Listening to these conversations, Ashley’s delight grew. She was determined to embarrass Bianca today.
“You’re all mistaken.” Ashley looked around and announced, “The man who got engaged to Bianca was paid to pretend to be her fiance. Her ex-boyfriend is a well-known player. Can you blame her for trying to trick everyone? Bianca, maybe you should explain things to avoid misunderstandings. What do you say?”
The crowd looked at Bianca with disdain.
“What? So, Bianca hired someone to pretend to be a wealthy man at her engagement party? Why would she do that? She’s just too focused on appearances. No wonder she fell out with her family. If she were my daughter, I’d give her a good slap.”
“But Ashley managed to get the Reed family’s son, a real gentleman.”
Listening to these talks, Bianca smiled softly. She wasn’t angry. But her response made Ashley angry, feeling like her efforts were wasted.
“Yeah, since you all know my ex-boyfriend is a jerk, why would you think I’d be engaged to him?” Bianca looked around the room and spoke calmly, but she quickly changed the situation.
Stacey explained, “Bianca, we only found out about this at your engagement party.”
Bianca still had a calm smile on her face. “Really? I remember that Haris went to see you before the engagement party and even tried to make a move on you, didn’t he? He said he was too drunk that night, but I have a question for everyone. What kind of guy would do something with his future mother-in-law just because he was drunk? Doesn’t that say a lot about his character? Yet, Stacey, you never told me about it and went ahead with the engagement party as planned. Are you trying to say this wasn’t intentional on your part?”
Stacey’s face went pale. She had wanted to embarrass Bianca, but now she was caught up in the situation.
All eyes turned to Stacey.
Bianca’s words made sense. In a situation like this, Stacey should have questioned Haris’s character. If Stacey really cared about Bianca, she should have looked into Haris a bit.
Since Bianca uncovered Haris’s true self, how could Stacey have missed it?
It seemed like Stacey chose not to check into Haris’s background.
Bianca wasn’t Stacey’s biological daughter. Despite Stacey pretending to be a loving wife and mother, she didn’t truly want Bianca to be happy.
Of course, a stepmother couldn’t compare to a biological mother. Stacey was probably looking forward to mocking Bianca. People’s faces don’t always reflect what’s in their hearts. Women like Stacey could be quite scary.
The ongoing conversations quickly drained the color from Stacey’s face. Bianca was good with words. She could easily blame Stacey and make her face public scrutiny.
Even Joshua, watching this, seemed to dislike Stacey.
Stacey didn’t care what others thought of her; all she cared about was making her daughter become a part of the Reed family.
Stacey quickly came closer, holding Bianca’s hand tightly. Her voice sounded a bit teary as she said, “Bianca, I messed up in this situation. I know how much you care about Haris. I was afraid you’d be hurt, so I wanted to give him a chance to change. You’ve misunderstood. I didn’t mean to hide it from you. I really care about what you think.”
Stacey’s acting skills helped people understand her side and feel sorry for her.
Just then, Peter stepped in. “Okay, let’s settle down now. Everyone, find a seat.”
Upon hearing this, the crowd politely dispersed and settled into their seats at the banquet tables by the beach.
At eight o’clock, the birthday party kicked off.
Suddenly, the lights around them shimmered brightly, setting the atmosphere aglow.
Peter raised his glass in thanks to everyone who had come to celebrate his birthday. After a few kind words, he took a sip of his wine.
The sweet melody of music filled the air as the musicians played their violins with skill and grace, creating a scene of harmony and beauty near the banquet tables.
Sitting across from Bianca, Stacey spoke softly, “Bianca, I can’t have a drink while I’m pregnant. Could you please ask a waiter to bring me a glass of water?”
All eyes turned to Bianca.
With a friendly smile, Bianca nodded, “Sure.”
Bianca stood up and left her seat. A while later, she came back with a glass of water and gave it to Stacey.
“Thanks.” Stacey took a few sips of water and then continued chatting with the guests.
Bianca looked at the water glass, her face serious.
“Why don’t we go over there and raise our glasses to Peter?” The guests stood up, holding their glasses, and walked over to Peter.
Stacey looked at Bianca, and a sad smile appeared on her face. “Bianca, you can’t beat me.”
Then, suddenly, Stacey grabbed her stomach and fell from her chair.
“Help! Someone help! My stomach hurts so much.”
Peter, enjoying the happy atmosphere of the party, was startled by Stacey’s loud cry.
He put down his glass and hurried over to Stacey.
The other guests also looked over to see what was going on.
Peter pushed through the crowd and found Stacey looking pale and holding her stomach.
He hugged her tightly, looking worried. “Stacey, what’s wrong? What’s happening?”
Stacey weakly pointed at Bianca, who was sitting at the other end of the table.
“I suddenly got so thirsty, and after drinking the water Bianca gave me, this terrible pain started in my belly,” Stacey explained.
As she spoke, Stacey doubled over in pain again, holding onto Peter’s sleeve, tears streaming down her face, clearly distressed.
Ashley pushed her way through the crowd, accusing Bianca, “She’s trying to harm my mom’s baby. She must have put something in the water to end the pregnancy.”
“Bianca, I’ve forgiven your past insults, but this is a baby, an innocent life, potentially your sibling. How could you do something so cruel?” Stacey cried.
Suddenly, everyone looked at Bianca, their expressions showing shock, disdain, disgust, and fear.
“How could she do something so terrible? Isn’t that like murder?”
“Maybe she’s afraid the baby will inherit the family property one day. She couldn’t ruin Stacey’s reputation before, so now she’s resorting to drugging her?”
“It’s hard to believe someone as pretty and innocent-looking as Bianca could be so cruel.”
Peter’s eyes filled with anger as he stared at Bianca, raising his voice. “Bianca Scott, have you gone mad?”
Bianca stared back coldly, her eyes moving from Stacey to Peter on the ground, but she chose to stay silent.
“If the baby is harmed, I’ll call the police, and you’ll no longer be my daughter. I won’t accept a cruel and ungrateful child,” Peter said firmly, his glare growing stronger.