Secret Wealthy Marriage

Chapter 78: Chapter 78: One More Chapter 78: Chapter 78: One More At the dinner party, Matilda Ferguson had lost her appetite. Even with all these delicacies, her eyes were fixed on Bryan Hawkins. Yet he didn’t even glance at her once, apart from toasting to her with a disinterested expression, saying “nice to cooperate with you.” After that, his obsidian-like eyes never settled on her again.

She never knew that Bryan Hawkins could be so cold. The memories of his prior kindness and limitless indulgence were truly gone, never to return. Had she really lost him?

“Yo, Miss Ferguson, staring at Mr. Hawkins like that all night, aren’t you afraid of your handsome man, Liu, getting jealous?” The woman who spoke was Lucy Wade, who had emerged from a beauty pageant competition. Lucy’s chances of winning the Hawkins Family’s celebrity endorsement were high, but she never expected Matilda to be willing to sacrifice everything for it.

To secure the celebrity endorsement, Matilda had done things that others would disdain.

It was utterly shameless. If Matilda weren’t famous and needed to use these tactics to rise up, Lucy would have accepted it. However, Matilda was already well-known and didn’t need to stoop so low, especially with the powerful backing she had. Matilda had risked everything for this insignificant celebrity endorsement, and Lucy couldn’t help but be taken aback.

Defeat against such an opponent was foreseeable.

As one of the top three, Lucy had been invited to attend the dinner. Though she hadn’t wanted to come, she was curious to know what Matilda was striving for.

After observing the entire evening, Lucy came to the conclusion that Matilda’s goal wasn’t the endorsement, but Bryan Hawkins himself. That woman was truly something else.

Being young, Lucy wasn’t aware of Matilda and Bryan Hawkins’ history. Anyone with eyes could see that Bryan Hawkins wasn’t interested in Matilda tonight, yet she relentlessly pursued him.

“I say, little bitch, what does my business have to do with you?” Matilda retorted disdainfully. She had no reason to be impressed with this defeated opponent.

“What did you say?” Lucy had never faced such humiliation before. She had entered the industry purely for passion, her well-off background kept hidden. However, that didn’t mean she would tolerate this kind of disrespect.

Despite her stage name, her real name was Celia Wade, the second daughter of the Wade family.

No one had ever dared call her a “little bitch”.

“Little bitch—” Matilda, not feeling threatened and not aware that she had offended the daughter of the Wade family, was already frustrated by Bryan Hawkins’ coldness. With this woman fanning the flames, it was no wonder Matilda targeted her.

In an instant, a glass of red wine splashed on Matilda’s face. She had never experienced such humiliation before, and she couldn’t believe a newcomer would bully her, a senior, like this.

Matilda was quick in her response. She slapped Lucy and, with even greater speed, threw her own faceful of red wine onto Lucy’s body. In a matter of seconds, both women were in a complete mess.

Bryan Hawkins was toasting at the time, and Xavier Estrada saw the scene but pretended not to, not wanting to interfere. After all, it was Matilda’s own business. Another assistant saw what happened and informed Bryan Hawkins.

Bryan Hawkins delegated the remaining toasts to Xavier Estrada and put his wine glass down, heading towards the main table. Xavier Estrada, forgetting his place once again, immediately tried to stop him. “Mr. Hawkins, …”

“I know what to do. After all, I am the host of this dinner.” Bryan Hawkins wasn’t sure when Xavier Estrada’s heart had turned towards Carolline Ruiz, but he didn’t think it was wrong. Besides, his intervention wasn’t to help Matilda Ferguson.

By the time Bryan Hawkins reached them, the two women were still fighting fiercely. Both their agents had been drinking and were drowsy, making the situation somewhat uncontrollable. Bryan Hawkins, with great strength, pulled them apart with one hand each.

Seeing Bryan Hawkins coming to her aid, Matilda’s eyes filled with tears, whether from gratitude or hurt. “Bryan…”

“Ladies, as public figures, is it appropriate to fight like this?” Bryan Hawkins said coldly, glancing at Matilda before turning his gaze to Lucy.

“Mr. Hawkins, aren’t you going to ask us why we’re fighting?” While Matilda remained silent, always appearing weak in front of Bryan Hawkins, Lucy was different. She was furious. She hadn’t even retaliated when Matilda grabbed her before being pulled apart by Bryan Hawkins. In Lucy’s eyes, Bryan Hawkins was here to help Matilda.

Could there really be something going on between them?

“I’m not interested. If you want to fight, you can do so outside.” Bryan Hawkins replied coldly. He wasn’t particularly fond of women, with Matilda being a coincidence and Carolline an accident.

Even though these two women were currently quite popular female celebrities, they amounted to nothing in his eyes. He didn’t have a fondness for chasing stars, and these two women couldn’t evoke his compassion or admiration.

“Indeed, that’s quite cool.” Hearing Bryan Hawkins’ response, Lucy wasn’t angry; in fact, she looked at Matilda provocatively. “Matilda Ferguson, you’ve got guts. I, Lucy Wade, have lived for twenty years, and you’re the first woman who’s ever dared to throw wine on me. You better watch out. You like this man, right? Then, I’m going to compete with you for him.”

Lucy glanced at Bryan Hawkins and then stormed off, her agent following her like a lackey.

Matilda’s face grew even paler. If Carolline wasn’t causing her enough trouble already, now there was an additional pest like Lucy Wade.

Bryan Hawkins frowned after hearing Lucy’s words. Had he really invited trouble because of Matilda?

With these thoughts, Bryan Hawkins didn’t spare Matilda a glance, and he left the place.

Lucy’s words had made Matilda uncomfortable, and Bryan Hawkins had left her behind, making her feel incredibly humiliated. All of it was Lucy’s doing, but Bryan Hawkins really had abandoned her without asking any questions.

Jonathan Powell saw Matilda staring at Bryan Hawkins with a dazed look. He walked over and asked coldly, “Matilda, have you been hiding something from me?”

Matilda looked at Jonathan’s cold expression and thought about how Lucy’s agent followed her around like a lapdog. In comparison, Matilda acted like Jonathan’s lapdog. She didn’t want to endure this humiliation any longer. Just like Lucy, she glanced at Jonathan and walked away.