That evening, I attended the banquet in full attire.
When I arrived, I was with Julian, and the place was already crowded. As soon as Julian arrived, a group of big shots surrounded him.
I quietly slipped away, retreating to a quiet corner.
A harsh voice came from behind.
"Heh, so you really came."
Catherine was wearing a pink bow dress, looking sweet and cute.
This dress was originally sent to me by my grandmother, but when Catherine saw it, she immediately claimed she liked it, and my mom decided to give it to her.
The size wasn't quite right for her, but she deliberately wore this dress to provoke me.
She sized me up and sneered: "I didn't think you'd actually show up. Guess you really are desperate. You'll do anything to marry Edward, won't you?"
"It's a pity, in his eyes, you're just a servant ready to be at his beck and call. He agreed to marry you just to protect me."
"Girls should have some self-awareness and not try to take what isn't theirs. Don't you agree?"
I smiled: "Aren't you afraid I won't help you clear your name in front of everyone?"
Catherine's expression changed: "You don't get to decide that."
Suddenly, she grabbed my arm forcefully, her freshly done long nails digging into my flesh, causing sharp pain. I shook off her hand.
I didn't use much force.
She staggered back a few steps, then fell heavily to the ground.
Catherine looked at me with a pitiful expression, and her eyes quickly reddened.
"Cecilia, I really didn't have anything going on with Edward. Why do you have such hostility toward me?"
Her voice was loud, drawing the attention of most guests at the banquet.
"Catherine!"
Edward pushed me aside and rushed to her side.
He helped the crying Catherine up, frowning, looking at me with deep disappointment:
"Cecilia, I know you've always been jealous of your sister. You fabricated lies to slander her, and now you even dared to push her!"
"I'm so disappointed in you."
"Apologize to your sister right now! Otherwise, I won't let this go."
My mom looked at me as though she wanted to tear me apart:
"You've always been jealous of your sister! I regret giving birth to you."
"I should have killed you when you were born!"
Guests started whispering and pointing at me: "So it's the second daughter of the Darnell family, jealous and slandering her sister."
"At such a young age, you're already so manipulative. Truly a disgrace to the Darnell family."
Julian walked through the crowd toward me, standing in front of me, gently taking my hand.
I took a few steps back: "Don't worry, I'll handle my own business."
After saying that, I took a deep breath and pressed the button on the remote control.
The next second, everyone's attention was drawn to the large screen in the banquet hall.
In the video, Catherine was sitting on Edward's lap in the makeup room, hugging him tightly.
"I encouraged Cecilia to propose to you tonight. You wouldn't dare refuse her, would you?"
"Heh, if it weren't for the fact that three years ago, when I broke my leg parachuting, she served me like a dog, constantly at my beck and call, trying to please my mom, I wouldn't have even considered dating her."
"Though... to put it nicely, she's obedient and sensible. To put it bluntly, she's just a servant."
"These past three years, she's been obedient, never once bringing up marriage. If she dares to ask, I'll break up with her immediately."
"Dating her is fine, but thinking of actually marrying her, now that's a terrifying thought."
In the video, Catherine gently rubbed his thigh: "So I'm the better one, right? I'm willing to play any game with you."
The following scenes grew harder to watch.
The banquet hall fell silent, as if the pause button had been pressed. Catherine, pale-faced, collapsed onto the floor.
Edward shouted, "Who played this? Turn it off!"
The guests who had previously whispered about me quickly changed their tune.
"Poor second daughter of the Darnell family, having such a sister."
"Catherine really is something. She even steals her sister's boyfriend."
"Did you see that dress Catherine's wearing? I've seen it before, it was custom-made by Cecilia's grandmother for her. I've always wanted to say something about it."
"Truly, you can know a person's face, but not their heart."
The scene became chaotic. Inside, I felt a rush of satisfaction.
Luckily, I hadn't wasted time feeling upset. Instead, I had quickly recorded their compromising scene.
Julian looked at me fondly: "Well done."
I winked at him: "Do you think I went too far?"
Julian shook his head: "Compared to my methods, you're still too gentle."
Truly the villain.
Edward yelled at me: "Cecilia! So it was all your doing!"
"How evil are you, even your sister's pinky is better than you! You'll never marry me!"
I sneered, "Did you misunderstand something, Edward? Is marrying you such an honorable thing?"
"You've trampled on my feelings for you all along. Do you really think I'll always be obsessed with you?"
"But I do thank you. If it weren't for you, I never would have met Julian."
I hooked my arm around Julian's and formally announced to the crowd: "Let me introduce, this is my fiancé."
"We have a date tonight, so excuse us."
The comment comments:
"Wow, wow, wow, after all this time, we finally got an official announcement!"
"The villain's been waiting for this day for so long, crying."
I felt Julian's hand, resting on my waist, tremble lightly. As we exited the banquet hall, he eagerly kissed me. He buried his head in my neck, sighing softly: "Cecilia, you're finally... mine."
