Chapter 259
âAn orphan?â A woman in a creamâcolored dress snorted.
Those who could attend Susan Leisterâs birthday celebration were influential figures in Chanaca. An
orphan with no background and no one to support was at the bottom of the social pyramid thereâNatalie
was an outlier.
âUgly and an orphan! How can she be with Mr. Bowers?â
âWhatâs the matter with Mr. Bowers? Even if heâs only picking a secretary, he should pick someone with
a better look!â
âAnd here I thought she had some kind of mysterious family background!â
The women were chattering away, completely ignoring the fact that Natalie was there.
Susan was doing it on purpose; she was deliberately not telling anyone about Natalieâs relationship with
Samuel. She wanted her to be laughed and mocked at by the other socialites. It would delight her most if
Natalie were to lose her temper and began fighting with them.
That way, she did not have to do anything as Natalie embarrass herself. Susan was sure that Samuel
would be extremely disappointed in her if he were to witness the
scene.
However...
While it was a good plan, Natalieâs reaction was completely different from what Susan thought it would
be.
Natalie continued to sip on her red wine, her eyes halfâlidded and maintaining her composure.
At the end, when the other women saw how calm Natalie was, they lost interest in gossiping about her.
The calmer Natalie was, the more it seemed like the socialites were cruel, noisy beings. Although they
still looked at Natalie with disdain in their eyes, they had all quietly decided to clamp their mouths shut.
Once she realized that Natalie had not fallen into her trap, the glee disappeared from
Phoebeâs eyes flicked between Natalie and Susan. With just a glance, she knew that Susan was
annoyed again.
âYou girls,â Phoebe started, âNot everyone is born equal, so donât laugh at Ms. Natalie for being an
orphan. If sheâs capable of being by Mr. Bowersâ side, it must mean that she has terrific work capabilities
and is a great judge of the aesthetics.â
After finishing the last bit of her wine, Natalie turned to look at Phoebe, who looked a lot like Susan.
This womanâs... a lot better than those who only know how to mock others. So, she knows how to be
subtle and how to dig a grave for me to fall in after putting me on a pedestal.
Natalie did not speak. She only smiled and continued watching, waiting to see how they were going to
set her up.
When Phoebe looked at the empty glass beside Natalie, she smiled and said, âIt seems like you like wine
a lot, Ms. Natalie. You must be wellâversed in it, then. Itâs Susanâs birthday celebration today, and
everyoneâs a little bored of the music and dancing by now. Why donât we do something interesting?â
At that, the other women around Phoebe turned to look at her, interested.
âWhy donât we play a guessing where we blindfold the players and guess the type of wine based on its
scent?â Phoebe continued. âNot only will we have to say the type of wine and its location of production,
but we also have to specify the wineâs vintage. Youâll have to be right in all three answers to win the
round.â
At the start, when the socialites heard that it was a guessing game based on the wine scent, they were
thrilled. However, when they realized that their answers had to be so accurate, they were not as excited
anymore.
âItâs one thing to be able to specify the type of wine but another to specify the location and the year!â
âOnly the Leister family can play this game in Livingsfill! The Leistersâ winery has tons of premium wine,
so this is going to be a tough game.â
âItâs not fun if itâs not tough. Isnât it thrilling to have to guess the year as well?â
âDo we get any prizes if we win? Otherwise, losing and winning is nothing but a word!â
Phoebe and Susan shared a look before one replied, âThe one who wins will get to dance with Mr.
Bowers tonight, and the one who loses will have to refrain from dancing with Mr. Bowers.â
Sheâs obviously targeting me.Why do these two daughters of the Leister family have to beat around the
bush?