Mistake
Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Cynthia chucked the stained piece of her dress in the trash and turned to the waitress. “So, somebody did this on purpose, huh?”

“Yes,” the waitress said.

Cynthia scoured the crowd. “Any idea who?”

The rich ladies looked tickled by the gossip, but Rebecca was dodging eye contact, guilt written all over her.

got her from behind and bolted off into the crowd before she could react.

The server shook her head. The person

Rebecca swaggered over with a nasty grin. “Some women just do anything to catch a rich dude. No wonder nobody can stand you here.”

Cynthia snorted. It was like Rebecca was begging to be caught. Aside from Yolanda, Rebecca had been the only one beefing with her since she’d shown up. And since Yolanda wasn’t even close, it left Rebecca looking really

suspicious.

“Seems like you’ve got some strong feelings about gold diggers, Mrs. Steward,” Cynthia said.

“It’s not just me. Everyone here hates it,” Rebecca snapped, trying to drag the others into her drama.

Cynthia frowned, playing dumb. “Funny thing, though. I heard you were a salesgirl before snagging Mr. Steward and that you kind of slid into the last wife’s spot. So I gotta know, who’s worse in everyone’s book: a homewrecker

or someone like me?”

She had already done her homework on these posh ladies. Most of them had secured their positions through arranged family marriages, but a rare few, like Rebecca, had climbed the ladder through dirty tricks. And in these high–society circles, many tycoons had one mistress or two. So naturally, these society ladies were no fans of anyone who messed with their home turf.

The other guests threw some major side–eye Rebecca’s way.

Rebecca’s face lost all its color. She’d spent years making them forget she was the “other woman.” And now, Cynthia had gone and spilled the beans.

Fuming, Rebecca raised her hand to slap Cynthia, but the latter was ready. She grabbed a jug of juice and doused Rebecca’s face with it. “Consider us even.”

The juice wrecked Rebecca’s face; her makeup melted, and her fake lashes stuck out like sore thumbs. It was a hot

mess.

With a shriek, Rebecca lunged at Cynthia, determined to kick her ass.

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Chapter 40

No longer tripped up by her fancy dress, Cynthia nimbly stepped out of the way.

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Rebecca went for round two, but before she could make contact, Cynthia was yanked to safety by a really familiar

pair of arms.

“Touching my woman? You’re asking for trouble.” Liam’s voice boomed as he shielded Cynthia, an icy aura enveloping him instantly.

A chill went down the crowd’s spine. This obvious protective instinct didn’t match Yolanda’s earlier description of Cynthia as an unimportant girl to Liam–she must be his main squeeze.

Alan Stewart finally showed up. Before he could even process his wife lying on the floor, Liam dropped another

bomb.

“Mr. Stewart, it seems we’ll have to reconsider doing business with your company.”

Alan watched his chance at a partnership go up in flames. Too upset to worry about Rebecca, who was crying on the floor, he quickly asked, “But, Mr. Sullivan, didn’t we have a deal?”

Liam’s face was all serious business as he laid it out straight. “If you can’t keep your own family drama from messing up a fancy event, how are you supposed to run a company? Sullivan Group’s not gonna gamble on teaming up with a company that’s all kinds of shaky.”

After dropping that bomb, Liam shot a look at Ziv. “Spread the word–we’re cutting ties with any business with misconduct. If a CEO can’t treat his wife right and chases after someone else, they’re cut off. No second chances.”

Ziv got right on it, shooting off the message in the company’s group chat.

Alan was just sitting there on the ground, a total wreck. Being blacklisted by Sullivan Group could spell the end for his business. Other companies, eager to stay on Sullivan Group’s good side, would abandon them instantly. Without their support, Alan’s company would likely face bankruptcy in under two months.

Even Rebecca couldn’t keep up her dramatics. She was too busy freaking out over the crazy mad look on Alan’s face. Before everybody knew it, he was dragging her up by her arm and started whacking her across the face.

“Ow, stop hitting me!” she hollered.

“You’re nothing but trouble. Why did I ever marry you?” Alan yelled. “Now, you’ve ruined my business. You have to pay for it!”

Rebecca was scrambling on the floor, begging him to stop.

Cynthia had seen enough and turned her back. “Get them out,” she ordered.

Ziv then signaled the security, and they swooped in and marched the couple out the door.

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Chapter 40

The rest of the rich ladies were spooked big time, wondering if any of them had stepped out of line.

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In the back, Yolanda was fuming, watching Liam holding Cynthia tight. Her jealousy was through the roof, her nails digging into her palms. She was dead set on getting Liam back. She had been counting on Rebecca to knock Cynthia down a peg, but the plan backfired big time because Rebecca was inept.

After that mess, everyone was clear about Cynthia’s status. Nobody messed with her until the auction started.

Ten minutes later, everyone filed into the auction hall orderly.

Liam and Cynthia took their seats in the front row, right in the center–the best spot for viewing every item up for bid. Everyone else sat down based on who they were, with the big shots up front and the rest towards the back. Yolanda snagged a seat in the third row.

The auctioneer did his spiel before presenting the first item–a landscape painting by some famous dead painter. His great–kid was selling it for charity. Bidding started at 30 thousand dollars and climbed to 60 thousand dollars before some knowledgeable professor snagged it.

After that, there were a bunch of little trinkets up for grabs. Standard for auctions, the items at the beginning were less expensive, with prices climbing as the event progressed. The herb Cynthia wanted was number ten on the list.