She Left She Thrived She’s Worth Billions novel Chapter 843

Leila Langley's presence at the venue didn't surprise Melanie Royce in the least.

Leila was part of the jewelry design circle, even if her status and skill were lightyears away from someone like Vanessa Ellington.

Still, scoring an invitation to slip into the party wasn't an impossible feat for her.

Besides, Leila had no choice but to show up tonight.

Because Melanie had ordered her to be there.

After mingling at Vanessa's birthday gala for a while, Melanie was unexpectedly caught off guard to see Shawn Sterling in the crowd.

"Angel, what a coincidence. It looks like our destiny is written in the stars."

Shawn said with a smile, his eyes narrowing.

"Mr. Sterling sure has a lot of destinies, considering how many people are in this room," Preston Whitmore remarked with a sharp edge of sarcasm.

Hearing Preston's mocking tone, Shawn shifted his gaze to him.

His eyes instantly turned freezing cold as he spoke.

"Angel, your ex-boyfriend is really haunting you, isn't he?"

"I am Melanie's assistant. Staying by her side is my job. You, on the other hand, are the one persistently harassing my boss," Preston shot back without a shred of politeness.

Shawn's jaw twitched.

He genuinely found Preston to be an incredible nuisance.

Every time he tried to create an opportunity to close the distance between himself and Melanie, Preston ruined it.

"Assistant Whitmore, I am a partner to your boss, so please speak to me with a little respect."

"Then please stay away from my boss, Mr. Sterling."

Preston deliberately placed a heavy emphasis on the word "please."

Without another word, Shawn flashed his butterfly knife.

Melanie, who had been watching the two men bicker with mild amusement, instantly saw her expression drop.

Even though they were at Vanessa's birthday gala, Shawn had always radiated a bizarre, dangerous aura.

Melanie couldn't say for sure if he would do something completely out of line.

"Mr. Sterling, flashing a knife at my assistant makes it hard for me not to overthink your intentions."

As she spoke, she took a step forward, only to be pulled behind Preston's back.

The invited guests in the grand hall gradually noticed Leila standing on the stage.

Leila pulled a folded piece of paper from her handbag, opened it up, and began to read.

"I, jewelry designer Leila Langley, am here today... to publicly apologize to the CEO of the Royce Group, Melanie Royce."

The moment she said those words, countless pairs of eyes in the hall instantly turned to look at Melanie.

What Leila was reading at this very moment was a letter of apology.

The lengthy Ten-Thousand-Word Penance was completely dedicated to apologizing to Melanie and reflecting on her own mistakes.

At first, everyone in the room listened in absolute confusion.

Especially Vanessa, the host of the evening.

But gradually, more and more people realized that this was the punishment for a bet Leila had lost.

In fact, this was exactly the promise Melanie had demanded Leila fulfill—

To publicly read the Ten-Thousand-Word Penance at Vanessa's birthday party.

That high-stakes gamble between Melanie and Leila wasn't just watched by the pharmaceutical industry; even other circles, particularly the jewelry design world, had caught wind of it.