Charlotte’s father was furious.
His expression was grim as he ordered the staff to keep all outsiders away from the room.
Edward was in an equally foul mood.
He had carefully chosen what he believed to be an ideal match for Ryan. Everything had been proceeding smoothly, and the alliance between the two families had opened up countless possibilities for the future. The benefits were immeasurable.
Yet, at the final hurdle, everything had been ruined.
“Miss Taylor, your family has certainly raised a young woman of impeccable virtue.”
Edward’s words were directed at James, his tone unmistakably severe.
James, who had remained silent until then, looked at him coldly.
“Mr. Knight, you’ve misunderstood. She isn’t a blood relative of the Taylor family. She’s only an adopted daughter. A daughter of the Taylor family would never do something like this.”
But at that point, no one seemed inclined to listen.
Rose had just returned from the restroom after washing her hands.
As she rounded the corner, she found a crowd gathered outside the dressing room. Since it was the only way out, she had no choice but to walk past them.
Then she caught sight of what was happening inside.
Alicia was clutching her chest, tears streaming down her face, while Ryan stood beside her with his usual cold, detached expression, as though none of it had anything to do with him.
Rose stopped dead.
One glance at Charlotte’s furious expression was enough for her to understand what had happened.
She looked up.
Ryan had already spotted her through the crowd.
His gaze settled on her, his expression remaining impassive.
“There’s no need to explain anything. I’m not interested in her, so there would be no reason for me to do something like this at a time like this.”
Rose pressed her lips together.
She certainly hadn’t expected such an embarrassing scene to unfold tonight.
Yet, judging from Ryan’s expression, she had an inexplicable feeling that he might actually be telling the truth.
Ryan was the last person she would expect to lie.
After seven years of marriage, she knew him well enough to understand that.
But as for what had happened with Alicia...
Charlotte clearly wasn’t convinced.
All she could see was Alicia standing there, clutching Ryan’s jacket around herself with her head bowed as she cried.
That sight sent an inexplicable wave of anger through her.
When had she ever suffered such humiliation at another woman’s hands?
Especially after she had already told Alicia that she was going to marry Ryan.
And now, this woman had somehow ended up half-dressed in Ryan’s dressing room.
Charlotte’s expression turned icy.
She strode forward in her heels and slapped Alicia hard across the face.
Alicia’s head snapped to the side.
Her cheek reddened almost instantly.
She bit her lip, instinctively glancing at Ryan before lowering her gaze again.
Then, as though determined to shoulder all the blame herself, she said softly, “This was my fault. It has nothing to do with Mr. Knight. Miss Mercer, you were right to be angry with me. I only hope this won’t affect your engagement to Mr. Knight.”
Charlotte gave a cold laugh.
“You certainly know how to make a man feel guilty.”
“Whether men fall for your tricks is none of my concern. I’m not going to lower myself by arguing with someone like you, but you should at least understand what basic decency means.”
Her gaze was sharp.
“That slap was deserved.”
She didn’t bother tugging at the jacket Alicia was using to cover herself.
She simply turned away.
As far as Charlotte was concerned, a grudge was meant to be settled immediately.
Dealing with it later wasn’t settling it at all.
“Go home.”
Mr. Mercer’s voice was cold.
There was no longer any need to announce their supposed good news tonight.
Charlotte turned to leave, but before doing so, she cast Ryan one last piercing look.
Her emotions were a tangled mess of anger, resentment and wounded pride.
What upset her most was that Ryan had shown absolutely no intention of giving her a proper explanation.
He hadn’t made a single gesture to placate her.
Not even a word of apology.
That was somehow harder for her to accept than Alicia’s behavior itself.
Even if she wanted an explanation, she couldn’t bring herself to demand one.
Doing so would only make her look as though she were begging for his attention.
Charlotte would never allow herself to lose that much dignity.
She walked away.
The situation came to an abrupt and deeply embarrassing end.


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