Chapter 48
Marcus chuckled a little bit over the phone.
However, the meaning of it was unclear. Josiah could not figure out why he did that, so he braced himself by asking, "Mr. Z... Why did she come to me? For work?"
Marcus paused. Upon recalling Cordelia had been researching Josiah the entire night, the uneasiness he felt came rushing back.
"Because you're good-looking!" He hung up the phone after saying that angrily.
Josiah spent the entire day in fear.
In the end, he decided to wait. He would wait to see what Cordelia would do next and would play it by ear then.
Later on, Cordelia waited at the Splendor Dynasty's entrance on her own.
The building, as magnificent as a castle, was lit bright tonight. It was extraordinarily lively. There were luxury cars parked everywhere on the property. Some people landed their private helicopters on the helipad behind the hotel.
Those who were invited were of high status.
Cordelia's plain outfit did not fit in the event at all.
She tried her best to hide behind the pillar to avoid the crowd. Nevertheless, she would look around every now and then, worried that she may have missed Josiah.
However, everyone dressed in elegant dazzle here, while all luxury cars looked almost the same. It was rather tough to find someone among them.
Cordelia sighed. She continued to wait while holding the documents.
Soon, she saw a few familiar faces walking toward her.
She was shocked, but it was too late for her to run. Yelena coughed loudly and yelled, "Cordelia?"
William and the stepmother, Joanne Garcia, suddenly stopped walking.
Cordelia slowly showed her face from behind the pillar. She looked awkward as she nodded to greet them.
"Cordelia?" William was nothing less surprised than her. "W-Why are you here?"
She bit her lip and remained silent.
Yelena crossed her arms. Stepping on her heels, she circled Cordelia to take a good look at her and scoffed. "Do you think you belong here? Don't tell me you're here for the Hamertons' ball as well?" "What? What makes you think that you belong here?" Joanne chimed in. "Cordelia, did you not look at yourself in the mirror before you came? Aren't you embarrassed to be dressed like this for such an event? You want Mr. Z to take a liking to you when you look like this? He might be disgusted even if you threw yourself at him!"
"That's right! You're married. Instead of staying home with your useless husband, you came here to embarrass yourself! Or are you just like your mother, that you just have to seduce men?"
Yelena and Joanne threw insults at Cordelia. They did not want to miss any opportunities to humiliate her.
Cordelia felt as if there was a rock pressing on her heart.
She knew that her mother had done something shameful back then and was well aware that she was an illegitimate daughter. Therefore, she lived her life tipping her toe. She even substituted Yelena to marry Marcus.
When would they ever let her go?
She took a deep breath in with her fists clenched. She was shaking a little bit.
William glanced at her with a frown. "Cordelia, are you really here for the ball?"
"No," she replied softly. "I'm here for work. I'm waiting for someone."
"Work?" Yelena snickered in mockery. "Ahh, I almost forgot my sister is soaring in that Bowfest Foreign Trading. I heard you're being promoted to a supervisor?
"Wow, a promotion sure comes fast for you! Sigh. You're working so hard to feed your useless husband. How many men did you sleep with to be promoted so quickly?"
"Stop slandering me, Yelena!" Cordelia's face turned pale. "You're violating my reputation by making things up. I can totally sue you!"
"Wow, you know the law? Sue me, then!"
Yelena was boastful. She pointed her finger at Cordelia and then poked her head.
Her sharp and long nail scratched Cordelia's scalp. Before she could react to the pain, Yelena grabbed her collar and shoved her hard!
Cordelia staggered, fell backward, and the documents in her hands scattered everywhere.
Cordelia picked them up in panic while Yelena glanced at her in disdain. Just when she was going to step on the back of her hand, a middle-aged man in a suit walked out of the hotel. Joanne tucked at Yelena and signaled her. "Let's get away from this b*tch. We should quickly make our way to the banquet hall!"
The people around greeted the man as he walked over.
He walked directly to Cordelia. He bowed and looked at the crowd with a polite smile.
"Are you Ms. Jenner from Jangasas?"
"Yes, that's right!" Yelena and Joanne rushed forward with obsequious smiles. "We're the Jenners. I'm Ms. Jenner!
"Are you here to welcome us? Please lead the way, then!"
Cordelia's eyes dimmed. Her hair was messy, and she looked clumsy with the pile of messy documents.
She knew that the man was not asking for her, so she backed off quietly. Never had she thought the man would clear his throat and say louder, "I'm sorry, the Ms. Jenner I'm asking for is Cordelia Jenner!" "What?" Everyone was dumbfounded.
Even Cordelia stood where she was, frozen. It took her a while to snap back to her senses.