. Schafer," Vivienne said, breaking the silence. There was an edge of reproach to her voice. "Didn't you say you really wanted this bracelet? How could you be so careless as to not catch it?" When Melanie came back to her senses, she could only stutter, "Vivienne… you did this on purpose, didn't you?" "It was clearly your fault for not catching it. Why are you blaming me?" Vivienne raised her eyebrows, a look of astonishment on her face. "Besides, all I said was that you were careless. Why are you accusing me of doing this on purpose?" "Could it be…" She paused, half-smiling. "That you have some particular experience in this regard, Ms. Schafer?" Mia snarled, "Sebastian, just look at how vicious she is! Clearly, Vivienne was the one who deliberately prevented Melanie from getting the bracelet. Now, she's blaming it on Melanie! How shameless!" Of course, Sebastian had seen right through Vivienne's little trick. Coldly, he ordered, "Vivienne, apologize to Melanie!" "I won't," Vivienne said lightly. "What are you going to do about it?" Sebastian was taken aback. Before, Vivienne would have tried her hardest to explain her innocence. After finding all kinds of excuses and reasons, she would always lose the argument in the end, so she could only apologize in tears to appease everyone. But right now, Vivienne was arrogant enough to challenge him. "What are you going to do about it?" Indeed, what could he possibly do about Vivienne refusing to apologize? Mia was incensed. "Sebastian, you should call the police on Vivienne to arrest her for deliberately damaging the shop's goods. Get them to lock her up in jail for a few days! Let's see if Little Miss Haughty still refuses to apologize after that!" Vivienne simply smiled and said, "You don't seem to understand the law, do you, Ms. Evans? You don't go to prison for damaging goods on sale. It's enough to compensate for the loss with the original price of the item." Mia swung her finger toward her, shrieking, "She confessed! Sebastian, she admitted that she broke it on purpose!" That ear-splitting voice was shrill enough to hurt Vivienne's eardrums. She rubbed her ears. "Ms. Evans, it seems that you're not just challenged in the intellectual department—you're a little hard of hearing as well. All I said was that the penalty for damaging an item on sale is to pay the original price as compensation. You're saying that I admitted to breaking the items on purpose. Excuse me, but how are these two necessarily connected?" Mia was still adamant about standing her ground. "You're just saying that you'll pay the original price because you're guilty and don't want to go to jail!" Hearing Mia's unreasonable words and her asinine accusations, the spectators were rendered speechless with disapproval. This crazy woman was being vexatious. Having such a person in such a high-end shopping mall simply devalued the dignity of everyone present. Even Melanie seemed annoyed. Vivienne remained calm as Mia became increasingly agitated. "I didn't say I'd be the one paying. I was just explaining the law to you." Mia wanted to say something else, but was interrupted by Sebastian. "Enough!" Sebastian shouted. Arrogant as she was, Mia was still rather afraid of Sebastian. She shrank back and dared not say anything more. But Vivienne turned her head and said to the staff member beside her, "Regardless of whether it was me or Ms. Schafer who broke the bracelet, put it on Mr. Holt's account. Ms. Schafer is Mr. Holt's sweetheart, so he won't hesitate to compensate on her behalf. As for me..." Vivienne glanced at Sebastian, "As Mrs. Holt, I should be entitled to put it on my own husband's account, shouldn't I?" As soon as those words were said, there was an uproar. "Good heavens! Mrs. Holt? She's Mr. Holt's wife?" "There was so much hubbub about Mr. Holt and that other woman lately... I never would have guessed that he was actually married!" "He got married three years ago, but there was no wedding. It seems it was a secret marriage. However, some people in their circles do know about this." "Then... What's with that woman just now who was so self-righteous in saying that the other lady was Mr. Holt's sweetheart?" "What's the matter? The woman's a mistress, for sure. All men truly are pigs..." "Goodness… Poor Mrs. Holt. She's obviously the legitimate Mrs. Holt, but she still has to check if the mistress is happy when buying things for herself. She even has to let the mistress have the things she wants…" "Yeah, I saw it just now. It was obviously Mrs. Holt who chose the bracelet first, then those two women came in and snatched it." "Oh, and her husband takes the mistress' side without even finding out what really happened. Mrs. Holt has been so terribly wronged." Everyone in the shop regarded Sebastian and Melanie with contempt. Amidst the discussion, Sebastian had pieced together what had happened. It turned out that he had mistakenly faulted Vivienne. He narrowed his black eyes, his sharp, hawkish eyes sweeping over Melanie and Mia.