Before Josie had a chance to respond, Shirley smirked. “Could it be that you got in through some other connections?”
She was quite adept at turning the tables.
In an instant, all eyes turned to Josie. A few who knew her wanted to step forward and defend her, but they were surrounded by the crowd, unable to make their way out.
The night wind rustled. Josie’s complexion was fair, so she was particularly conspicuous and elegant as she stood amidst the crowd in a gown.
She chuckled softly, mockery showing on her face. “At such an event, only you would rely on connections to get in. In all my years, Ms. Ross, this is the first time I’ve encountered a mistress standing up for the wife. You’ve certainly broadened my horizons.”
Shirley tensed all over, never having expected Josie to put that out in the open. She stomped her foot. “What nonsense are you spouting?”
Josie glanced in Laura’s direction. “You know, I’m probably closer to Laura than you are. As the other woman, don’t you find it repulsive to stand up for her before me?”
Her voice was deep and authoritative, causing a moment of silence to fall over the crowd. Shirley’s arms trembled. “What right do you have to label me as the other woman?”
Indeed, Josie had no proof, but she could tell from the woman’s interaction with Zach. She looked around and asked the crowd, “Isn’t that the truth?”
The crowd’s silence served as the most genuine answer, forming a closed loop of unspoken truth.
It seemed that the matter was a deeply taboo subject in Wavery.
Everyone knew that Laura’s husband, Zach, was a notorious womanizer in Wavery.
“What is the meaning of this?” Shirley’s eyes turned red-rimmed. Faced with Josie’s questioning from the moral high ground, she couldn’t help but tremble. “What right do you have to question me about something even the wife can’t be bothered to care about?”
That remark was the crux of the matter.
Josie countered sternly, “She doesn’t care because she can’t be bothered. As her friend, I’m stepping in today. Ms. Ross, it’s important to have self-awareness. Everything you received falls under marital property, and you’ll be demanded to return it all when the time comes.”
For a moment, all attention was on Shirley, so everyone momentarily forgot about the matter regarding Josie.
Shirley glared in Laura’s direction, her eyes brimming with tears.
Not long after, Laura managed to squeeze her way through the crowd. She took Josie’s hand and whispered, “Let it go. Don’t take offense with her.”
Josie held her back. “I know you don’t want to talk about it and aren’t interested in getting involved in such matters. I merely want to tell those scheming women not to be delusional.”
In the face of everyone’s gaze, Laura found it hard to stay for long. “The poor girl is quite pitiful. She might have been deceived by Zach, so let’s go easy on her.”
She was rather magnanimous.
Josie snorted. “You’re really good-tempered. If it were the old you, you would have probably slapped her by now.”
Laura turned her face away. “Just let it go. You don’t want to draw attention, right? Let’s go.”
However, the crowd began to speculate in hushed voices upon seeing that Josie was really acquainted with Laura. They found her beyond familiar, but they couldn’t quite place her.
When they reached a corner, Josie was still upset and excused herself to the restroom. Laura patted her on the shoulder. “Don’t be angry anymore. There will be a hands-on segment later, so remember to come back quickly to watch it.”
Nonetheless, Josie remained disinterested.
In a dimly lit corner, Shirley fought back tears. “What do you mean to allow her to humiliate me like that? Don’t forget you were the one behind it back then!”
The other woman’s voice was icy cold. “Did I tell you to provoke her?”
Shirley was left without a retort.
The other woman continued, “What is Josie’s status, and what’s yours?”
“I wanted to draw scandal to her, but she simply wouldn’t take the bait.”
“What a fool!”
After exiting the restroom, Josie touched up her makeup before the mirror. Her phone buzzed with a message from Dexter. It read: Where are you?
