Chapter 323
“Emily, I know you don’t like me, but how could you destroy the gift I was going to give to Amy?” Lydia called out loudly, making sure everyone could hear her.
Her words instantly caught the eye of many, including Amy, the birthday girl herself.
Amy walked over, followed by a crowd of onlookers.
Lydia and Emily stood face-to-face-Emily expressionless, Lydia’s eyes red-rimmed and full of grievance. Lydia held an open box of scattered jewelry in her hands.
To anyone watching, it looked like Emily was picking on Lydia.
Amy didn’t get mad, even though they were making a scene at her birthday party. Instead, she just asked calmly, “What’s going on?”
When Lydia heard Amy speak, she turned around in surprise. Her face lit up with surprise and excitement, and then-like she’d only just realized there was a crowd-she panicked and tried to hide the box behind her back.
But the box was way too big for her to cover up, and her awkward attempt to hide it just made even more people stare at what was inside.
Lydia forced a shaky smile and replied, “It’s nothing.” But even as she said that, tears welled up and spilled over, which only made her seem more helpless.
Amy’s brow twitched almost imperceptibly, giving Lydia a searching, slightly puzzled look, but she stayed silent.
With no one saying anything for a while, Lydia started to feel awkward as her tears kept falling. She snuck a careful glance at Amy, only to meet those eyes that looked like they’d seen everything. Her heart thudded nervously in her chest.
She quickly looked away, her mind spinning with ideas. She then put on her usual act and said, “It’s all my fault. I didn’t protect the gift I wanted to give to you, Amy.
“If anyone should be blamed, let it be me-please, Amy, don’t be mad at Emily. I guess I shouldn’t have prepared such a special gift for you.
“It must’ve made Emily jealous, and that’s why she did this. But Amy, you’re honestly the person I admire most in the world.
“To make this jewelry set, I spent all my pocket money and even asked my big brother a whole month in advance to help me find a famous designer from overseas to create it just for you.
“If Emily thought my gift was stealing her thunder, she could’ve just told me. Why did she have to destroy something I put my whole heart into?”
As Lydia kept pleading, her words gradually shifted into blaming Emily. With that pitiful look on her face, it was as if Emily had committed some terrible crime against her.
Many people around started to feel sorry for Lydia, and their gazes toward Emily were now filled with contempt.
Amy frowned, seeming displeased by the situation. Her eyes fell on Emily, and subconsciously, she found herself disliking Emily.
Amy rarely returned to the country, and this was her first time throwing such a big party. On top of that, she despised people who played petty tricks, so anyone stirring up drama at her event would annoy her.
But when her gaze met Emily’s eyes, that vague sense of dislike she’d felt subconsciously just faded away for no reason.
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Amy was an artist-she didn’t put her faith in subconscious impressions, but in her own gut feeling.
She’d spent over twenty years traveling all across the country, meeting all sorts of people, so with just one look into Emily’s eyes, she could see her true character. She was sure that Emily wasn’t someone who’d stoop to such underhanded tricks.
Originally, Amy had planned to just let this little incident slide, but now she changed her mind. She turned to Emily and asked, “Do you have anything to say?”
Seeing that Amy was giving Emily a chance to explain herself, Lydia couldn’t help but freeze for a second.
After all, in her mind, by now, everyone should be righteously furious at Emily, not even bothering to hear her out before kicking her straight out the door. That was how it always went these past few years.
Lydia didn’t have time to wonder why her plan was falling apart now. All she knew was that she absolutely couldn’t let Emily and Amy talk to each other. She couldn’t let Amy find out that Emily was the Tato she’d been searching for.
She thought, “Tato could only be me!
So, just as Emily was about to speak to Amy with a respectful, composed demeanor, Lydia quickly cut her off.
Lydia said, “Amy, today is your birthday-please don’t let our little sisterly drama ruin your special day.
“Just think of this gift as something I owe you. I’ll definitely make it up to you next time and hand it to you myself. Please, don’t be mad at Emily. I’ll take her away right now.”
With that, she reached out to grab Emily’s hand, but Emily frowned and pulled away.
Lydia pouted pitifully, her eyes filling with tears again. She said. “Emily. I know you don’t like me, but this is Amy’s birthday party-can we talk about this when we get home, okay?”
She put on a humble, almost self-effacing act, as if she were doing everything she could to defend Emily. Anyone watching would have to praise her for being so kind-hearted.
And naturally, Emily, who didn’t know how to appreciate it, was cast as the one with a malicious heart. The looks people gave Emily grew even more hostile, just as expected.
Emily acted as if she didn’t notice the stares-or maybe she did, but she was so used to it by now that she could simply ignore them.
She turned directly to Amy and said, “Amy, even though it wasn’t my intention, I’m truly sorry for ruining your birthday party.” With that, she bowed deeply to Amy.
Emily knew there was something off about Lydia, and if this drama kept dragging on, it would only make the party even more of a disaster-and might even ruin her chances to get what she wanted from Lydia.
So, when Lydia handed her this opportunity on a silver platter, Emily wasn’t about to let it slip away.
Amy seemed to sense something, and her gaze on Emily grew even more curious. She couldn’t shake the feeling that Emily had a kind of power that ordinary people just didn’t possess.
After apologizing to Amy, Emily turned to Lydia, her eyes going icy again.
Lydia felt a jolt of fear under that stare and instinctively took a step back. She felt Emily had changed so much-she seemed like a lunatic who could snap at any second.
Noticing the fear in Lydia’s eyes, Emily suddenly strode over and, before Lydia could react, yanked her by the hair.
Emily snapped, “Lydia, I used to be dumb enough to let you frame me with the same old tricks again and again, but that doesn’t mean I’ll stay stupid forever.
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Chapter 323
“If I wanted to deal with you, I wouldn’t bother with any shady tricks-I’d just do it straight up, like this.” With that, she raised her other hand and, without a second thought, slapped Lydia hard across the face.
