Free Web NovelChapter 24: Chapter 24: Vivian Linton Is Tormented
’She really has some nerve,’ Holly thought.
A single bottle of that red wine cost two to three hundred thousand.
Hearing the challenge, Vivian Linton and Nicole Linton both turned to look in their direction.
Vivian Linton’s expression shifted the moment she saw Holly Sinclair and Wendy Wyatt.
Nicole Linton, however, wore a look of pure resentment and defiance.
She immediately strode forward, looking down her nose at Holly and Wendy with an air of haughty arrogance.
"Well, well, look who it is. If it isn’t my sister’s loser! What’s the matter? Still sore about losing to her? Did you come here to drown your sorrows?"
Nicole Linton sneered, eyeing Holly and Wendy with cold contempt.
’Of all the rotten luck!’
She just wanted to show off a little, but she had to run into these two shameless bitches.
’You’re getting free food and drinks, can’t you just keep your mouths shut?’
’How dare they ask for a wine that costs hundreds of thousands!’
’When my brother-in-law settles the tab and sees how much it is, he’ll know I’m the one who bought a round for the whole bar without asking. How am I supposed to explain that?’
"Who’s the real loser here? Don’t you have a shred of self-awareness?"
Before Holly could say a word, the quick-tempered Wendy stood up and fired back.
Her tone was deceptively lazy, but it dripped with sarcasm.
Wendy wore a dark red, floral-print qipao. With her long, wavy hair, arms crossed over her chest, and a smirk playing on her lips, she exuded an aura that was both alluringly feminine and powerfully intimidating.
Her presence completely overshadowed Nicole Linton.
"The facts speak for themselves. You lost!" Nicole Linton declared, her voice dripping with smug arrogance.
She knew perfectly well how her sister had *really* won.
But so what?
Even if her sister wasn’t as skilled, her brother-in-law would still make sure she came out on top.
And with that doting affection, the sisters had every reason to be smug.
Far from feeling ashamed of such a dishonorable victory, Nicole Linton was actually proud of it.
"Nicole!"
Vivian Linton made a show of tugging on her sister’s sleeve. Then, she looked at Holly Sinclair and Wendy Wyatt with a faux-apologetic expression. "Holly, Wendy, Nicole is just very blunt. She’s young and doesn’t know any better. Please don’t stoop to her level."
She was apologizing, but every word was laced with provocation.
"Give me a break, Miss Linton," Wendy scoffed. "Who do you think you’re fooling with that act?"
"You..." Vivian Linton choked on her words, her face flushing with embarrassment.
"Who do you think you’re talking to, Wyatt?!" Nicole Linton raged.
"I’m talking to both of you. What are you going to do about it?" Holly Sinclair set down her glass with an elegant grace and calmly rose to her feet.
She was standing with her best friend, ready for a fight.
United, they were a force to be reckoned with.
The other patrons in the bar began to turn and stare.
Holly Sinclair, stunningly beautiful, and Wendy Wyatt, sensually alluring, instantly became the center of attention.
Vivian Linton didn’t want to escalate the situation.
Wendy was a lunatic, and it was best not to get on her bad side.
"Holly—"
"You think you have the right to call her ’Holly’? Who the hell do you think you are, Vivian Linton?"
Vivian Linton had barely spoken a word before Wendy cut her off with an insult.
Nicole Linton was fuming, ready to explode, but her sister shot her a look that stopped her in her tracks.
"Holly, Tristan invited Caleb and a few of their friends to meet here tonight. If you’re not in a hurry, you’re welcome to join us."
Vivian Linton suppressed her fury, forcing an elegant, pleasant smile as she spoke, her words like a dagger wrapped in silk.
A bitter pang struck Holly Sinclair’s heart.
In their two years of marriage, Tristan Sterling had never once introduced her to his close friends.
But he would for Vivian Linton.
And even though he knew Vivian had won through dishonest means, he was still throwing a huge celebration for her...
Hah.
"Sis, why would you invite them?" Nicole Linton complained resentfully. "Tonight is supposed to be your celebration with my brother-in-law. Let’s not let a couple of nobodies ruin our fun!"
"Brother-in-law?" Wendy raised an eyebrow, glancing at her best friend.
Holly Sinclair said nothing.
But Wendy saw the flash of pain in her friend’s eyes.
She turned back to Nicole Linton, her smile not reaching her eyes. "When you say ’brother-in-law,’ Miss Linton, you couldn’t possibly be referring to Tristan Sterling, could you?"
"That’s exactly who I mean! What about it? He *is* my brother-in-law!" Nicole Linton declared, puffed up with arrogance.
"Don’t go claiming relatives you don’t have, Miss Linton. I certainly don’t have a shameless sister-in-law like you," Holly Sinclair said lightly.
"You..." Nicole Linton’s face froze.
Wendy landed the finishing blow. "I’ve met plenty of shameless people in my life, but you two take the cake. Acting so high and mighty about being the other woman... your parents must be so proud."
Wendy gave them a sarcastic thumbs-up.
At her words, whispers erupted from the surrounding crowd.
"Whoa, so this whole time, we’ve been watching the mistress pick a fight with the actual wife."
"Are mistresses all this brazen these days...?"
"Seriously, how shameless can you get..."
Being pointed at and whispered about, Vivian and Nicole Linton’s faces went pale with humiliation and fury.
Humiliated and enraged, Nicole Linton began to lash out wildly.
"Holly Sinclair! Wendy Wyatt! What do you have to be so damn proud of?! One’s a washed-up wife abandoned by her husband, and the other is an illegitimate daughter who can’t even show her face in public! What gives you the right to be so smug?!"
"Holly, I’d advise you to know your place and divorce him already. His heart belongs to my sister; he doesn’t love you at all.
"You saw it yourself! He invited all his friends just to celebrate for my sister. So face reality! To him, you’re just a convenient lay for when my sister isn’t around. A free piece of ass he’d be a fool not to—"
SLAP! SLAP!
Holly Sinclair’s hand flew up, delivering two hard slaps across Nicole Linton’s face.
Bright red handprints instantly bloomed on both of Nicole’s cheeks.
For a moment, she was completely stunned.
"AHH!"
When she came to her senses, Nicole let out a furious shriek.
"Holly Sinclair, you bitch! You hit me again! I’m going to kill you!"
Driven mad with rage, Nicole Linton roared and lunged at Holly.
Holly watched her come with a cool, unruffled expression, not even flinching.
Just then, a janitor happened to be passing by. freewebnσvel.cѳm
Wendy snatched the bucket from the janitor’s hands.
"Ahhh—!"
Just as Nicole lunged forward, a bucket of filthy, stinking water was thrown right in her face.
"A mouth that foul needs a good washing."
Wendy dropped the bucket and snatched the rag from the janitor’s hand, moving to stuff it in Nicole Linton’s mouth.
The two of them began to scuffle.
Nicole Linton was no match for Wendy Wyatt.
"Ah... mmmph... help..." Nicole’s face went pale with terror as she struggled desperately.
The rag smelled even worse than the dirty water.
The janitor stood by, wanting to intervene but too afraid. All they could do was cry out helplessly, "Hey, miss, that’s the rag for cleaning the toilets...!"
"Mmph... you... BLECH..."
Hearing this, Nicole’s stomach churned violently.
While she was gagging, Wendy seized the opportunity, balled up the rag, and shoved it right into her mouth.
The color drained completely from Nicole Linton’s face.
Seeing Wendy’s explosive fighting power, Vivian Linton had already backed away to the side.
She was terrified of getting caught in the crossfire.
But then, she suddenly glanced at something behind Holly...
"Stop! Wendy, stop it!"
Vivian Linton suddenly screamed, her expression a mask of panic and fear. Then she yelled at Holly, "Holly, make Wendy let go of Nicole! If you’re angry, take it out on me! Don’t blame Nicole for this—"
"You’re right. Every debt has its debtor."
Hearing Vivian’s masterfully manipulative, woe-is-me act, Wendy—who had zero tolerance for such behavior—immediately released Nicole and turned on Vivian.
A flicker of a triumphant smile flashed in Vivian Linton’s eyes.
Holly saw it, and her heart sank.
"Wendy!"
She sensed something was wrong and tried to stop her friend.
But she was a step too late.
SLAP! SLAP!
Wendy, holding nothing back, landed two hard slaps on Vivian Linton, one with each hand.
"Ah...!"
Vivian cried out and stumbled backward.
THUD!
Her head struck the coffee table.
Blood streamed from the gash on her head.
"Vivian!"
Tristan Sterling, who had just walked into the bar, saw what happened and rushed over.
