Chapter 170

“You haven’t heard of me? Well, I haven’t heard of you either,” Abby shot a glance at her. “Do you think Star is just ordinary like you? She’s skipped grades! By the time you were in school, Star might have already graduated.”

Jasper burst into laughter, clutching his stomach. “Oh, keep blowing that horn! I mean, exaggerating isn’t a crime, right? I could say I was the President in a past life, and would you believe me?”

Abby was about to argue back, but Stella gently grabbed her arm. “Marvin’s performance is what matters right now,” Stella whispered soothingly.

Abby took a deep breath, calming herself. “Alright, I don’t have time to argue with you. Whether she graduated from Neo-Vespera University has nothing to do with her messing up Star’s dress. We’ve already come up with a solution. Rachel is about Star’s size, so she’ll swap dresses with her…”

Jasper cut Abby off mid-sentence, his eyes widening with sudden realization. “Oh my god—this is your scheme, isn’t it? You’re setting Rachel up to disqualify her!”

He turned on Stella with accusing fury. “That’s pathetic! Just because you’re jealous Rachel’s more talented than your kid, you’d stoop this low? You actually think you can force Rachel out of the competition?” Jasper let out a disbelieving laugh. “Not happening.”

Just then, Deanna, who had entered with Keen, overheard Jasper’s words and was furious. “Stella, you bitch! Helping outsiders against your own son! If you dare ruin Keen’s competition, you’ll have me to deal with!”

Keen looked heartbroken as he asked, “Mom, why would you do this?”

Jasper scoffed, “Why else? Afraid of losing, so she resorts to dirty tricks!”

Stella was taken aback by their accusations, rubbing her ears. “Who let the mad dogs out of their cage to bark here?”

Before Jasper could reply, Deanna’s face twisted with rage. “How dare you! You disrespectful brat! Did you just call me a dog? Haynes, if you don’t put her in her place, you’re no son of mine!”

Stella looked genuinely surprised. “Deanna, did someone call you a dog? Why do you jump at insults like that? Oh, and didn’t you just say Haynes should teach me a lesson…”

She turned to Abby and said calmly, “Abby, get your phone out and start recording Haynes’s domestic abuse evidence, will you?”

Abby snapped back into focus, whipped out her phone, and started recording, making sure everyone was in the frame. She called out, “Gather ‘round, folks! Don’t miss the year’s most dramatic, soap-opera-worthy showdown! Featuring infidelity, mistresses, and mother-in-law drama! It’s all real, no scripts here!”

Abby’s announcement drew other parents into the room, all familiar with the scene and personalities involved.

“Isn’t that Haynes over there?”

“Oh, and isn’t that Deanna? She’s here too?”

“Deanna? Are you sure? I thought she was the epitome of elegance and grace. She looked more like a fishwife just now.”

“What do you expect? It’s all a facade! She may look all polished on the outside, but who knows how messy it is underneath.”

The murmuring crowd pointed and whispered, casting judgmental glances at Deanna.

Deanna was shaking with rage, her face shifting from red to white and back again.