Carly looked stunning in the lace dress, but her expression betrayed a hint of discomfort; it felt far too tight around her waist. Earlier, in the fitting room, she’d had to hold her breath and suck in her stomach just to zip it up.

Now, holding the hem of her dress, Carly spun in front of Adam. "Adam, do I look good?"

Adam glanced at her but remained silent. Lacy, however, quickly filled the silence, her voice brimming with enthusiasm. "Of course! My Carly looks amazing! How else could she become the lead ballerina? She's leagues ahead of those housewives!"

Just as Lacy finished speaking, a loud "rip!" echoed through the room. Carly's lace dress had split open at the waist. Lacy froze. Carly let out a sharp scream, her hands flying to her waist to cover the damage. How could something so embarrassing happen, especially in front of Adam and Celine?

The store assistant looked uncomfortable as she explained, "This lace dress isn't the right size for her. She needs one size up."

In theory, there was nothing wrong with wearing a size up, but Carly's pride couldn't take it. She felt mortified. Perry, unable to contain herself, burst into laughter. "Ms. Carly, is this your usual size? If so, you must have gained weight recently. Your waist has gotten bigger."

Carly's face turned ashen. She didn't respond.

Perry added, with a smirk, "But don't take it personally. Even though you're the lead ballerina and work hard to maintain your figure, Celine has had a naturally tiny waist since she was a kid. That's something you can't compete with."

Carly froze, her silence heavy with anger. Her gaze fell on Celine, burning with resentment. "Celine, did you do this on purpose? You knew I couldn't fit into this dress, and you gave it to me anyway! You just wanted to humiliate me!"

Celine blinked, her expression calm and innocent. "Carly, the weight is on your body, not mine. If you didn't know, how could I?"

Carly opened her mouth to retort, but no words came. Before she could recover, Adam's deep, magnetic voice cut through the tension. "That's enough."

Carly looked up, meeting Adam's cold, piercing gaze. His expression was indifferent, his tone distant. "Stop making a scene." Lacy quickly intervened. "Carly, go change out of that dress right now."

Carly's face drained of color. She felt completely humiliated in front of Adam. Without another word, she stormed off to the fitting room. Perry casually slung her arm around Celine's shoulder. "Celine, let's go. Let's check out some other stores." Celine, having seen enough, readily agreed. "Sure! Let's go," she said.

As they walked toward the exit, they stopped in front of Tracy and Sonia. Celine turned to them. "Mrs. Tate Senior, Tracy, here's a piece of advice: tonight, you might want to ask Dr. C for money. Let's see if they actually give it to you."

Perry's brow furrowed in confusion. "Dr. C?"

Sonia and Tracy perked up. Watching Carly's humiliation had been painful, but now they saw an opportunity. Tracy smirked smugly. "That's right, Mr. Marshall. Dr. C is my boyfriend now."

Sonia added triumphantly, "And my future grandson-in-law."

Perry let out a disbelieving laugh. "Mrs. Tate Senior, Ms. Tracy, you must be mistaken. Dr. C is a woman."