Reborn Young Miss: Phoenix Burning Red-Chapter 441: Stark Contrast (1)

Elise cursed inwardly as she pretended she wasn’t aware of the mocking looks and smiles she was receiving from the other women working at Elysian. Even the wealthy patrons of the place were giving her an odd look, but she acted as if it didn’t concern her. Deep down, she knew their judgment affected her more than she wanted to admit.

The news of her father assaulting Adrienne made news a month ago. As Lennox Qin and the Zhao family sued him for his actions, it was evident that the authorities took him into custody. There hadn’t been any news about Adrienne’s condition, and she hadn’t publicly appeared since then.

Elise clenched her jaws as she stood inside one of the washroom cubicles in Elysian, waiting for the other women to leave first. She was anxious about how this would affect her future. She was annoyed that her parents had made things difficult for her. She was supposed to live in luxury and comfort as the daughter of the Jiang family, but she ended up living a life of hardship and uncertainty.

Everyone seemed to be trying to sabotage her success and happiness. She couldn’t understand why her own family would do such a thing to ruin her future by being such a bunch of losers and reckless people.

She believed she could have achieved her dreams and found true happiness if not for them. She would have to swallow her pride and sell her body to this place, entertaining wealthy individuals to survive.

"Did you hear? Her father is still in prison. I’m surprised she can still act arrogant after what happened to her family."

"What can she do? Elise still acts like a princess who needs constant attention and validation from others."

One of the women laughed.

"She’ll never learn how to be independent and self-sufficient if she continues to rely on others. Beauty is fleeting. She might be able to keep men’s attention for now, but she can never be like her sister."

Elise heard the women talk sh*t about her outside the cubicles. She gritted her teeth in anger but couldn’t help but feel a pang of insecurity. Despite her efforts to maintain a confident facade, their words struck a nerve. She hated being compared to Adrienne, of all people.

She couldn’t understand how Adrienne could be so lucky in life while she was struggling in every aspect. Elise felt that it was unfair. She wondered what Adrienne had that she didn’t have. What made Adrienne so special that she couldn’t be?

"Did she think she’s a young miss from an affluent family?"

"When you think about it, isn’t she the daughter of a mistress, and Adrienne Jiang is the daughter of the legal wife? Even if Adrienne Jiang dies, she won’t get a cent of what her sister owns. I heard that Adrienne Jiang had adopted one of her husband’s half brothers, and he would inherit everything from her instead."

Another woman laughed. "She would be coughing blood if she knew about that."

The women outside continued talking and compared Elise to her half-sister, Adrienne. They were convinced that Elise would never measure up.

"It’s hard to change what you’re used to. It has been recently since she lost her privileges. She acted out and refused to accept the consequences."

They laughed and giggled as they spoke ill of Elise. When they stepped out of the washroom, Elise stood, trembling with rage. Her eyes filled with tears, and her voice quivered as she said, "How dare they look down on me when they are nothing but maggots that need to be stepped by my foot?!"

She was so livid that the other women were looking down on her. Elise believed she was better than them, and they were nothing compared to her, and for them to act arrogantly before her, taunting her for her misfortune, made her see red.

Elise wanted to pounce on them, scratch their faces, and show them who was truly superior. Once she left this place, she would ensure they regretted ever crossing her. She would make them pay for underestimating her.

She stepped out of the cubicle, washed her face, and fixed her makeup before returning to work. Elise pretended she didn’t hear anything and resumed her daily routine at work, laughing at the patrons as if everything was under control.

A few men looked at her perversely, knowing her almost skimpy, tight dress left little to the imagination. One of them even made a crude comment about it. Elise didn’t react to his inappropriate remark but smiled at him. However, as soon as she took a break, the menacing expression on her face revealed her true feelings of anger and disgust.

Elise detested those repulsive men touching her inappropriately, but she had no choice but to put up with it and continue working because speaking up would only make matters worse. She had to endure long hours and discomfort for her job and financial stability.

Heck, with Cayden and her father in prison, she had no other choice but to fend for herself. Elise hated how everything had been taken away from her since her return. She lost her fortune, her family, and her ability to conceive. No one would marry her if they knew the truth about her infertility. It was her secret, which not even her family was aware of.

Having her engaged with Aleksey Ji was also a good thing. If the Ji family found out she was incapable of bearing a child, they would never accept her as their daughter-in-law.

After falling pregnant from the incident at the Gu mansion and aborting the child, Elise suffered some complications from it. She initially thought it wouldn’t harm her in the long run, but she soon realized the extent of the damage it had caused. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Her last boyfriend, the wealthy businessman her father had seen during his previous visit, had ditched her for another woman from an affluent family, saying she could only be his mistress and that he never intended to marry her.

Elise was devastated. Just as she thought she had secured a golden ticket to leave Elysian, he dropped that bomb on her. She initially thought she had finally found a way out of her miserable life and didn’t need to endure being compared with Adrienne.

"Adrienne..." She muttered, filled with bitterness in her heart. Elise thought Adrienne’s long absence meant she wasn’t in good condition.

"Go to hell and never return!" Elise whispered, her voice filled with resentment and anger.