My Child and I Married a Billionaire

Chapter 23: Chapter 23: Everyone Wants to See Her Embarrassed

The next morning, Vivian Mason sent the location of the birthday party to Cecelia Archer’s WeChat.

As if afraid Cecelia wouldn’t go, she even went to her desk to remind her.

"We already agreed yesterday. Claire has already added your name to the list, so don’t you dare back out."

Cecelia had no intention of backing out. Not for anyone’s sake, but for the sake of a ten-million-dollar contract.

She forwarded the address to Damien Vaughn.

"I know we’re not involved anymore, and I shouldn’t be bothering you. And I’ve promised so many times that I wouldn’t bother you again, but... just one last time. I swear this is really the last time. Mr. Damien, could you just spare a moment to show up at this place tonight? You can leave right away. I’ll even reimburse your travel expenses!"

Damien Vaughn had just arrived at the conference room when his phone started buzzing repeatedly. He picked it up and saw it was from Cecelia Archer again.

’She’s actually inviting me to make an appearance at this place? What for?’

’When I gave her a chance, she acted all reserved and holier-than-thou. Now that I’ve drawn a clear line between us, she’s starting to play games?’

Damien had no interest in figuring out what Cecelia was up to. He coldly locked his phone screen.

Just as the meeting began, his phone buzzed again with several more messages.

This time, it was from Claire Clark, with the same address.

"Damien, it’s my birthday today. My friends are throwing a small party for me. Could I invite you to come join us?"

"I know you’re busy, but my birthday only comes once a year. Can’t you please make some time to stop by for a little while? It’s been so long since we’ve seen each other." The message was followed by a cute, pleading emoji.

Damien Vaughn’s brow furrowed. ’Are these two women insane? They’re going to the same place tonight? They clearly can’t stand each other, so why are they forcing themselves to be in the same room?’

By the time she got off work, Cecelia still hadn’t received a reply from Damien. She mulled it over and suddenly remembered. freёwebnoѵel.com

’How could he possibly go? Even if he did, it wouldn’t be for me. He’s Claire Clark’s boyfriend!’

’How could I have forgotten something so important, just because we had a private encounter a couple of days ago!’

She suddenly felt deeply embarrassed.

’When Damien sees this message, he’ll probably think I don’t understand boundaries, right? To think I was trying to steal him from his girlfriend. Won’t it be mortifying if I run into him later?’

But things had come to this, and she couldn’t not go.

The commission was so large, she’d rather die than just let it slip away.

In the end, after work, without changing her clothes or putting on any makeup, Cecelia took a cab alone to the party’s location.

It was in a villa, massive and luxurious. The moment she stepped inside, she saw a huge crowd of people packed into the room. Many of them looked familiar; they were her old university classmates.

Everyone had clearly taken great care in dressing up for the night.

The female classmates wore exquisite makeup and beautiful cocktail dresses. The male classmates were all in suits and ties.

Cecelia’s entrance immediately drew everyone’s attention.

"Hey, isn’t that Cecelia Archer? Long time no see. She actually showed up tonight!"

"Back when she was expelled, didn’t they say she was pregnant with some rich old man’s child? She should be doing well for herself by now, so why is she dressed like that?"

Claire Clark, surrounded by a circle of people, heard this and sneered.

"Having a baby for a rich man? That’s just her trying to make herself sound good. Who knows where that bastard really came from. Otherwise, why would she be poor enough to steal my necklace?"

"She threw away her education for some deadbeat, had his kid, and then got dumped just like that. Now she’s a salesperson at my uncle’s company. I even saw her running a street stall a few days ago, hehe."

What? The former top student in medical school, the most beautiful girl in their department, was now working in sales and running a street stall?

This piece of gossip was clearly juicier than her sudden expulsion back in the day, and everyone immediately swarmed over.

"Cecelia, you’re here! Long time no see. What are you up to these days? We heard you were pregnant back in university. You’ve had the baby, right? Is it a boy or a girl? Why didn’t you bring him with you?"

Cecelia knew she wouldn’t be able to avoid awkward questions tonight, but she had no intention of answering. She didn’t care what these nobodies thought of her.

Ignoring the others, she looked straight at Claire Clark.

"Claire, happy birthday."

Claire didn’t need a gift from her, and she had no intention of buying one. She simply handed Claire a box of chocolates her company had given out for a holiday.

As expected, Claire glanced at it with a look of utter disgust.

"What is this trash? Did you snatch this out of your kid’s mouth? I don’t eat junk. Take it back for your child."

’Fine, if you don’t want it.’ Cecelia put the chocolates back in her bag.

Claire looked behind her. "Didn’t you say your husband would be coming with you? Why isn’t he here?"

At the mention of her husband, Cecelia’s eyes swept across the room, but she didn’t see Damien.

’Isn’t he Claire’s boyfriend? Why isn’t he here?’

But his absence was perfect; it was just what she wanted.

"He was supposed to come, but something came up at work suddenly. Besides, he doesn’t know you, so it doesn’t really matter if he comes or not. Let’s not worry about him."

The crowd was stunned once again.

"Cecelia’s married? To who? The baby’s father?" fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

’Why didn’t she let him come? I really want to get the full story!’

"Who knows," Claire said with a smile after everyone had asked their questions.

"Cecelia is very cunning. She never tells the truth in front of us. Who knows if someone actually married her or if she’s just making it all up."

"Alright, she has a point. Whether she’s married or not, and who her husband is, it’s not important to us. Let’s not just stand around. Go on, have a seat."

Everyone sat down, surrounding Cecelia and sizing her up from head to toe.

Her clothes were the uniform issued by her company. Her shoes were a very plain pair of black flats, with almost no shine. Her bag looked cheap, the faux leather already starting to crack.

Her entire appearance screamed misfortune, except for her face, which showed no trace of time’s passage.

Although plain and unadorned, without a trace of makeup, she was still so radiant it made others jealous.

"Cecelia, do you remember Ethan King? He had a huge crush on you back in school. It’s a shame what happened to you... He’s an intern at Veridia First General Hospital now."

Not just anyone could get into Veridia First General Hospital. They brought him up at this moment simply to see Cecelia’s regret.

Unfortunately for them, Cecelia had no impression of the man at all.

"Ethan King?"

"Yeah, Ethan King. Since we’re on the topic, let’s call him over to sit with us."

"Ethan King, your former goddess is here! Why don’t you come over and say hello?"

As soon as the words fell, a group of male classmates pushed a tall, slender young man over.

Everyone teased him with grins on their faces. "Usually, Dr. King is ’too busy’ for our class reunions, but he’s so eager today. He must have come for Cecelia, right? Still can’t forget her after all these years?"

Ethan King was tall with long legs and very handsome features, which made his white shirt and slacks look particularly good.

He considered himself a man of some status now. Looking at Cecelia, who had nothing but her beauty, he couldn’t stand being teased by everyone and losing face.

"When did I ever say I liked her? And I never even pursued her, did I? She’s just a thief who got expelled from school. Stop joking around!"