The Billionaire’s Reluctant Bride
Chapter 39
I was unfazed. Instead, I enthusiastically addressed the entire class: “It’s fine, don’t mind us three. Continue your discussions–if you don’t mind, speak louder so I can hear too.”
Seeing the awkward expressions around me, I deliberately placed my luxury handbag on the table and gestured to the whole class: “Look, this bag costs $180,000 retail. Here’s some more gossip for you. Don’t just focus on that man. You can discuss my $180,000 bag, my $3 million bracelet, or dig deeper into who I really am to be so wealthy.”
The classroom fell silent, all eyes on my bag and bracelet. I scanned the room, my gaze locking onto Camilla Barret, Karen’s cousin, whose eyes overflowed with hatred toward me.
“With so much money, I bet you’re kept by more than one man,” Camilla taunted.
“Indeed, I’ve spent more than one man’s money,” I admitted frankly, then leisurely counted on my fingers: “Mygrandfather’s, my father’s, my brother Matthew’s, my husband’s,” I turned to look at Jason and added, “and my nephew’s.” Finally concluding: “I’ve spent five men’s money.”
Everyone in the classroom stared at me in shock, seemingly unable to believe I would admit it so openly.
Lily was the first to catch on. She picked up the thread: “Charlotte, I’ve also spent several men’s money. My grandfather’s, my father’s, my brother’s, and look, even Jason’s! One, two, three, four–wow, I’ve spent four men’s money. Does that mean I’m kept by four men too?”
Jason immediately played along: “Then I’ve spent my grandmother’s, my mother’s, my young aunt’s, and Lily’s money. Does that mean I’m kept by four women?”
Camilla gave a signal with her eyes, and immediately a girl stood up and pointed at me: “You know very well that what you call being kept and what we call being kept have different meanings. You’re still deceiving Jason, you social butterfly, you slut. Having you at our school is a disgrace.”
I laughed in the classroom, and no one understood what I was laughing about.
“Continue,” I said calmly.
The girl glanced at Camilla beside her, seemingly unprepared for my reaction.
“Is that all the vocabulary Camilla taught you? She’s quite stingy, not even willing to teach you more insults,” I said leisurely. “Why don’t you come to me? I can teach you how to insult people properly. I can even teach you how to manipulate public opinion and smear someone on the forum. See, Camilla hasn’t taught you any of this.”
“Charlotte Cole, what do you mean!” Camilla slammed the table and stood up, pointing at me accusingly.
In that instant, both Lily and Jason understood. So it was Camilla behind this again.
Lily excitedly said: “What do I mean? Don’t you know? Being kept as a sugar baby, working as a bar hostess, and when the scandal couldn’t be covered up, trying to drag Charlotte down with you–isn’t that Ms. Camilla’s style? Why do you insist on projecting your own experiences onto Charlotte? Even if she wasn’t the campus beauty anymore, there’s still me. What’s your hurry? It’ll never be your turn, not in a hundred generations.”
I made a “shh” gesture to Lily and said in a neutral tone: “Lily, as classmates, we should understand each other’s hardships. Working at a nightclub isn’t easy. She managed to post those things secretly while working. We shouldn’t make things
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Chapter 39
difficult for her just because of our opinions. Let’s be understanding of nightclub workers!
Lily, seeing Camilla on the verge of explosion, continued to add fuel to the fire: “Ms. Hayes, you must have been exhausted last night–serving drinks, sleeping around, and still finding time to create drama for our fellow students, I shouldn’t criticize you; I apologize. Next time, I hope you can provide even more explosive content. I thank you on behalf of all the students at our school!”
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