As she spoke, Claire Clark had already rushed to the door, raising her arms to wrap them around Damien Vaughn’s arm. But a single, icy glare from him scared her into pulling her hands back.

"Damien?"

"This is your birthday party?"

He expressionlessly swept his gaze over the crowd, his eyes finally landing on Cecelia Archer in the center of the stage.

"How... unique. You’re even signing contracts. I don’t recall you working in the Vaughn Group’s procurement department."

Following Claire Clark’s movements, everyone looked toward the door and saw the imposing, devastatingly handsome Damien Vaughn.

But before they could even ask who he was, his air of utter disdain for the world left them speechless.

That Claire Clark could know such an intimidating man, and even dare to stand beside him? The crowd was impressed.

It wasn’t just the others who were surprised; Vivian Mason was stunned as well.

’My cousin actually knows a man of this caliber? I’m so jealous!’

’And why does this man look so familiar? He looks just like the man Cecelia Archer hired to play her husband last time.’

Claire Clark knew it was wrong to be using the Vaughn Group’s name to sign unauthorized contracts, and she never expected to be caught red-handed by Damien Vaughn.

A flicker of panic crossed her eyes before she scrambled to cover her tracks.

"How could I possibly work for the Vaughn Group? We’re just fooling around; this is just a performance. You’ve seen the woman on stage, haven’t you? She’s my old classmate, the one who runs a street stall. She loves to joke around, but she has no filter and takes things too far. If you don’t like it, I’ll call her down right now."

With that, she yelled loudly at Cecelia Archer.

"Alright, alright, you can come down now. Since you’ve come and shown you care, there’s no need for you to stay. Here, let me give you some cab fare. Hurry up and go home."

Cecelia Archer hadn’t expected Damien Vaughn to show up, either.

She had thought that since he wasn’t invited, running into him next to Claire Clark would be incredibly awkward.

But now that he was really here, it didn’t feel like a big deal.

Tonight, she had already thrown her pride to the wind for all to trample on. What did it matter if one more person was here to witness it, to add to the mockery?

So, she walked up to the two of them with composure.

"You want me to leave? Fine. Sign the contract."

Claire Clark was about to die of anger.

’Can’t she see that Damien is unhappy? And she’s still talking about the contract. This woman must be desperate for money!’

"Cecelia, it was just a joke. If you keep this act up, you’ll be going too far. It’s my birthday today, so I won’t hold it against you. Just leave."

"I know you took a taxi to get here, which must have been hard for you. I’ll transfer you double the fare later. Now hurry up."

As she spoke, she reached out to grab and push Cecelia Archer out, but Cecelia smacked her hand away.

"A joke? Claire Clark, now *that* sounds like a joke. I told you I wasn’t coming, but you begged and pleaded, even sending me a video just to get me here. You told me to have the contract ready, and now you’re telling me it was all a joke?"

"Aren’t you good friends with the President of the Vaughn Group? I guess that was a lie too. How dare you run around swindling people using his name when you don’t even know him?"

Running around swindling people using the name of the Vaughn Group’s president?

Terrified, Claire Clark shot a glance at Damien Vaughn.

Fortunately, his expression remained unchanged.

"What nonsense are you spouting? Me, begging and pleading and sending a video to get you here? Are you delusional? You’re trash that got kicked out of school, a pariah everyone avoids. What good would it do me to insist on you coming?"

"I don’t care how many hours you spent Photoshopping it, delete that video right now! If you slander my reputation again, I’ll call the police and have you arrested!"

’To think she’d act like such a scoundrel in front of so many old classmates and her boyfriend. I knew she was this kind of person. Good thing I had an ace up my sleeve and recorded a video.’

Cecelia Archer wasn’t afraid of her calling the police.

She knew better than anyone whether it was Photoshopped or not.

"Claire Clark, you’re just like you were back then, lying without even blinking. You think you’re the only one with a mouth, that you can say whatever you want and play with people as you please, is that it?"

"Go on, call them. I’ll be waiting. Even if the video on my phone is Photoshopped, the coffee shop still has its security footage. Go ahead, get me sent to jail."

"You!"

Provoked, Claire Clark was momentarily at a loss for words. Furious, she could only shout for Vivian Mason.

"What are you still sitting there for? Get over here and drag her away! Just how poor is your company? Causing a scene at someone’s birthday party just for a little business! Don’t ever let me see this piece of trash again!"

Vivian Mason rushed over in a few strides. She was nowhere near as refined as Claire Clark; instead of trying to talk things out, she shoved Cecelia hard in the back.

"Are you fucking crazy? How did I end up colleagues with trash like you? It’s so humiliating! Who goes to a birthday party and harasses someone to sign a contract? Get the hell out of here!"

Although the swelling in her foot had gone down, and the injury wasn’t noticeable as long as she didn’t walk too fast, a harsh shove like that was still incredibly painful.

Caught off guard, Cecelia Archer staggered a few steps and fell right into Damien Vaughn’s arms.

"AHH—"

Damien Vaughn remembered her foot injury. He subconsciously reached out to steady her, his eyes glancing down at her foot.

"Are you alright?"

The wound flared with a sharp pain. Cecelia took a moment to recover before she had the strength to stand on her own, shaking her head with a pale face.

"I’m fine."

She then realized Damien Vaughn’s hands were still holding her arms. She quickly pushed him away and took a step back.

The moment she was steady, an infuriated Vivian Mason strode forward and shoved her again.

"What’s with the act! Since when did you become so fragile? You see a man and turn into Juliet? You’re so disgustingly two-faced!"

"Everyone, look! Now you see her true colors, don’t you? That innocent little flower, the former belle of the department—you were all blind! She’s just a vixen who throws herself at any man she sees, a slut who gets desperate for male attention!"

Cecelia was shoved toward Damien Vaughn again, and he once again reached out to steady her.

Seeing the once feisty and aggressive Cecelia Archer now looking as fragile as a doll, leaning pitifully on Damien Vaughn’s arm, it wasn’t just Vivian Mason who was angry—Claire Clark was about to explode.

Including this time, she had only seen Damien Vaughn twice since returning to the country.

Last time, although he had gone shopping with her, he had been lukewarm the whole time and had even sent her home alone halfway through because of Cecelia Archer.

He finally came today, but she hadn’t gotten a gift from him, nor had she even held his hand. And now Cecelia had managed to take advantage of the situation twice?!

"Exactly! Damien! She’s clearly doing this on purpose, trying to get close to you and seduce you. How can you fall for her trick? Let her go! Have you forgotten how strong she was when she was running her street stall?"

"Cecelia, how can you be so shameless? Trying to steal anyone’s man? Don’t think I won’t hit you just because there are people here. Let go of my Damien now!"

Saying this, she tried to pull Cecelia Archer out of Damien Vaughn’s arms, but he blocked her with his own.

Then, with a dark expression, he berated her, "Is this never going to end? Do you enjoy making a fool of yourself for everyone to see?"