Chapter 25

“What’s shameless is taking the money and causing trouble,” someone whispered.

“She’s probably unwilling to let go of the sugar daddy she’s had for years, so she’s making a scene to extort more from him.”

The murmurs from the guests spread around the room. The Sole family was already dissatisfied with Luke’s attitude, but hearing that Vespera had taken the money and still acted so arrogantly, they felt utterly embarrassed.

Austin stepped forward. “Ms. Gildon, please leave. Or else, don’t blame us for being rude.”

Vespera turned her bright, captivating eyes to Austin. She smiled and continued, “What right do you have to rule me? In the old days, even if Tina married Luke, she would have to kneel and offer me a cup of tea on their wedding night, showing me respect!”

She spoke slowly, her tone almost sweet, as if she were offering a gentle reminder. Austin was stunned by her smile, but quickly snapped out of it, feeling the absurdity of her words. This woman was beyond arrogant, unreasonable even. The guests were just as stunned. Vespera had truly lost her mind.

However, Tina couldn’t contain her anger. She laughed bitterly, her voice filled with disbelief. “Kneel to you? Why? What makes you think you have the right to say something like that?”

“Kneel? How about I visit your grave instead?”

Vespera turned to face her. “Not happy?”

She set her wine glass down and pulled out a marriage certificate from her bag, flipping through it before holding it up in front of Tina. “Gem, and you kneel and toast to me?”

Tina stared at the marriage certificate in shock. The entire banquet hall instantly fell silent. They were shocked that Luke and Vespera were already married.

What everyone had thought was an ex-girlfriend trying to extort money turned out to be a wife coming to publicly tear apart a mistress and her family. The Sowle family was humiliated today.

“One is committing adultery, the other seducing a married man, and shamelessly announcing an engagement? Not to mention…”

Vespera looked at the people in front of her with a condescending expression. “Don’t any of you have even a little bit of legal knowledge? Bigamy is a crime!”

The Sewle family’s faces fluctuated between shock and anger. Claire almost fainted from the shock. Tina had been involved with a married man. Soon, the entire city of Halewick would know that she had been involved with a married man. The worst part was that Tina had let Felicia spread rumors about this, and had even participated in the promotion.

“Mrs. Munoz! How could you hide such an important matter? You’ve ruined Tina’s life!!”

The Sowle family was furious. Felicia rushed to explain, trying to calm the situation, offering apologies.

Lake rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. He had given up on trying to stop this. He just wanted this farce to end.

Vespera walked over and grabbed her wine glass, calmly approaching Luke. She stood in front of him, quietly watching the man who had once walked with her through their youth and into marriage, and now into this ugly situation.

She raised the glass of red wine and poured it over his head. The room erupted in shocked gasps.

Luke gripped her wrist tightly, his face dark with fury. “Is this really what you want? Is this what will finally satisfy you?”

His strength was overwhelming, and as his grip tightened, the injury on Vespera’s wrist reopened. It felt as though her heart, broken countless times before, was now shattering. The anger and sorrow that filled her chest made her vision blur, bloodshot eyes glaring at him. “Let’s get a divorce.”

With all her strength, she tore her wrist free from his grip and threw the empty wine glass at Tina’s feet. “You’re nothing but scum, stuck with a worthless bitch!” Her voice was marked with fury.

Luke was stunned by her explosive rage. Before he could say anything, he noticed something red in his palm. He opened his hand to reveal it was covered in blood. Panic surged through him as he looked at her wrist. The deep red stain around her wrist was evident, and blood was flowing down her palm, dripping onto the carpet.

The Sowle family was about to escort Tina out, but just as the entire room fell silent, with all eyes focused on Vespera and Luke, Tina suddenly strode forward. In a swift motion, she pushed Vespera to the ground. “You filthy thing! After being used by many last night, how did you not die? You should just die!”