Chapter 202: It Fits, So It’s Mine

“Ms. Elsie, it’s a gown,” Giama pulled the dress out and admired it with wide-eyed wonder.

Elsie’s hand, mid-motion as she fastened her earring, froze. She stared blankly at the dress spread out before her. The fabric and cut were absolutely stunning; wearing it would undoubtedly turn heads and steal the spotlight. She reached out to gently touch the material—so soft and smooth—and her face unconsciously revealed a mix of awe and envy. “Wyatt really went all out for Yunice. Doesn’t he realize that backwoods girl doesn’t deserve it?”

Giana, practically buzzing with excitement, suggested, “Ms. Elsie, I think this dress would look perfect on you. She doesn’t even live here anymore; who’s going to know Wyatt sent it?”

Elsie, who had been thinking the same thing, sneered, “Her name might be Yunice, but my ID says Yunice too. It has my name on it, so obviously, it was meant for me.”

Giana quickly chimed in, “Exactly, exactly!” As she unfolded the gown and was just about to help Elsie try it on, a card slipped out from between the folds. “Ms. Elsie, there’s a note inside…”

Elsie took it, scanning the contents. It was a message from Wyatt, outlining his arrangements. “Jackson’s birthday is tomorrow?” Her brow furrowed. Such an important occasion, and Paul hadn’t mentioned it at all. Even someone as insignificant as Yunice had received a gown for the event, and yet she had gotten nothing. Did Paul never intend to bring her to Jackson’s birthday celebration?

“All that talk about marrying me… Looks like it was just empty promises to string me along,” Elsie crumpled the letter and tossed it into the trash in frustration. The thought of Taylor arm-in-arm with Paul, smiling as the social elite showered her with compliments, made jealousy churn like a storm inside her. “I’m Paul’s woman. I’m the one who should be at an event like this,” she snapped.

Giana, while also feeling it was unfair, couldn’t help but remind her, “But Ms. Elsie, the Powell family already said you weren’t welcome anymore.”

“There are so many guests… What reason could they possibly use to throw me out in front of everyone?” She discarded the dress. “I’m going!” Then she ordered Giana to take the gown to her personal tailor to have it altered.

Chapter 2: Kuseita Mine

The next day, at the Powell mansion, the parking lot overflowed with luxury cars. Titans of finance—people who only ever showed up in stock reports—were suddenly as common as vegetables at a farmer’s market.

Elsie walked toward the Powell family’s attendant, exuding confidence in the dress Wyatt had prepared. She handed over her invitation. After scanning it, the attendant gave her a once-over, then stepped aside. “Please go in.”

She accepted the invitation back with a smile. Thank God for Wyatt. If he hadn’t set her up with everything she needed, she never would have gotten in so easily.

Once inside, she followed tradition and had the staff write her name down on the guest list before proceeding to the main hall, exactly as she requested.

In the grand hall, she scanned the room. To every eligible bachelor who met her gaze, she returned a gentle smile and a poised nod. But each of them only gave her a puzzled look before glancing away, clearly unimpressed. One might have been a fluke, but all of them?

Self-conscious, Elsie reached up and touched her face. Did her makeup smudge? This didn’t make sense… She hadn’t lost her charm. Maybe she just needed to freshen up in the restroom.

Then came the chatter.

“Ms. Taylor and Mr. Paul really are a stunning couple.”

“We’re just waiting for their wedding invitation!”

Elsie froze in her tracks. She turned just in time to lock eyes with the radiant Taylor. Taylor’s smile faded as her gaze swept over Elsie from head to toe, then curled into a mocking smirk.

The blatant disdain in Taylor’s expression quickly drew the attention of the nearby guests, who turned to look at Elsie—giving her the same up-and-down once-over.

Someone frowned. “Why is she wearing the same dress as Ms. Taylor?”

A voice dripped with contempt. “At such an important event, someone actually wore a knockoff? How embarrassing for the host family.”

How did she even get in with such a blunder?

Fiske’s face turned crimson. Flustered, she blurted, “This isn’t a fake?”

Someone scoffed. “So what you’re saying is Ms. Taylor’s dress is the knockoff? That she copied?”

Burning with humiliation, Elsie’s eyes welled up. “You can’t judge people based on where they…”