Chapter 113 The Center Of Attention


    Melinda took a breath of fresh air. ''Peace and quiet atst.''


    She lifted the hem of her dress as she cautiously sat down on a sofa in the patio. This dress was


    rented, after all, so she had to be careful to return it in pristine condition.


    She was alone out here, but still had a good view of the banquet hall and the dance floor. A lot of young


    couples were twirling around, her sister-inw included.


    Yulia was obviously in her element, lost in the dance and the crowd. People were even starting to


    notice her, finally.


    Melinda wasn’t at all surprised. Yulia had always been a party girl.


    Once the song ended, however, her dance partner only thanked her and then walked away. No one


    else approached her after that.


    Yulia was feeling indignant. In her eyes, this was all Melinda’s fault. The men’s mortifyingck of


    interest in her was all because of her brother’s wife.


    She looked around for her nemesis and finally found her sitting alone on the patio, casually watching


    the other guests. Yulia strode over to the banquet table and grabbed two sses of wine, and then


    stomped over to where her sister-inw was.


    As she neared, she became aware just how Melinda’s radiance seemed to upy the little space. It


    only pissed her further.


    "Melinda," she spat out as soon as she stepped out into the patio. "What are you doing here by


    yourself?"


    Without waiting for an invitation, Yulia sat herself down on a nearby chair, making a point of sitting as


    far away as the other woman as possible. In truth, Yulia’s feet had been killing her all night.


    She had decided to wear stilettos in an attempt to look taller than she actually was, hoping that her


    added height would gain people’s attention. She was regretting her choice of footwear now, not that


    she would ever admit it.


    "It’s quieter here," Melinda answered. She wasn’t expecting Yulia to find her so soon, much lesse


    and sit with her.


    Still holding the sses of wine, Yulia handed one towards Melinda. Thetter took on a wary


    expression, and did not take the drink.


    Melinda was not stupid. In light of recent events, she had grown vignt of her sister-inw. There was


    no way she would ever consume something that had passed through Yulia’s hands.


    As if she read her mind, Yulia gave her a reassuring smile. Melinda’s guard only rose even more.


    "I wanted to propose a toast to you, for a pulling of a sessful social appearance." When Melinda


    only looked at her, Yulia’s tone grew stern, although the smile was still in ce. "Don’t make me lose


    face, Melinda. A lot of people are watching."


    Melinda looked around and found Yulia’s words to be false. There were few people around them, even


    fewer watching them.


    Yulia was a little embarrassed by her movements, but she did not budge. Melinda shed a regal smile


    and said, "You know I’m not a drinker." She had already drunk a ss of champagne earlier, and had


    no ns to take any more alcohol tonight.


    Still, Yulia’s outstretched hand did not waver, and Melinda narrowed her eyes at the younger woman.


    The proper response would have been to not insist on making the other person drink, yet Yulia was still


    pushing.


    As a matter of fact, Yulia wanted to get Melinda drunk. She expected thetter to make a fool of herself


    once the alcohol dulled her senses.


    "Don’t be silly. You have nothing to worry about. This wine doesn’t even have much alcohol content."


    The two women were still smiling at each other, but the looks they were exchanging were sharp.


    "As the younger madam of the family, you must know that you’ll be attending such asions in the


    future. Don’t you think you should get used to getting a drink or two sooner thanter?"


    Melinda frowned. Yulia had a point, of course. But she was quite certain she wouldn’t be attending any


    social engagement in the future. Queena obviously wouldn’t want that, and she highly doubted Jonas


    would even bother taking her.


    Besides, Yulia’s relentless insistence only made the gesture more suspicious. Melinda would never


    take that drink. They kept staring at each other in a stalemate when a male voice broke in. "Let me


    drink that in her ce." The two women turned to look at the man, who was gazing intently at Melinda.


    "It would be my honor."


    The man was wearing a navy blue suit, and his hair was mussed in a way that seemed careless, but


    was far tooplementary to his looks to be anything but.


    He had a maic energy surrounding him, and his eyes held an inviting look as his sensuous lips


    curved into a smile.


    Yulia’s heart began to pound in her chest, and she could feel an intense blush creeping into her face.


    That was, until she realized the man was turning on his charm for Melinda, who for her part was looking


    quite stunned herself.


    "That would be okay, I hope?" His question seemed to pull Melinda back to her senses, and she


    stammered a vague response. The man’s smile turned into a grin.


    Yulia watched this development in anger. ‘Why? Why is it always Melinda?!’


    She had a fleeting thought about how people only cared about appearances, but acknowledging that


    would be an admission that she looked inferior to her sister-inw.


    People only paid attention to a person who was extremely attractive, or extremely hideous. Since she


    was neither, and only teetered somewhere in between, all the attention she always got was superficial


    and brief.


    Fueled by her jealousy, Yulia ignored the man, rose from her seat, and thrust the winess in front of


    Melinda’s face. "This is a toast to you, so naturally, you should be drinking."


    "Excuse me," the man interjected, stepping in between them and effectively blocking Yulia. "Drinking at


    events is not something that should be forced upon the guests.


    I’ve seen you offer thisdy a drink, and I’ve seen her refuse it. Still you insisted, and so I stepped in to


    drink it in her stead.


    Now you act as if I don’t exist at all, and persist yet again on forcing her to take it against her wishes.


    Let me ask you, Miss, were your manners learnt from the market stalls in the slums?"


    "I beg your pardon!" Yulia was furious. How dare this man mock her? And with such nonchnce!


    She was particrly sensitive when it came to her background, she always had been. She knew she


    was greatlycking in etiquette, and she had worked hard to remedy that, and to remedy other people’s


    preconceived notions about her. Despite her efforts, she found out the hard way that in the eyes of the


    truly rich, she would always be a bastard child born from a woman of lowly background. And now some


    stranger just waltzed up and taunted her, poking fun at where it hurt the most. She was angry and


    humiliated beyond words. She narrowed her eyes at the man, her hand trembling with emotion. "You..."


    Before she could say any further, however, she lost some of her bnce on the high heels she had


    already been struggling with.


    The ss of wine tottered in her grip, the liquid sshing loudly on the man’s suit. A tense hush fell


    over the patio.


    The man only frowned as the wine slowly leeched into his jacket, making a dark stain. He calmly took


    out a handkerchief and dabbed at the stain, to no avail.


    The damage was done, and it looked to be rather irreversible.


    Yulia was mortified. ''How did things end up like this?'' Realizing what the man was doing, she quickly


    put down the sses and reached out to him.


    "I’m so sorry, I lost my bnce. I didn’t mean for this to happen. Let me help you with that."


    But before she could even touch his jacket, the man sidestepped to avoid her, and shot her a look of


    disdain. "I don’t think I need any help from you," he said coldly. Melinda finally came to her senses. The


    development of the events was much too fast-paced and quite intense that she just sat there, dazedly


    watching everything.


    She now rose from the sofa, and tried to step between the man and Yulia, hoping to settle the matter


    amicably. "Sir, we do apologize. I assure you, it wasn’t on purpose at all, how about we—"


    "Stop meddling, you hypocrite!" Yulia cut her off, ring at Melinda with unmistakable fury. Melinda


    could only stare back at her in embarrassment. She couldn’t believe Yulia just did that.


    The man, on the other hand, frowned even deeper, and looked back and forth between the twodies.


    He could see now that they seemed to be dressed simrly, but while one looked like a regal socialite,


    the other only looked like some cheap city girl.


    The cheap city girl now turned back to him. "As I was saying, let me help you with the dry cleaning."


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    A crowd had gathered nearby, and people were watching them shamelessly. Perhaps it was because


    of their controversially alike outfits.


    Perhaps it was because the man who joined them was undeniably attractive. Either way, Yulia knew


    she was looking extremely bad in all this, and she scrambled to save face.


    "And like I said," the man said coldly, "there’s no need for your assistance at all. Since this beautiful


    lady was so kind to apologize on your behalf, even though her efforts are obviously unappreciated, I’ll


    let this matter slide against my better judgment.


    I suggest that you, Miss, make an effort to learn social etiquette. It would most certainly be of use to


    you." Then he smiled at her, but Yulia recognized his sarcasm all too clearly.


    Not only did he imply that she was ungrateful, he also emphasized how she was out of ce at such a


    high end gathering.


    She could hear some whispers from the people nearby, and while utterly humiliated, she could not find


    anything to say to salvage the situation. Gritting her teeth, she walked away from the patio.


    The man turned to look at Melinda and shed her another boyish smile, as though nothing happened.


    "Can you spare a dance for me, as sympathy for the very unlucky fate of my wardrobe?" He winked.


    Melinda couldn’t help the chuckle that burst out of her. This was such a ridiculous turn of events!


    Realizing she muste off rude forughing, she quicklyposed herself, and covered her mouth.


    Her eyes, though, still held some mirth, and it didn’t escape the man’s notice.


    She cleared her throat. "I think it would be better if you had a change of attire first. I’ll be waiting here."


    That meant, of course, that yes, she would dance with him.


    She realized soon after that it would look bad to the other men she refused earlier, but she didn’t dwell


    on the matter. For all she knew, nobody would notice anyway. The man looked at her curiously. This


    woman was getting more and more interesting by the minute. He signaled for his assistant, and gave


    instructions to fetch a spare set of clothes from his car.


    Then he followed Melinda to the sofa, and sat beside her. "I hope you wouldn’t mind mypany,


    beautifuldy.


    I’ve asked my assistant to get me some spare clothes. I think I shall wait here lest other men snatch my


    dance partner away."


    His words amused Melinda. He wasying the charm on thick, all right. Not that it had any of its desired


    effects, but she couldn’t help smiling.


    The assistant was back in a matter of moments, and the man disappeared to a nearby rest room to


    change. He emerged after a short while, this time dressed in a silver gray suit. It didn’t escape Melinda


    how his new ensemble seemed to match her own outfit.


    The fabric of his suit was a bit more on the darker side, but had a satin-like finish to it that gave it glints


    of silver. He essorized with gold cuff links, which stood out against his suit, and at the same time,


    called attention to his high status.


    The pair walked into the dance floor together, and the guests gawked at them. They looked very well-


    matched, indeed. They were quite a spectacle to behold as they danced, their graceful movements


    perfectly attuned to each other. The light bounced off of their clothes, giving them an otherworldly glow.


    Melinda was smiling up at her partner, her head tilted to a graceful angle, her dainty chin slightly raised


    towards her partner.


    The man’s eyes never left her face, his gaze turning soft and tender as they twirled around.


    To any stranger watching, they looked to be the perfect picture of a couple in love. They attracted


    everyone’s attention, and it made Melinda squirm.


    The man noticed her difort, and as soon as the song ended, he ushered his dance partner to the


    side under the pretense of getting something to eat. "I’m quite famished."


    Melinda smiled at him in gratitude, feeling warm from his thoughtful consideration. It somehow slipped


    her mind that, as they walked out of the dance floor, they were still holding hands.


    The man brought her to a quiet ce on the opposite side of the patio. He carefully seated Melinda


    before going to the buffet table by himself to get some food.


    When he returned, she was pleasantly surprised to discover that he somehow picked the same foods


    she ate earlier. Clearly, he had been paying attention, and the warmth in her grew. She smiled as she


    reached for a sandwich and took a big bite.


    The man watched her with barely concealed interest. "How can you eat so much and still look so


    magnificent? That’s rather unfair." He said it so easily that while she knew he wasplimenting her,


    the joke stood out to Melinda more than the praise. She decided she wouldn’t mind a bit of witty


    repartee.


    "You know, I’m sure you’re trying to pay me apliment, but you seem to have said a bit more than


    that."


    "Well actually..." The man took a heavy breath in mock exasperation, and then cupped his chin as


    though in deep thought. "The truth of the matter is that I wanted to ask you if you have a secret


    regimen because I think I could use some of that."