Ashley had been laying low recently, especially after reconciling with Joshua. She wanted to keep Joshua close, so she avoided causing trouble. Her previous attempts to bother Bianca had backfired. But now, Ashley felt more cunning.
She had been waiting for others like Zoey and Natalie to give Bianca a hard time.
And she knew Haris wouldn’t go easy on Bianca either.
But today, she saw an opportunity to damage Bianca’s reputation, hoping it would ease her bitterness.
As Ashley was celebrating in her scheming, Elaine suddenly emerged behind Bianca. Looking at Ashley’s wide grin, Elaine blurted out, “Madam, you are so ugly.”
A silence descended over the crowd. Ashley paused for a moment, then pointed a finger at herself. “You’re talking about me?”
Elaine nodded confidently. “My mom says people who get plastic surgery have fake smiles. Your smile is really ugly.”
“What?” Ashley’s exaggerated smile quickly froze into a shocked expression.
Instinctively, Ashley reached up to touch her face.
She often admired herself in the mirror with pride, appreciating the results of her cosmetic procedures. Her smiles had always showcased her beauty. How could anyone think she wasn’t absolutely stunning?
Yet, the honesty in a child’s words often carries weight. As Elaine’s words sank in, the onlookers started to scrutinize Ashley.
“Her nose does look different.”
“I noticed her smile seemed stiff during the ribbon cutting. Maybe she’s had some work done.”
“I wonder how she looked before.”
“Bianca’s features seem so natural in comparison… She’s much more beautiful than Ashley.”
Ashley nearly lost her temper and pointed at Elaine, scolding, “You little troublemaker, what are you saying? I haven’t had any plastic surgery.”
Bianca quickly shielded Elaine and gave Ashley a stern look. “Ashley, remember you’re in public. Do you want to argue with a child?”
Hearing this, Ashley had to calm down.
Ashley was the guest of honor at the ribbon-cutting event. Starting a fight and upsetting the event’s sponsor wouldn’t be worth it.
Moreover, Ashley had already damaged Bianca’s reputation. She noticed someone taking photos of Bianca, Dave, and Elaine, likely spreading them online by now.
With this in mind, Ashley composed herself and gave Bianca a strained smile. “I won’t lower myself to argue with an uncivilized child.”
She turned to walk away.
But suddenly, Elaine darted out from behind Bianca, grabbed Ashley’s arm, and bit down hard. Ashley screamed and shook Elaine off, revealing teeth marks on her arm.
“How dare you bite me? I’ll call the police to have you all arrested!” Ashley cried out in frustration, then quickly grabbed her phone to dial the police.
Witnessing Elaine being shoved to the ground, Bianca hurried over and cradled her in her arms.
Tears streamed down Elaine’s face. “I’m not a bad kid. You can’t say that about me.”
Bianca then handed Elaine to Dave and faced Ashley, who was taking her phone away.
“What are you doing? Give me my phone!” Ashley demanded, glaring at Bianca.
Bianca looked at Ashley and suggested, “How about we settle this between us?”
Ashley scoffed. “You want to handle this privately? Unless… you beg me.”
Bianca looked at Elaine again. Elaine was still crying, looking scared, and leaning into Dave’s chest for comfort.
Bianca didn’t want Elaine to get hurt anymore.
Ashley noticed Bianca’s hesitation and spoke firmly. “Your child bit me. You didn’t apologize, and now you want to handle this privately? I’m being nice by just asking for an apology. If the police come, it’ll be your fault too!”
Elaine shouldn’t have bitten Ashley, but Ashley provoked her first.
However, if Sheila called the police, it could drag Sophia into the situation.
Sophia recently became the center of public attention, with many people watching her closely. If this started to affect Vincent’s open audition, it could cause problems.
Bianca clenched her fists. She had never thought she’d apologize to Ashley, but she was considering it for Elaine and Sophia’s sake.
“You don’t have to apologize to her,” Dave interrupted, gently putting Elaine down and standing in front of Bianca protectively. He faced Ashley with a firm voice. “She doesn’t deserve your apology.”
“What did you just say, you loser?” Ashley was almost losing her temper. She pointed her finger at Dave’s nose and raised her voice.
Dave’s lips curled slightly, and his eyes turned cold as he replied, “Would you dare call me a loser again?”
“What… What? Are you saying you want to hurt a woman?”
Ashley felt scared seeing the coldness and harshness on Dave’s face.
This man seemed ordinary, but his powerful presence sent chills down her spine.
“You? You’re not worthy.”
“Hey!”
Ashley was on the brink of losing her cool when a man in a suit stepped out from the crowd. He briefly exchanged glances with Dave before averting his eyes and standing beside Ashley.
“Hello, I’m the mall’s general manager.”
Upon hearing this, Ashley quickly showed him her injured arm and explained, “Sir, I was invited as a special guest for the mall’s ribbon-cutting event. Suddenly, a child bit me. I asked her guardians for an apology, but they refused. I was going to call the police, but this woman took my phone. This incident happened right here in your mall. If you don’t resolve this, I won’t let it go!”
The manager glanced at her and responded calmly, “Miss, as the honored guest for the ribbon-cutting ceremony, you left without permission and caused a disturbance with this lady before the event ended. This led to the incident that followed. Now, you’re considering involving the police. If law enforcement intervenes, it will disrupt today’s ribbon-cutting event, violating our agreement. We may need to end our collaboration and ask for compensation.”
“What?” Ashley couldn’t believe it. Instead of pursuing Bianca and her boyfriend, the mall manager might cancel their collaboration because of this incident!
This large shopping mall was near the famous Dream Amusement Park, making it one of Edenfield’s top shopping spots. Ashley had been invited to the ribbon-cutting event through Joshua’s connections, hoping to boost her popularity. If it got canceled, Joshua would be very unhappy.
“Sir, it happened right before the ribbon cutting, so I… I admit it was my fault.” Ashley didn’t dare to argue at this point, so she reluctantly apologized, lowering her head.
Ashley reluctantly glanced at Bianca. To avoid disrupting today’s ribbon-cutting ceremony, she gritted her teeth and said, “Let it go. She’s just a child. I won’t blame her. The ceremony is starting soon. I’ll go ahead.”
The manager nodded, and Ashley walked away, protecting her injured arm.
After she left, the mall manager nodded slightly at Bianca and gave a quick glance at Dave. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he hurriedly left.
Bianca sensed the manager had intervened for her, but she wondered why.