The dancing vigor had subsided in everyone, and Amara was standing alone beside a table. Teni has left her to attend to some other things important.
"Is that not the girl who is not supposed to be here?" Someone was whispering to another person. Both of them continue murmuring to themselves. One voice was loud enough for her to hear what they were discussing, but Amara chose to ignore them.
She took a sip from the glass of wine in her hand just to calm herself.
"Hello, please I need to speak to you", a voice came from behind her.
Amara looked back to see the person speaking to her. It was a woman in her forties. The look from the woman was disdainful enough for Amara to suspect negativity from the woman.
"Me?" Amara asked, confused.
"Exactly, you are the one I am referring to!" The woman said coldly.
"I want you to hand over my necklace back to me," The woman said softly.
"Necklace? What do you mean..." Amara asked in utmost surprise.
"Don't even think you can go with it. I noticed how you have been eyeing the jewelry right from the time you are dancing. After you are done dancing, you stylishly come near my purse and remove it." The woman was affirmative in her judgment.
"Omg! What do you mean? I don't think I have even noticed you in this hall before. I am just seeing you now, like now."
"I don't know your seat or purse; ma; maybe have mistaken for another person." Amara's voice calm was as she spoke to the woman.
"You stole it" The woman stepped closer to her. "I saw you, picking it from my purse. You can't frame this lie, you won't go away with this." The woman interrupted sharply.
The words struck Amara like a slap. Her heart beat faster, her mind was struggling to understand the whole thing. She wished it was a dream.
"Madam, I don't take your necklace". Amara's voice raised as she responded to the accusations.
"You have been acting suspicious now and then. No one invited you, you are trying to steal from us.
Everyone here will know who you are today. Thief!" The woman spoke scoffingly.
Amara's face was saturated with embarrassment and confusion. The crowd had begun to gather around them. People are whispering to themselves that different chats were going on concerning the accusations.
"I swear, I didn't take anything," Amara said, her voice shaking. "You've got the wrong person.
But the woman was not taking it lightly. "Don't lie to me. I'm going to tell Dennis about this. He will deal with you."
As the woman mentioned Dennis, Amara felt like a weight of load on her chest. Her beats faster and she started sweating profusely. Before the woman could finish a voice came from the crowd.
"What's going on here?" Dennis asked with curiosity.
"This girl is a thief; she stole my necklace. And I believed she would have stolen from others,s, too".
Dennis laughed. "Whom are you referring to, Amara? This girl can't steal."
Amara saw how Dennis responded, and she began to feel calm. The expression from Dennis shows that he didn't believe the woman.
"Is this true?" he asked, his voice low, but steady.
Amara nodded in disagreement "No, it is a lie. I didn't steal her necklace. I don't even know this woman, she just came to me and accused me of stealing her necklace."
Dennis didn't take his gaze away from the woman "You're accusing her of stealing?. Do you have evidence to prove this further?".
"She is the only one who nears the place where the necklace was kept. And now it's missing ". The woman said.
"How do you mean?" Dennis asked softly.
" She's an outsider, and I don't trust her. It's only an outsider that can steal in a party like this." She said with conviction.
Dennis's gaze softened a little bit "Are you sure of this accusation?"
The woman nodded. "I am."
Dennis took a deep breath "Then I suggest we settle this the right way."
The woman felt disappointed "What do you mean by that?"
"I'm going to call the security team," Dennis said calmly. "If you are too sure of this accusation, I will ask the security to search everywhere including her purse. But if she was found innocent, you will bear the pain of accusing someone wrongly ".
The woman, heart beat faster at the mention of security men.
"There is no need to involve any security personnel".She stammered as she spoke.
Dennis's voice remains firm. "I think you do."
The woman's face blushed, for shame was about to come on her. She has no tangible evidence to back up the accusations.
"I didn't take your necklace," Amara said again, her voice firmer than before. "I'm not the person you think I am. I am not a thief!"
Dennis looked at the crowd, softened his gaze, and said, "This is an accusation, it's not yet confirmed. I want you to remember that accusations remain accusations until proven."
The woman became uncomfortable; she turned back and walked away to her seat.
The crowd, too, began to return to their seats, seeing that the accuser had turned back.
Amara exhaled heavily; her heartbeat was retarding back to normal. Dennis walked up to her, but she didn't notice.
"Are you okay?" he asked quietly, his voice softer than she expected.
Amara nodded as she forced a smile, though she felt her legs trembling. "Yeah. Thanks. But You didn't have to do that."
Dennis looked at her with more seriousness, "I don't tolerate that kind of behavior. No one should be falsely accused, especially not you."
Amara glanced at him, surprised by his kind and protective gestures. "I can't just imagine what would have happened if not for you stepping in and intervening."
"It is nothing," he said, but his voice was sincere. "No one should be made to feel like they are nobody, especially when they're just trying to enjoy themselves."
Amara smiled faintly, feeling the weight in her chest lighten slightly. "I don't know how to thank you."
Dennis chuckled, "Just don't let people like that get to you. They are bittered people."
Amara nodded gently; a warm feeling enveloped her. Her respect for Dennis grew for standing up for her.
The music began again, and the party returned to its normal flow. But Amara's prestige has increased, and she didn't feel like a guest anymore.
Dennis realized Amara had more to her than he had initially thought about her.