Jessica felt a tinge of panic mixed with anger rising from her lower stomach, and her first instinct was to run far away.
But she willed herself to stay and pushed the rising panic back down so it would not show on her face, though she couldn't help but clench her fists.
And she said, as calmly as she could, "What times are we in now? Could people still just accuse one another based on pure conjecture, or even worse, fabrication?"
The crowd buzzed, and someone asked, "What do you have to prove that it's just conjecture or fabrication?"
Jessica was calmer now. She didn't answer the question, but simply countered it with a question, "What does SHE have to prove that I've stolen anything?"
Some people nodded. It was true. All Candy had said was circumstantial.
Seeing that she was about to lose the grip, Candy quickly said, her voice rising a bit, no longer the tender and weak tone she had pretended earlier, "I thought I should always give people a chance to come to the truth on their own, but I guess being too kind wouldn't help this case here. Yes, I do have solid eyewitness."
The crow buzzed again. Eyewitness? They started looking around as if they could identify the witness like this.
Candy pointed at Stella, one of the girls with her at the shop the other day, "Stella saw it with her own eyes. Stella, tell them the details."
Stella looked around and seemed terrified of the situation. She stammered, "I...Yes...I mean, I went to the ladies', and uh...when I came back, I...I saw Candy and the others sitting at...uh...at a bench, taking a break and waiting for me. She...Jes...Jessica was there too, sitting close to Candy without Candy noticing. And she...I mean Jessica, snuck the dress out from the shopping bag Candy had put on the floor beside her seat and left quickly."
The crowd erupted. A girl, who was also one of the bunch with Candy at the shop, said, "Surely you can't tell a book from its cover. She looks so pretty and nice, but she could have done something so blatant as to steal under broad daylight?"
This added fuel to Stella's words and the emotions of the crowd, especially some other girls who had also thought of themselves as beautiful, because when they saw one more beautiful than them, either they would firmly deny it or refuse to see the beauty in others, or they would tend to think: "she can't be that perfect, can she? There must be some hidden defect or stuff like that under that beautiful skin."
And this whole thing was one when they confirmed their logic and got convinced of their invincible beauty again, like a beauty queen who had lost her crown but now had it back, as if her own beauty had been thorough inside and out.
So one of them said, with utter disdain on her heavily powdered face, "I could see why. A girl like her with no money or background to help move herself up the social ladder? It's only natural for her to do something like that."
But a man said, trying to be sensible, "There must be more to the story. I don't think we should jump to a conclusion yet. Plus, the jewelry pieces she's wearing seem something quite valuable to me, so she's not that poor as you've all said."
Another man echoed, and he sounded more knowledgeable, "Yes. Especially the stone on the pendant of the necklace. Seems to be 'Night Knight', a long lost mysterious stone rumored to be worthy of a king's castle."
Some girls' eyes widened, as well as Jessica's. when her mother handed Jessica the jewelry pieces, she had not said anything about their value.
Candy had not expected that some mysterious jewelry just popped and was about to ruin her plan, which was almost successful. This bitch was nothing and yet she wanted to seduce Jordan? She would not allow her to!
She quickly said with a sneer, "I'm not an expert on jewelry, but if it's something so precious, I wonder why she's still living in a slum with her hermit mother?"
A shot of anger spiked up inside Jessica. Obviously, this crazy woman had been probing too much about her. She and her mum did live in a humble place in a very quiet neighborhood, but definitely not a slum.
Candy added, "I also heard from another schoolmate of hers that she's always had a soft sport for mysterious but rich-looking guys, who would come to campus to send her gifts or pick her up." What she had said was insinuating that Jessica must have associated with one rich man or another who had given her the jewelry pieces she was wearing now.
A girl near Candy said, "Nowadays, we girls don't really know how to respect ourselves again, do we? There're just too many of us selling their bodies and souls for favors or cash."
As she was speaking, she fanned her face disdainfully with her palm, as if she smelled something really stinky.
Another girl said, "Please don't generalize, because many of us do try to live a respectful life by virtue."
A few other girls nodded, and moved a bit further away from Jessica as if staying close to her would make them look bad.
The situation seemed quite dire for Jessica now. She felt bad that she had come to the party. If only she had stayed home. But now she was there, feeling ambushed by this crazy attack, and not knowing how she could clear her name.
She tried hard to stay calm, "So far, it's still just she said and I said, and nobody has produced any evidence. We could just call the police to have it found out."
Of course, she was 110% sure that she had not done what she was accused of, so she was not afraid of calling the police.
Candy, however, didn't want the police involved. She quickly said, "It's the JS Group's annual party. If the police come, it might send the wrong message to the press and affect our stock price. I know the truth would eventually come out, but the market could be too irrational to reason with before that."
Some people, especially those that held stocks of the company or part of the management, nodded vehemently.
Candy laughed deep down. These old foxes were afraid of their wealth being compromised more than anything else. Even if some of them did suspect that Jessica was innocent, they would not risk anything like that only to save her reputation.
She felt more certain that Jordan and she were meant to be. Or else, why would things all go in her favor? Jessica Wright, just go to hell. Who do you think you are to try and steal my man? You might be pretty enough, but I could just crush you like an ant.
Now that things were going her way, Candy tried to look benevolent, "We all make mistakes, so we should look past hers, as long as she repents and returns the dress to me, and I won't press any charge against her."
"Candy, you're always so kind," Stella said, "but you can't let yourself be taken advantage of like this. She should be punished duly."
Candy looked around the crowd and lowered her head, looking meek and sad, "I've experienced poverty too when little, so I understand how bad it could be and what it could bring you down to. Jessica seems such a sweet girl, and we should give her a second chance."
A girl said, "Candy, you're a nice girl through and through, but don't be too kind to people like this. I've heard that the dress cost you eighty thousand."
Some "wows" erupted from the crowd, and a trace of smugness flashed across Candy's eyes, but she quickly put on the right face and looked humble, "Yes. I'm privileged to be able to afford it, but thinking of those poor people out there without much such privilege makes me humble and forgivable."
Now that her purpose had been served, she tried to wrap it up lest some mishap might suddenly happen and wreck it up for her.
She looked at Jessica with a really sweet and kind smile, feeling touched by her own performance, "Jessica, it's okay. I won't pursue this as long as you admit your mistake and return the dress to me. It's okay to make mistakes if we've got the gut to face and correct them."
She smiled encouragingly at Jessica. You stupid bitch! Come on! Say it! Say that you're wrong, or I'll ruin you right away.
Jessica looked her in the eye, her eyes clear and firm, "What should I admit?"
Candy thought it meant Jessica was about to crack, and she quickly coaxed, "Admit that you've stolen my dress and..."
Before she could finish, a male's voice suddenly sounded from behind, "Who says she's stolen the dress? I bought it for her as a token of love."