Chapter 100
Under the illumination of the crystal chandelier, the diamonds on Seraphina’s skirt sparkled brilliantly. She looked like an angel wrapped in holy light.
Clarence stopped three feet away from Seraphina. He looked at her and slowly extended his right hand. Seraphina’s hand also slowly rose. All eyes gathered on the two of them.
Just as Seraphina’s hand was about to touch Clarence, he slightly turned and extended his inviting hand toward Catherine. Seraphina’s hand froze in mid–air, and she looked at Clarence in disbelief, her smile instantly fading, thinking. Is he inviting Catherine!!
Catherine seemed to show no surprise at all. She raised her beautiful and charming smile and gently placed her delicate hand in Clarence’s. Clarence took her fingers and led her into the dance floor without offering any explanation to Seraphina. Seraphina’s hand remained frozen in the air.
After the audience’s gaze lingered on Seraphina for a moment, it shifted to Clarence and Catherine, for they were the protagonists of the evening.
In the center of the hall, everyone stepped aside, and Clarence wrapped his arm around Catherine’s waist. The music began to play sofily, and he held Catherine as they started the opening dance. In the corner, Seraphina’s body trembled lightly. At this moment, she could hardly believe that Clarence had chosen Catherine.
With tears in her eyes, Seraphina thought, ‘He gave me an expensive dress and dressed me up as the most eye–catching girl at the party, only to make me a joke? Why did he have to humiliate me this way in public?”
Tears blurred Seraphina’s vision. She saw two blurry figures dancing gracefully in the center.
Catherine had been talented since childhood. She danced beautifully compared to Seraphina, who learned to dance just for the occasion. The other guests, after Clarence and Catherine opened the dance, took their own partners and joined in. Seraphina, who had just received everyone’s admiration, was now forgotten in the corner like discarded footwear.
Seraphina’s hand, holding her purse, tightened, and her nails drew into her palm. That sting felt like arrows piercing her heart, making it hard for Seraphina to even breathe. ‘Clarence, why do you do this to me?’
She couldn’t understand why he had given her a halo only to humiliate her publicly. She thought, What did I do wrong that made him use Catherine to humiliate me? Five years ago, Catherine insulted me with words. Five years later, he insulted me with actions.
They teamed up to stab me again and again, yet I still fantasized that he had genuine feelings for me, imagining that we would have a future.
‘Five years ago, I left him decisively, and I had already become a thorn in Clarence’s heart. Today’s humiliation was probably just his revenge.
‘He showered me with so much affection, creating an illusion where he loved me dearly, only to take revenge on me tonight? Is that so, Clarence? Seraphina repeatedly asked herself, unable to believe it
Suddenly, someone danced over and bumped into Clarence, causing him to take a small step back. However, the two- dancers didn’t say sorry. Seraphina reached out to hold onto a pillar to steady herself, realizing that her legs felt weak. As she lowered her head, tears began to fall.
She thought. “There are reporters around taking photos. They ight capture my embarrassment as well. No! I need to leave! I should leave! I have no reason to stay! He is dancing with another woman and hasn’t glanced at me.
Flashes of light blinded Seraphina, causing her eyes to ache. She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to ease the
discomfort.
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Chapter 100
Oct 31
On the dance floor, Clarence and Catherine moved gracefully and skillfully, perfectly in sync.
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Clarence focused intently on Catherine in his arms, not sparing even a glance at Seraphina by the edge of the dance floor. It was as if he didn’t care about her current situation, didn’t care about the laughter from others directed at her, didn’t care about the deep pain from the wounds in her heart.
Seraphina thought. Does he not know that his actions bring me deep harm? He knows. How could he not know? He is retaliating deliberately. From the moment I returned, he had been preparing to take revenge on me.
It was I who gave him the chance to hurt himself, wasn’t it? Who can I blame? I can only blame myself for being soft- hearted and naive.
Seraphina struggled to turn and slowly made her way toward the door, putting one foot in front of the other. The distance between her and Clarence widened inch by inch, cracking into a chasm.
He said she was the protagonist of the night. She had indeed become the protagonist, but a mocked one, a poor creature that was removed off the stage before the show. Seraphina felt that everything behind her seemed to change its form, becoming distant and blurred.
When Seraphina regained consciousness, she found herself standing dazed on the roadside, watching the traffic lights. switch between red and green. She didn’t know how long she had been standing there. Waves of passersby looked at her with strange expressions. The makeup on Seraphina’s face had run from her tears, but her evening gown still shone brightly. Bystanders couldn’t understand why a girl dressed so lavishly would stand by the road, lost and crying. She should have been in the luxurious banquet hall, mingling with others. That was where her stage was meant to shine.
Seraphina thought, “Yes, that is my stage, but it has already been claimed by someone else. Clarence… Just thinking of his name caused Seraphina so much pain that she couldn’t support herself. She slowly crouched down, covering her face and sobbing quietly,
Seraphina thought, ‘Catherine’s insults no longer mattered. What he inflicted upon me just now in front of everyone was the unbearable pain of my life. I will never, ever forgive the knife he drove into my heart. From the moment he took Catherine’s hand, everything between us ended:
Seraphina didn’t know when her shoes had come off. She walked barefoot back to the villa. Sharon was shocked to see her. “Sera, what happened?”
Seraphina remained silent, slowly making her way upstairs. “Serar Sharon called after her. Seraphina still ignored her and continued up the stairs, each step heavy with exhaustion.
Sharon sensed that something serious had occurred, her brow furrowing in concern. She didn’t press Seraphina for answers but instead called Clarence, “Mr. Vanderbilt, Sera is back, looking very down and distressed. Something isn’t right.”
There was a brief silence on the other end before Clarence replied in a low voice. “I got it.” After saying that, he hung up the phone.
Seraphina stood at the doorway of her room, pressing the doorknob with all her strength before finally managing to push the door opent.
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