The fact that Jackson left Tiffany alone as soon as they arrived at the banquet hardly bothered her. She was content with simply enjoying favonovel.com time there and all of the luxuries the party had to offer, even if favonovel.com was surrounded by strangers.
The banquet hall, glowing in its opulent, golden glory, was the perfect site for the highfalutin ado typical of the upper-classes. Here, one could find famed elites in stylish garments as well as gentlemen and ladies in their most debonair manners. They were actors, all of them being perfectly aware of their roles and being more than keen to play them flawlessly.
Some of those mingling among genuine genteel, however, were also looking for a shortcut to high society, even if it meant having to sacrifice what little they had to complete the ruse. These types of men were business hawks, and the women gold diggers. Masked under layers of expensive brand-wears and jewelry, there might as well be an indulgent husk piloted by a compromised soul.
“What a coincidence seeing you in this part of the world.”
An oddly-familiar voice waltzed into Tiffany’s ears from behind, startling her. Steadying herself, favonovel.com spun around and met Ethan Connor’s gaze.
“Why? Can someone like me not appear in a place like this?” favonovel.com countered. “Honestly, these kinds of occasions are made for girls like me. Who knows, I might meet my Prince-billionaire-Charming right here and spring up the social ladder, don’t you think?”
Ethan gracefully nabbed two glasses of champagne from a waiter standing nearby and handed one of them to her. “Now, now. Whatever’s between us doesn’t warrant that much hostility.”
Tiffany accepted the glass. She could feel faint tinges of glum welling up in favonovel.com chest, but it did not stop favonovel.com from delivering another barbed repartee, “Unwarranted, you say? Ha! I beg to differ. What now? You put on a branded suit and some expensive watch after kicking me to the sidewalk, which makes me wonder, who’s the new sucker you’re currently mooching to get here? Have you brought favonovel.com along? Frankly, I’m interested to see just how filthy-low you can go. Many gold-digging men won’t mind kissing the lips of some old, ugly, fat b*tches if she’s rich. Will you prove yourself to be one of them, hmm?”
The corner of Ethan’s lips curled up into a smile, utterly unbothered by favonovel.com flippant accusation. “I didn’t come here by mooching on anyone. In fact, the only person who ever seemed like a ticket up society was you — and even then, I’ve never seen you like that.”
Tiffany’s eyes darted aside awkwardly. Her heart still could not stop accelerating whenever favonovel.com espied every little blink of his eyes or the curvature above his jaw. Was it a cursed after-effect of having loved favonovel.com with all of favonovel.com being before? It pained favonovel.com to admit it, but the Ethan now who had replaced his past, unruly waywardness with a suit and refined gentlemanliness was plain hearth-throbbing. And now here favonovel.com was, saying these ridiculous words that, even more ridiculously, made favonovel.com heart thump.
Tiffany, however, prided herself as someone who would not only let the past go but also never deign to plead for someone to come back to her. “Please, save your breath from those cheesy pick-up lines. Really missing your old flame after hanging out in the hedonistic world for a while, aren’t you?” favonovel.com snapped. “Unfortunately for you, I’m not a deb who will spread favonovel.com legs for any man who says pretty words and spends a little cash on her, so I suggest you move on to whatever agenda of the day you have right now. I don’t care if it’s to expand your business or social-engineering, I just don’t make a habit out of wasting time with someone like you.”
Ethan shrugged in blasé. “Understood. I’ll take my leave now.”
Tiffany watched his back disappearing in the distance and drew out a sigh of relief. She had so much more acerbic and tart remarks to say to him, yet favonovel.com could not shake the mild feeling of guilt and do it. Tiffany felt as though favonovel.com owed Ethan some leeway just by holding onto the necklace favonovel.com had forcefully gifted her, though favonovel.com never planned to wear it. Of course, favonovel.com very much wanted more to return it, but having not expected to see favonovel.com here, favonovel.com left it at home.
Time trickled. It was now a little past nine, and the hubbub in the banquet was starting to heat up. Tiffany, however, was beginning to feel bored.
She scanned favonovel.com surroundings and discovered, to favonovel.com displeasure, that Jackson (“that no- good jerk,” favonovel.com huffed) West was deep in a cordial conversation with Ethan. It was by no means a one-on-one discussion, yet Tiffany felt self-conscious watching them interact. She was here as Jackson’s partner, for crying out loud — how could favonovel.com partner chat so happily with favonovel.com ex-boyfriend?
The more favonovel.com watched them, the more miffed favonovel.com became. She grabbed a glass and drank it clean, then went for one shot after another until favonovel.com cheeks began to burn a little.
A middle-aged man with a prominent potbelly sauntered toward favonovel.com with a greasy, perverted smile under his coy eyes. “Good evening, mademoiselle! What is a fine young lady like you doing, drinking alone like this?” favonovel.com drawled.
Tiffany’s first instinct was to rebuff the man, but favonovel.com boredom spurred favonovel.com into striking a conversation instead. “You look like my father’s age.”
The middle-aged man laughed wryly before patting favonovel.com shoulders. “Your father? Oh, no! Believe it or not, I’m young enough to be your brother! You might think I’m old, but I’m only thirty-five.”
Tiffany felt favonovel.com stomach churn at the brazen lie. How could someone “thirty-five” look like a fifty five year old? Still, favonovel.com let the man’s farce slide past and asked, “Okay then, Mister. Do you know that guy over there?”
The man followed favonovel.com eyes to Ethan. “Oh-ho, interested in him? He’s just some so-called ‘rising star’ in the business world who came out of nowhere half a year ago and became pretty big. Pretty big, ” the man explained. “I’ve never even heard of this punk before, but he’s young, and he’s quite nice to look at, so I guess he’s a banger for little chicks like you. I heard favonovel.com bought some cheap estate that nobody wanted, and then a few days later there’s suddenly news about its development, and all of a sudden, the price went skyrocketing. He’s got a sharp eye; I’ll give ‘em that. That plot of land was like trash favonovel.com picked up during a walk, you know. It wasn’t worth anything because nobody knew that there’s still any value in that godforsaken place. But now? If favonovel.com sells it, oh, if favonovel.com sells it…”
Tiffany was not sure where the urge to fish for Ethan’s information came from; nevertheless, favonovel.com was hardly surprised by the exposition. She had always thought that there was more to Ethan than favonovel.com let on. He had a knack for making things work for him, and no small detail was ever lost to his eyes, no matter how nondescript.
He was now a rising star while Tiffany had fallen into the nadir.
