They Called Me a Gold Digger, So I Dethroned Them All Chapter 05

The entire crowd fell silent.

Tobin Kersey’s mouth dropped open, his laughter dying in his throat. Hollis’s outstretched hand froze in midair, disbelief flashing across his eyes.

Stellan didn’t even glance at him. He simply turned his head slightly, looking down at the

rain–soaked hem of my skirt. His deep, resonant voice carried through the silent night.

“Ms. Wetherell, it’s cold out here. My car’s just up ahead. I’ll give you a ride.”

Hollis’s face went from pale to livid, though he struggled to maintain his polished’smile

“Mr. Arkwright, this is between me and my fiancée. There’s no need for you to get involved.”

Only then did Stellan slowly lift his gaze, his eyes cutting across Hollis’s face like a blade. His voice was utterly devoid of warmth.

“Your fiancée?”

A faint trace of mockery touched his lips. In front of everyone, he reached out and pulled his suit jacket more securely around my shoulders.

“You let your fiancée stand out here in the cold while everyone humiliates her. I see the Redgraves have quite an interesting idea of good manners.”

Hollis stood rooted to the spot, his face twisted with humiliation.

Stellan lowered his head, his dark eyes settling on my face. His voice was quiet but firm.

“What do you say, Ms. Wetherell?”

“I’m flattered by the invitation, Mr. Arkwright. It would be my pleasure.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, I slipped my hand through the arm he offered and walked forward.

My heels clicked sharply against the stone pavement.

Hollis suddenly stepped forward, his carefully controlled expression finally beginning to crack.

“Blythe! Do you even realize what you’re doing?”

His voice was barely above a whisper, a vein standing out at his temple. For the first time since I’d

known him, his flawless gentlemanly facade had begun to slip.

I stopped, turned my head, and raised an eyebrow at him.

“Mr. Redgrave, aren’t you always telling me to learn from successful people and broaden my horizons?”

“Well, Mr. Arkwright is willing to show me a thing or two. I’d be a fool to pass up the opportunity.”

Behind Hollis, Tobin’s face had turned livid. He looked ready to jump to his defense, but one y glance from Stellan was enough to shut him up.

Maisie pushed open the car door and hurried over, her eyes red as she caught hold of Hoflis’s

sleeve.

“Hollis, is Blythe leaving you? How can she just walk away with another man…?”

Her seemingly innocent question delivered the final blow to Hollis’s pride.

The heir to one of Vellmont’s wealthiest families had just been publicly cast aside by his own fiancée. By tomorrow, the story would be all over the city’s elite social circles.

Stellan didn’t spare either of them another glance. He shielded me from the rain as he escorted me straight into the back seat of a black Rolls–Royce.

The moment the door closed, all the gossip and prying eyes were shut out.

The interior was spacious, the temperature maintained at a comfortable 75 degrees. A faint, luxurious woody fragrance lingered in the air.

My tightly wound nerves finally relaxed, and only then did I realize my palms were slick with cold

sweat.

Stellan handed me a clean, warm towel.

“Here. Dry off.”

I accepted it and wiped the rainwater from my hands before turning toward the man beside me.

“That little performance tonight came at quite a price, Mr. Arkwright. A $4.3 million necklace, and

now you’ve managed to offend the entire Redgrave family.”

Stellan leaned back against the leather seat, crossing his long legs with an air of complete

indifference.

“The Redgraves aren’t important enough for me to worry about.”

He turned toward me, his dark eyes meeting mine with the sharp, assessing gaze of a man sizing up abusiness rival.

“But you, Ms. Wetherell… You’ve got some nerve using me to fight your battles.”