Callie looked up along the slender high heels. The person was wearing a beige trench coat, and even from a low angle, it was clear that she had an outstanding appearance and a graceful figure.
“Callie, we meet again.”
It was Marilyn.
Callie’s aura weakened in her exposed state. She looked away. “How did you get in here?”
Marilyn squatted down slowly to meet her gaze, her eyes scrutinizing. “What do you think? Nelson brought me along today. Naturally, I can go wherever I want.”
Nelson hadn’t mentioned Marilyn earlier, which made Callie suspicious. “You’re lying. You followed on your own.”
Her tone was so certain that it surprised Marilyn for a moment. She raised an eyebrow. “It seems Miss Marsh and her husband are quite the harmonious couple now, trusting each other completely.”
The playful tone made Callie feel guilty instinctively. She was soaking in the warm water but felt a chill all over. “No, I was just guessing.”
“Guessing?” Marilyn suddenly slapped the water hard, splashing it everywhere and wetting her clothes. Callie had to close her eyes. “I see you’re quite good at playing tricks behind the scenes. I never thought you had the ability to secure your position. You were deceiving me all along, weren’t you!”
Her direct anger made Callie realize that Marilyn was an impulsive woman. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have cornered Nelson in a hotel room and faced a four-year exile abroad.
Callie wiped the water off her face with the back of her hand, her panic gone. She smiled. “Miss Ellison, haven’t you been leading me to misunderstand Nelson all along?”
“What do you mean?”
“We once stayed at a hotel owned by the Ellison family. I found strands of your hair on my belongings.” Callie’s gaze fixed on Marilyn’s hair. “It seems your desire to replace me hasn’t weakened.”
Mentioning that day reminded Marilyn of Nelson’s humiliation towards her. She let out a cold laugh. “Yes, I did meet Nelson that day, in the room where you both used to live. That’s a fact.”
“A fact.” Callie nodded. “I choose to believe in Nelson.”
Marilyn grew even more furious, and soon, she nodded with a sort of epiphany. “Yes, with your background and education, it would have been impossible for you to achieve the life you have now.”
“Opening a studio, living in a luxury suite, frequenting high-end places, becoming Mrs. Oconnor, and even your father’s recovery-all of these would have been daydreams for the old you! But now you have it all, rising from a humble beginning to a life of wealth and status. Of course, you’d want to hold onto everything tightly. Such deep scheming!”
She spoke with absolute certainty.
Listening to her, Callie couldn’t even retort because what she said was true. All those were given to her by Nelson after she became Mrs. Oconnor.
“Miss Ellison, you’re right.” Callie smiled. “I have to admit, it’s easy to get used to luxury once you’ve had it, and hard to go back to a frugal life. Once you have something, you’re not going to let it go easily.”
“Callie! How shameless of you!” Marilyn took a deep breath and stood up straight, as if her upbringing couldn’t tolerate such a response.
“Miss Ellison, you promised me the same life, but after thinking about it, no matter what, it’s not as much as what I’ve gained by being Mrs. Oconnor.” Callie decided to lay all her cards on the table, facing Marilyn’s anger head-on. “They all say I look like Maevelyn, so of course, I’m going to use that advantage to its fullest.”