CHAPTER 55: THE BUSINESS PARTY(2).

I didn’t know why my body stiffened at that question, but somehow, I was anticipating what Alexander would say. What would he say I was to him?

"This is my... wife, Anna Steele," Alexander casually said, as though the question was something he had expected.

But his words absolutely rubbed me the wrong way. Wife? He was branding me his ’wife’ when he warned me never to speak about our ’marriage’ in public or to anyone? And to say that he was so nonchalant about the way he said it, as if it was something permanent. It wasn’t. It wasn’t even real.

I swallowed the sudden anger that kindled in my veins and forced a smile at Mr. Vanvik, whose whole attention was on me.

"You look elegant and beautiful in gold, Mrs. Vaughn," he said warmly.

"Thank you," I replied, keeping my tone as neutral as possible.

Mr. Vanvik shifted his attention back to Alexander, but not without me noticing his warm smile fading away as he addressed Alexander. He looked upset, and I wondered why.

"Mr. Vaughn, how can you be married and no one knows about it? Not a single word from the press. That is unusual, don’t you think?"

Alexander gave him that faint smile of his, which surprised me. No one had dared question his decision like this man was doing, and he wasn’t even angry about it? Just who was this man?

"I have my reasons. And besides, I wanted some privacy regarding our personal lives," he answered perfectly, and I couldn’t help but scream ’liar!’ in my head.

Mr. Vanvik seemed to think for a while before nodding in agreement. "I respect your decision. After all, privacy is a luxury in our world..." He trailed off, his tone becoming more business-like as their conversation shifted to another topic.

Shortly, they ended the conversation, and the man exchanged a handshake with Alexander before he led me away toward our table.

And as soon as we sat down, I hit him with the first question. "Why would you tell him I am your wife?" I demanded sharply in a quiet tone.

Alexander leaned back slightly, his expression unfazed. "What do you expect me to say? That you are some helpless woman I dug up from the river while she was drowning? I bet that would have sounded very pleasant."

I gripped the fabric of my dress, feeling my anger simmering to the surface. "Maybe you shouldn’t have said anything at all, or perhaps you could have added the fact that the marriage is fake and temporary. Not branding me your wife when I wasn’t and would never," I spat.

Alexander only sighed, as though he was exhausted by my words. Without responding, he picked up the wine bottle on the table and poured himself a glass.

But I wasn’t done yet.

"Point of correction about what Mr. Vanvik said..." I continued. "You didn’t buy my father’s company. You stole it. Why lie about it?"

He took a slow sip of his wine, then set the glass down carefully. "It is not a lie. It’s called concealment. If the world knew the truth about what your father did, don’t you think they would dig further?" A weak smirk appeared on his lips. How I wanted to wipe that smirk off his face. "By the time they are done, your father would be rotting in jail."

I glared at him.

He was right anyway. Exposing the truth would only destroy what little was left of my family’s legacy. It wouldn’t sound great hearing that the country’s once-top businessman was a murderer. But that didn’t make Alexander’s lies any easier to stomach.

"You are pathetic," I muttered under my breath.

Without giving him a chance to respond, I stood up and walked away.

I didn’t know where I was going, but I decided to look around the party to clear my head. The main reason for coming here in the first place.

My fingers tightened around my handbag as I weaved past clusters of luxurious-looking guests, careful to stay out of anyone’s way. I didn’t want to make a scene like last time because no one would save me if anything went wrong. Alexander wasn’t Seith.

The room was alive with chatter and laughter that blended smoothly with the cool music, yet I felt like a ghost drifting through it. People barely noticed me, and that all made me feel like an outsider.

I wished I had someone I could also chat with, I thought wistfully as I moved past a group of people standing next to a champagne tower.

And suddenly, a voice so familiar cut through the air behind me, causing me to stop in my tracks.

"Well, well, this isn’t a surprise at all."

It was Claudia again. I had every urge to ignore her and continue my business, but that was impossible when it came to her. She would literally drag me back and pick a fight with me if I tried to leave. She was shameless, after all.

So, to stop the looming embarrassment, I slowly turned around to face her.

She stood there with her lips curled into a smirk, her arms crossed over her chest as though she owned the room. Her black dress shimmered under the chandelier’s light, clinging to her like a second skin. She looked perfect, just as always.

"What else do you want from me? Haven’t you said enough last time?" I asked with a slight frown.

"I did... But how can I see my little sister and not say hi? That isn’t good of me," she glibly said.

"Well, it is actually good of you not to say hi to me. I don’t need it. Just focus on yourself and leave me alone."

Claudia took a step closer to me, her smirk deepening. Then she said, "How can I leave you alone when you are still holding what is mine? Until you leave him alone, I won’t let you breathe easily." She leaned forward so that I could hear her better, then whispered, "And maybe you will end up like your mother."

For a moment, I couldn’t react. Her words hung in the air, searing a wave of anger that clenched my heart so tightly I could hardly breathe. How dare she always bring up my dead mother?

I stared at her, curling my fists to suppress the rage that burned inside of me.

"You are disgusting," I said.

"Am I?" Claudia asked, tilting her head to the side, her smirk growing wider. "I think I am just honest. Someone has to remind you where you came from, Anna. You are nothing, and that’s what you will always be. Just like her."

My anger burned hotter. It rose to my throat, choking me. I wanted to throw it back at her, to let everyone around us know how despicable she was. But I swallowed all that down. I didn’t want to give her a reaction or the satisfaction of seeing me get hurt by her words.

Therefore, I exhaled sharply and said, "Are you done talking? I will leave now."

But she cracked out a soft laugh, then stepped even closer to prevent me from leaving. "Your delusional little mind thinks you can escape me that easily." She laughed again. "Just the same way you are delusional to think you can keep playing this game with me. Alexander isn’t yours. He never was. He is only toying with you, Anna. And when he’s bored or done with his little charity case, he will come crawling back to me... the billion-dollar heiress."

I couldn’t help the redness that flared in my cheeks. Hearing her talk felt like watching a train wreck in slow motion. She was so cringe and embarrassing, like she was clueless. How could she still call herself the billion-dollar heiress when her father was drowning in debt?

I shook my head in disbelief. She was indeed very dumb.

"You can have him if you want. I don’t care," I said lastly and turned to leave. But her voice made me pause for a moment.

"We will see about that," she said with so much confidence in her tone. "You can pretend all you want, Anna, but I will take back what is mine. And when I do, I will make sure there’s nothing left of you. Nothing."

That was the last straw. I couldn’t take it anymore. My skin burned, and my chest felt like it would explode. But I said nothing to her and just stormed away.