My Ex-Wife Is A Big Shot In Disguise novel Chapter 31

Rose Garden. Kitchen. Helping out.

With just a few words, Madison's perceived status was lowered in everyone's minds.

The guests thought, 'So she's just a woman who's gotten close to the CEO of XR Entertainment through her looks and body. We thought she was from a wealthy family.'

Those attending tonight's fashion gala were either wealthy or from prominent families.

They were young scions and socialites of the upper class, A-list celebrities, or people who had seized this opportunity to network and talk about business. Every single one of them was a well-known figure.

The guests thought, 'Surprisingly, someone who usually serves others is here.'

Their gazes, which initially appeared stunned, instantly turned disdainful.

Madison paused upon hearing the familiar voice. She briefly glanced at Sally with a cold stare before walking alongside Joe.

"My dear sister, Madison," Sally said. "Why are you walking so fast? Since we bumped into each other, let's go in together."

Sally came alone and caught up with them in just a few steps.

Leo was not interested in this kind of gala. Sally had invited him before, but he declined, so she did not ask if he wanted to come this time.

Caught by Sally, Madison had no choice but to stop, wearing an expressionless face.

"Miss Hale, does your mom know about your habit of randomly claiming someone else as your relative out there?" Madison said.

"Madison, why are you so confrontational?" Sally said. "You've lived in my house for so many years, and I've treated you as my sister for years. Even if our relationship has ended now, it doesn't have to be as hostile as though we are enemies, wouldn't you agree?"

Sally was not angry. She spoke gently and with a smile.

Madison looked at the innocent and pure smile before her, feeling a wave of disgust sweep through her.

She thought, 'Ignoring the wicked deeds she has done behind the scenes, it has only been less than a month since the dirt she did was exposed in public. Where does she get the nerve to act innocent here?'

"I'm not interested in reminiscing with you here," Madison said. "Isn't the purpose of giving me the severance agreement to keep me away from you in the future? Why pretend now and say I'm your sister? Don't you fear I may come and snatch away your assets later?"

Madison did not care about the gazes of those around her. She coldly replied with a counter-question.

This moment was the right time to enter the venue. Many people stopped one after another after hearing the argument.

Among them were the heiresses who attended the Hale family's birthday dinner. They recognized the two of them immediately and started discussing what had happened that night, causing the discussion to shift one after another.

Sally's expression immediately turned unpleasant.

After all, hiring someone to insult one's sister, who had been mistakenly raised as the biological child of the Hale family, was not a very honorable thing to do. What good words could these people possibly say?

Moreover, with the uproar surrounding the incident about Rose Garden on the Internet, mockery and ridicule came one after another.

Some young people even mentioned the online dirty jokes about her. Upon hearing that, Sally wished she could rush over and tear those people's mouths apart!

She had flaws, and she had made some mistakes. However, she let things go as they were without correcting them. She insisted on dragging Madison into a difficult situation.

"But Madison, even if you're no longer connected to our family, you grew up in our family," Sally said. "What you should be taught and what you should learn are the same as mine. You divorced Leo not too long ago, and now you're with Mr. Daves from XR Entertainment. Isn't this something you should not do?"

She insisted on slinging mud at Madison.

Although the words were not explicit, the intention to lead everyone's thoughts in an inappropriate direction was quite clear.

One was the CEO of an entertainment company, while the other was a fake heiress kicked out of a wealthy family. There were not many Cinderella and Prince Charming stories in real life, but plenty of stories about being attracted by looks and being money-minded.

"Miss Sally, what do you mean by that?" Joe said.

On the side, Joe could not hold back anymore and his deep gaze swept over Sally chillingly.

If it weren't for his sister holding him back, he would have walked up to this woman and talked some sense into her.

His sister said it was not appropriate for him to intervene in matters between women, so he kept holding back, but this woman would not stop.

Sally did not seem to expect that Joe would speak up for Madison. She was momentarily stunned.

While she was momentarily stunned, Joe seized the opportunity to speak up. No one could stop him.

"Let's not mention that my female companion and I are just business partners," Joe said. "Even if we were in a romantic relationship, so what? Is there any law that forbids me from pursuing a divorced woman? Miss Sally, I'd like to ask you. Where's the fault in that?"

Sally was left speechless by the questioning.

Joe had not finished yet. After a series of questions, he ended with a cold chuckle.

"Being in a romantic relationship is also related to your family's values, huh?" Joe continued. "Your family's values are quite outdated then. You haven't been in a relationship so far. It wouldn't be because you need your parents' approval for that, right?"

There was a burst of laughter around.

Sally was so angry that her face turned pale, and she spoke without restraint. "I've never said there's anything wrong with you two being in a relationship," she said. "I'm just saying that Madison gets into a relationship soon after getting a divorce. Who knows if she has gotten involved with you before her divorce?"

The bystanders thought, 'Wow, she dares to speak her mind.'

Seeing that they did not refute, Sally lifted her head smugly.

"Mr. Daves, you had better be careful," Sally continued. "Maybe the woman by your side merely knows she can't get any money from the Palmer family, so she paves her way early on, eyeing the money you earn! Otherwise, why would she divorce Leo so readily? In the past, she was reluctant to part ways with him."

"Miss Sally, it seems that you not only have some delusions but also can't understand human speech," Madison said.

In comparison, Madison's reaction seemed much calmer.

"Mr. Daves explained earlier that we're just business partners," Madison said. "Tonight, I'm just attending the gala as his female companion. Yet, you're quick to slap labels on us. So, everyone attending the gala tonight with companions is in that kind of improper relationship, like you said?"

A significant number of guests attending the banquet were married couples, but there were also siblings, fathers with daughters, and even those who brought their subordinates along.

When Madison said that, Sally's unreasonable fuss seemed utterly absurd.

Yet Sally remained oblivious. Her eyes were filled with disdain.

"You are a chef working at Rose Garden," Sally said. "What collaboration could you possibly have with Mr. Daves? Also, do you know the theme of tonight's gala? Why? Rose Garden can no longer sustain its business, so you intend to switch careers and go into food garnishing, huh?"

"You don't have to be concerned about what collaboration Mr. Daves and I have, Miss Sally," Madison said. "But as for you, you haven't apologized for leading your fans to attack Rose Garden, have you?"

Madison brought up this matter in front of everyone without showing any mercy.

The thought of this incident made Sally angrier.

"What did I do wrong?" she said. "Why should I apologize? Did I tell them to block the entrance of Rose Garden? I even published the post, mentioning that the car accident had nothing to do with Rose Garden. They're stupid. Why should I apologize?"

She thought, 'They even made me get scolded! Because of this Rose Garden incident, the internet has been full of people criticizing me these past few days. I spent so much money buying supporters to sway online discussion in my favor, and it's been useless. Why should I apologize?'

She glared at Madison, her eyes filled with resentment.

She thought, 'If it weren't for her releasing the video, how could there be so much trouble?'

Madison ignored her gaze, not wanting to continue getting involved in an argument with her. Just as she was about to turn away and leave, she saw a familiar face as she lifted her eyes.

She stopped in her tracks, slowly curling her lips into a smile.

She said, "Whether you apologize is your personal matter or not, but there's something that may involve both of us.

"You mentioned earlier that I got the divorce readily. It suddenly hit me that your Leo hasn't gone through the divorce procedures with me. So, can I trouble you to ask when he'll finalize the divorce proceedings so I can regain my status as a single?

"By dragging this out, he's holding me up from dating others."

With that said, the entire place became quiet.

Everyone's gaze followed Madison's toward that figure...