Chapter 2

The next morning, Dante brought me to Jaxon's territory. Although he tried his best to hide his emotion, he still couldn't hide the anticipation between his eyebrows. Obviously, his excitement wasn't for me, but for Bethany. I suddenly remembered that every time he said he was going to a party at Jaxon's house, he always acted especially excited, as if that was what he was really looking forward to. Somewhere in the back of my mind, unspeakable emotions flared up, but I quickly suppressed those complicated thoughts. Bethany was already at the party, dressed in all kinds of luxurious jewelry, walking in style as if she were the star of the crowd. Seeing me, a hint of complacency flashed in her eyes, and then the corner of her mouth brought on a contemptuous smile, lowering her voice and deliberately saying, “Ms. Sienna, it's been a long time since I've seen you, seeing what I've accomplished today, are you jealous?” Her words pierced my heart. I remembered very clearly that when Bethany had just graduated and couldn't find a job, Jaxon had begged me to let her be my design assistant. At that time, I taught her how to draw designs, brought her along to find inspiration, and even gave her encouragement when she was lost. But what I got in return was betrayal from Jaxon and her, and everything I once valued was mercilessly stomped on by her. Now, Bethany had gone from the little assistant that I'd looked down on to the designer that everyone looked up to. She had taken everything away from me that I once had, and I, for one, could only stand here and watch her walk through the crowd covered in jewelry and smiling. I didn't want to say anything more to her, but she purposely pouted with a hint of aggression and pretended to be innocent, and said to me: ''I'm not like Ms. Sienna who was born noble and can get everything easily. Everything has to be done by myself step by step. It doesn't matter for you to despise me, but my efforts were valued” The surrounding guests agree with her, “That's right, how strong and brave Miss Bethany is, truly a role model for all girls!” “Even though Ms. Sienna is so learned, isn't she a housewife now?” Hearing Bethany's words, Jaxon threw an angry glare at me and quickly kept Bethany away from crowd. Dante glanced at me, a hint of displeasure flashing in his eyes, and immediately chased after me, hurriedly apologized to Bethany and tried to diffuse things as much as possible. I just stood in place, but my heart sneered coldly. It turns out that Dante took the initiative to bring me to this kind of party because Bethany requested it. Appeased by the two men, Bethany finally broke into tears and smiled, quirking her lips provocatively at me. She seemed to enjoy this strong contrast, and enjoy my powerlessness and decadence in front of her. I ignored her provocation and walked alone to the exhibition area, looking around at the designs. My eyes were drawn tightly to a familiar design - it was the work I had just completed, The Stars. Although I didn't go out for work, my love for jewelry design never faded, and I would always do some designs at home in my free time. But how did this piece of work appear here? What angered me even more was that the name of the piece had been changed to “The Stary Sky” and the signature in the bottom right corner was Bethany. My blood was practically boiling and my anger spread throughout my body at once. I couldn't believe my eyes and impulsively found her. “Bethany, how dare you copy my work?” I questioned her coldly, my anger undisguised. She glanced up at me and pressed her finger to her lips, smiling unconcernedly, “So what? Yes, I did. Do you dare to kill me?” My anger instantly turned to shock as she was unafraid of it, instead she voluntarily leaned back and collapsed into the pool behind her. “Help! I can't swim!” She screamed, her voice detonating the entire atmosphere of the party like a bomb. “Hurry! She can't swim!” Someone shouted in panic. “Does she try to start a scene with this?” “Sienna is horrible ......” some people murmured, their voices laced with fear and sarcasm. I stood by, my heart mingling with anger and unease, but what was in front of me brought a sudden calmness to my heart. Suddenly, I heard a familiar voice yell, “Bethany, don't be afraid!” The man leapt down, flopping and quickly leaping into the pool. It was Dante. He swam to Bethany, and his face was full of heartache, guilt, and helplessness. I finally realized that the man who was always calm and gentle was so affectionate when it came to Bethany. Bethany was so shocked that when she came ashore, tears were pouring out of her eyes. Dante hugged her and comforted her gently, seemingly whispering something tender in her ear. That scene was truly like a perfect drama of a hero rescuing a beautiful woman, making everyone feel envious. I looked at them without any expression. If that man wasn't my husband, then this scene might have been really moved for me. However, precisely because he was my husband, this scene, made me very sad. Dante finally realized what he was doing and left hold of Bethany slightly, directing the maids to take care of her; then, he turns towards me with a frown, “Sienna, I know you'll be upset to see Bethany's accomplishment, but you can't push her......” I couldn't help but laugh at him “Joke, what has she accomplished that I should be jealous of?” I closed my eyes and held back the sourness and pain that welled up in my heart as I slowly spoke, “Dante, why does my artwork turn into Bethany's?” Dante's movements stalled, rubbing his hands together slightly, avoiding my gaze, “I'm sorry, I didn't notice this, I'll check it for you when I get back.” He said it easily, as if it was nothing, but it was deeply hurtful to me. I smiled bashfully, “Fine, investigate. You can find out just how much more hurt is hidden between us.” In my studio, I have always not allowed any maids to come close, and the one who knows about my latest work was Dante who occasionally looks at my designs, so who else could it be? I slowly turned around with an unmoving smile on my face, “I'm tired, take me home.”