Chapter 55: Confrontations and Revelations at the Engagement Party

Chapter 55: Confrontations and Revelations at the Engagement Party

Emily didn't hold back with her slap. The girl's face snapped to the side, and a red handprint slowly began to appear on her cheek.

She stared wide-eyed in shock, taking a long moment before turning back to face Emily's half-lidded gaze.

The woman before her remained calm, her eyes narrowed slightly, and her chin lifted imperiously, like a proud and regal white cat.

The girl, stunned by Emily's demeanor, fell silent. But her friend, standing beside her, suddenly let out a high-pitched shriek.

"You actually hit her!? How dare you—"

"What's going on here?" an obviously irritated female voice cut in.

Emily turned to see Olivia and Eric striding over.

Olivia was draped in her fiancé's coat, the pale pink feathers of her dress peeking out from beneath the black suit jacket, the large diamond earrings swinging angrily as she walked. She stomped up to Emily.

"What happened?"

Emily glanced at her slightly reddened palm, responding coolly, "Nothing. Just some gossip."

Olivia turned, catching sight of the slap mark on the other girl's face, and slowly raised an eyebrow.

"What did you say to her?" Olivia asked, her tone as dangerous as Emily's had been.

Before the girl could respond, her friend jumped in, "Eric!"

She turned to Eric, "All Lateisha did was say a few words, and she came over and slapped her!"

She pointed angrily at Emily, then gestured to Lateisha's red cheek, "Look, it's all red! How could anyone—"

"What did you say to her?" Olivia repeated, cutting her off without hesitation, her tone even sharper, "If you can't keep a clean mouth, then you deserve to get slapped. Got a problem with that?"

The two girls were dumbfounded.

Olivia glanced at Lateisha's slap mark, curling her lips into a cold smile, "I don't see what's so different about it."

She suddenly grabbed Emily's hand, "But look at my friend—her hand is bleeding!"

Emily blinked, momentarily confused as she stared at her own hand.

Her pale palm had a tiny wound, about the size of a grain of rice, where blood was just beginning to seep out—a leftover injury from when Ethan had pulled her to the ground the other day.

Emily: "…"

The other girls, along with Eric and Jessica, were all completely stunned.

Emily awkwardly cleared her throat, tugging on Olivia's sleeve, "Um—"

"Don't try to stop me, Emily," Olivia said firmly, glaring at the others, still in full avenger mode.

"My friend got hurt at my engagement party. You may be willing to let it slide, but I'm not!"

Emily: "…"

In all her years, this was the first time anyone had ever described her as "willing to let it slide."

So she decided to play along, standing quietly beside Olivia, trying her best to embody the role of someone who had slapped another person, hurt herself in the process, and was now graciously letting it go.

After all, this was Olivia's engagement party. It was her event, and it was only right that she took charge.

Olivia shot a look at the girls who were still standing there in shock, then turned to her fiancé.

"You invited these people to ruin our party?"

Eric, who had just been dragged into this, was left confused and speechless.

Olivia dramatically shrugged off his coat, "You handle this. If they don't leave the ship, I'm not going to the banquet hall."

With that, she grabbed Emily and Jessica and stormed off.

Eric stood there for a moment, then picked up the coat from the floor, "But… won't you be cold—"

Olivia ignored him, only cracking a smile when she heard Eric lower his voice, instructing the girls to leave.

Emily, feeling a bit guilty for the scene she had caused, finally spoke up.

"I'm sorry, I just lost control for a moment. After all, this is your engagement party…"

Olivia waved her hand dismissively, "It's not your fault. They made your hand bleed; what else is there to say?"

Emily: "…"

She thought for a moment and decided not to ruin Olivia's enthusiasm by telling her the truth. Instead, she resolved to take some stunning photos for Olivia as compensation.

Jessica also glanced at Emily's hand, "It's still bleeding a bit. Do you have any bandages?"

Olivia replied, "I'll go get some. I also need to check on Eric—he's such a fool…"

As Olivia and Jessica left, Emily leaned against the window, gazing out over the ocean.

"Alisa."

She turned, startled.

Ryan had approached without her noticing.

Because of a recent role, he had shaved his head, and his sharp features passed the test of the severe hairstyle, giving him an even more rugged and mature look.

"Oh, you're here too," Emily greeted him with a somewhat strained smile.

For some reason, she felt awkward whenever she saw Ryan these days.

Ryan seemed a bit uneasy as well. After a brief silence, he spoke softly, "I saw what happened earlier…"

Emily stiffened. She hadn't realized he had witnessed her slapping someone.

Now, things were getting awkward.

Then a thought crossed her mind: If Ethan had seen that, would she feel embarrassed?

The answer was no.

After all, he'd seen her behave even more irrationally.

In fact, she might even have gone over to complain to him and ask him to take her side…

"I have some bandages in my cabin," Ryan interrupted her thoughts, stepping closer, "Let me help you."

"No need," Emily quickly refused, stepping back, "Jessica is already getting—ah!"

As she stepped back, the yacht swayed violently. Emily lost her balance, and her heel gave a sharp "crack."

Ryan immediately caught her, "Careful."

He frowned, "I think your heel broke. Did you twist your ankle?"

Emily gently pushed his arm away, "No, I'm fine—"

Before she could finish, Ryan unexpectedly scooped her up into his arms.

"Your ankle is red; it looks like you might have twisted it. Let me take you to get it treated." His eyes, warm and soft, gazed down at her, "I also need to talk to you."

**

"Chairman Harrison, we received a message from your grandfather. He hopes you can visit him."

"I'm not going," Ethan replied without hesitation.

Jason hesitated, "How about going to the office?"

After a few days in the hospital, there were quite a few matters at the company that required the CEO's attention.

Ethan shook his head again, "Not today."

For some reason, Jason detected a hint of a "the king is not attending court today" attitude in his boss's indifferent tone.

Ethan checked his watch, "Has the party my wife attended ended?"

Jason finally realized where his boss's true priorities lay.

"Not yet."

"Head that way," Ethan said, pulling out his phone, "What's the situation there?"

Jason sent a quick message and received a response almost immediately. When he saw the photos, his expression froze.

Ethan, ever perceptive, glanced over, "What is it?"

Jason carefully handed him the tablet, showing him the images taken from security footage. The pictures clearly showed Emily's confrontation with the girls from earlier.

Ethan stared at the slim figure in the blue dress for a few seconds, zooming in on the photo. His brows furrowed, and his expression darkened.

Jason peeked at the tablet, noticing that his boss was fixated on the picture of Emily slapping the other girl.

He had even zoomed in on the hand she had used?

Was he… admiring his wife's slapping skills?

"Chairman Harrison," Jason swallowed, "Don't worry, the report said the other person didn't retaliate."

Ethan let out a low hum.

Jason could accurately interpret that sound as meaning, "I'd like to see them try."

Ethan added, "She used her left hand."

Jason: "What?"

Ethan pointed at the enlarged photo, frowning with concern, "She has a cut on her left hand. It's pretty deep."

Jason: "…"

So, his wife slaps someone, and his only concern is whether she hurt her hand doing it?

This… this is the most blatant double standard ever!

As Jason was still processing this, two more photos appeared on the screen. Ethan swiped to the next image, freezing mid-motion.

In the photos, a tall, handsome man with a close-cropped haircut was holding the woman in the blue dress in his arms. His soft gaze was hidden under his thick lashes, but the tenderness in his expression as he looked at her was unmistakable.

Ethan's narrow eyes locked onto a particular spot on the screen, narrowing sharply.

Ryan's white shirt collar, without a tie, bore a faint but unmistakable lipstick mark.

**

Ryan slowly lowered his eyes. After several long seconds, he suddenly smiled, short and bitter.

"I knew this would happen," his usually clear voice was rough with emotion, "but I couldn't stand the thought of not telling you in person."

Emily bit her lip, remaining silent.

She never imagined that the person she had once idolized would one day turn around and chase after her.

"I turned down a confession from the idol I admired for years," she mused silently. "I'll have to remember this."

Her cheeks flushed as she avoided his gaze, "I'm older than you, and I've been married…"

"I already told you, I don't care," Ryan said firmly for the second time.

Emily, as

if she hadn't heard, continued, "You're still so young, and your career is just taking off. There's no need to take risks with me."

She picked up the glass in front of her, exhaled slowly, and smiled, "I wish you the best."

Ryan also raised his glass, but instead of clinking it against Emily's, he studied her for a moment.

"You still care about Chairman Harrison, don't you?"

Emily's hand trembled slightly, the rim of her glass brushing against her lips. Her long lashes fluttered quickly.

Her reaction gave Ryan all the answer he needed.

He shook his head, forcing a smile. Then he tapped his glass against hers lightly and downed his drink.

Emily took a sip, her expression faltering slightly as she set the glass down and stared at the green liquid inside.

"What is this?"

"Emerald Martini," Ryan replied. "Why? It's a bit strong, so take it easy."

Emily's eyes widened in shock.

A conversation from deep within her memory suddenly surfaced in her mind.

"How much did you drink to end up like this?"

"…Didn't drink much. Look how pretty this green one is…"

"It's called an Emerald Martini. It's very strong. That's enough; I'm taking you home."

"No! If I go back, I'll have to marry James, and I don't want to!"

"Don't be like this—Hey, Emily, let go! What are you doing?"

…

Emily's eyes shifted slightly as she shook her head gently.

Why couldn't she remember?

She stared at the green cocktail for a few more seconds before suddenly taking another sip.

**

When Eric and Olivia saw Ethan, they thought they were seeing things.

Not just them, everyone on the yacht was shocked to see the sudden arrival of the wealthiest man.

A figure normally unreachable was now within arm's reach. Some guests considered approaching him, but after seeing the dark cloud over his face, they wisely kept their distance.

Ethan walked straight to Eric, speaking to him in a low voice. Eric's face quickly showed understanding, and he nodded, raising an arm to lead the way.

The guests watched as Chairman Harrison strode off, his long legs moving with urgency.

Eric led them directly to the VIP cabin. As he was about to instruct the butler to open the door, a black-clad bodyguard seemingly appeared out of nowhere, blocking the entrance.

Eric paused, pointing to the door, "Is Alisa inside?"

The bodyguard said nothing but gave a slight nod, "Sorry, you can't go in right now."

Eric bristled, "I can't go in? Are you serious? This is my yacht—"

Before he could finish, he was abruptly pushed aside by a hand on his shoulder.

Ethan stepped forward. He was taller, and his commanding presence made the bodyguard flinch.

"Open the door."

The bodyguard hesitated but remained firm in his position.

Ethan stepped closer, suddenly grabbing the bodyguard by the collar and slamming him against the door.

"I said, open the door."