Claire Wentworth raised her eyebrows, her tone determined. "Genuine without a doubt."
"You... Why did you change into your evening gown in the bathroom? Can't you even afford to rent a room? Are you really that destitute?"
Claire Wentworth frowned slightly. In both her past and present lives, she had never attended such high - end banquets and had no idea that one could change clothes in a lounge.
Jocelyn's face was full of shame. She had always believed that her young mistress was omnipotent, so she habitually followed her lead and didn't even consider that there was an option of using a lounge to change clothes. This oversight had made her young mistress the target of ridicule.
When the crowd saw that Claire Wentworth remained silent, they burst into laughter.
"A Cinderella should just stay at home. What's the point of coming out and embarrassing yourself?"
"Exactly. Is this dress rented or is it Victoire Wentworth's?"
Claire Wentworth looked at them and recognized that they were all her high - school classmates, belonging to the circle of Scarlett Dupont and Victoire Wentworth. They had bullied her a lot back then.
Since they had run into each other by chance, well...
In the face of the crowd's mockery, Claire Wentworth didn't flee in embarrassment as they had expected. Instead, she looked at them coldly and disdainfully, without flinching.
"Yes, I changed my dress in the bathroom. But so what? I still outshine all of you. Do you know why? Because true nobility has nothing to do with the place or the clothes one wears. It's an inner - out, soul - deep quality. And you can never achieve it. You're shallow, vulgar, and the only thing you can do is mock others. You have nothing else to offer."
Claire, who had always been timid and would avoid them before, was now so sharp that it stunned everyone for a moment. Then they remembered what Scarlett Dupont had said before and decided that Claire Wentworth's confidence was merely given by her brand - name clothes.
Humph, it's really ridiculous. Do they think wearing brand - name clothes makes them superior?
"Claire Wentworth!" Isla MacGregor was enraged by Claire Wentworth's sarcastic words and shouted heatedly, "How dare you talk to us like this? What right do you have? You're just an illegitimate daughter of the Wentworth family, a disgrace they don't want to acknowledge."
Isla MacGregor had transferred to the class just a few days before the college entrance examination. Her family was well - off, and as soon as she arrived, she was drawn into the group by Scarlett Dupont and Victoire Wentworth. In fact, she didn't know much about Claire Wentworth, and her impression was entirely instilled by others.
"Illegitimate daughter?" Claire Wentworth's eyes instantly turned sharp. "Are you out of your mind? Antoine Wentworth's original wife is my mother. Simone Lefort is just the step - wife. And Victoire Wentworth was born even before Simone Lefort entered the family. She's the one who's an illegitimate child with an improper status. How can you reverse right and wrong? Are you brainless or just naturally stupid?"
Isla MacGregor was infuriated by Claire Wentworth's scolding. Unlike Scarlett Dupont, she was the apple of the MacGregor family's eye, doted on since childhood. How could she endure such scolding?
She turned to the two bodyguards beside her and roared, "Attack! Beat her to death!"
Claire Wentworth's eyes widened. Jocelyn immediately stepped forward and stood in front of her. Claire Wentworth took a half - step back, giving Jocelyn space.
Isla MacGregor's bodyguards were two burly men. They had thought that Jocelyn was cute and petite, and they could just scare her and her mistress into not provoking their young lady. But they didn't expect that as soon as they approached, Jocelyn quickly reached out and grabbed one of their arms. Then, she leaped into the air and kicked the man on the back. The kicked man stumbled forward and knocked his companion to the ground.
"Haha..." Jocelyn laughed heartily and turned to Claire Wentworth, saying, "Young mistress, have you ever seen such weak bodyguards?" Then she looked at Isla MacGregor again. "Does your family not have enough money? Did you hire two people from the gym to be your bodyguards?"
Isla MacGregor's face instantly turned livid. The other girls were also shocked. No one could have imagined that this cute, round - faced little girl had such great fighting skills. And what did she just call Claire Wentworth? Young mistress?
Everyone suddenly realized that Claire Wentworth had been sent by the Wentworth family to marry Young Master Montfort as a substitute, and now she was Young Master Montfort's wife. And tonight's banquet was the welcome - back banquet held by the Dupont family for Young Master Montfort.
The expressions of the crowd changed suddenly. The quicker - witted ones immediately slipped away quietly.
Isla MacGregor was both angry and annoyed. She stepped forward and kicked the bodyguards a few times. "Get out! You're embarrassing yourselves." The two bodyguards scurried away.
Isla MacGregor stared at Claire Wentworth viciously. "Do you think marrying Young Master Montfort will make you rise to the top? He's just a paralytic. Aren't you ridiculous for trying to show off using his name? You're just a poor wretch abandoned by the Wentworth family. When Young Master Montfort dies, you'll be a pitiful widow!"
"Haha..." Just as Isla MacGregor was laughing maniacally, Claire Wentworth suddenly raised her hand and slapped her across the face. "Young Master Montfort won't die! Try cursing him again!"
Upstairs, Alexandre Montfort was sitting alone in a room, looking at the screen at Claire Wentworth's flushed face, filled with anger. A strange emotion welled up in his heart.
"Does she know I'm here?" Alexandre Montfort asked.
"Probably not," Leo replied. "Unless the young mistress is a fairy."
Could all this be her sincere reaction?
Downstairs, Isla MacGregor was completely driven mad by the slap. "How dare you hit me, Claire Wentworth! You have some nerve!" With that, she lunged at Claire Wentworth recklessly. Her parents had never even laid a finger on her since she was a child. How could this Claire Wentworth dare to hit her? She couldn't tolerate it!
But before her hand could touch Claire Wentworth, Jocelyn grabbed her. Isla MacGregor struggled desperately like a crazy clown but had no power to resist in Jocelyn's hands.
Unable to fight, she resorted to words. Knowing that Claire Wentworth didn't want to hear her curse Young Master Montfort, she deliberately said, "You say he won't die, and he won't? Claire Wentworth, the more arrogant you are now, the worse I'll make you suffer when Young Master Montfort dies!"
Claire Wentworth was furious. She slapped her again and gritted her teeth. "I said it again, he won't die! But you, you'll soon pay for your thoughtless words!"
"What?" A sense of foreboding welled up in Isla MacGregor's heart.
Jocelyn turned her body around. Only then did she notice that, somehow, all the big shots on the second floor had come downstairs, and her parents were standing there with looks of horror on their faces.