Chapter 2

Priscilla's POV

I stopped in my tracks and turned around.

Florence had already lifted the hem of her designer gown and hurried over. She grabbed my wrist, a flawless, sweet smile plastered on her face—as if she wasn't the same woman who had hysterically slapped me in first class a month ago.

"Priscilla, I'm so glad you could make it!" she said affectionately. "What happened on the flight was just a misunderstanding. My friends were just being a little too fiercely protective of me. Since you're here, let's put it all behind us, okay?"

I looked down at her hand gripping my wrist and said nothing.

Unbothered, she enthusiastically dragged me toward the center of the crowd. "Come on, let me introduce you to my friends and family."

A few steps away, Nathaniel and Daphne were chatting over wine.

"Everyone, this is Priscilla," Florence announced with a bright smile, clinging to my arm. "A top-tier flight purser."

Daphne’s hand jerked violently, nearly spilling her drink. Nathaniel’s smile instantly froze, his eyes darting away in panic, refusing to make eye contact with me.

"Hi, nice to meet you. I'm Daphne," she forced out a smile that looked worse than a grimace and reached out her hand.

"I'm Nathaniel," my brother cleared his throat, deliberately acting like a distant stranger.

Oblivious, Florence continued to make excuses for them. "Nathaniel is a big-shot lawyer. He can be aggressive, but he’s really a softie inside. He drafted the complaint against you, but only because he cares about me too much. Please don't take it personally."

Just then, a cheer erupted from the crowd. Gabriel was walking toward us, holding two glasses of wine, looking utterly smitten.

The moment he saw me, his feet glued to the grass. The color drained from his face perfectly, and he nearly dropped his glasses.

Florence threw herself into his arms like a happy little bird, wrapping her arms around his waist and looking up at him playfully. "Darling, perfect timing! I was just introducing Priscilla to everyone. Here, let me officially—"

"This is my fiancé of seven years. We are getting married next month," I cut her off without hesitation, my gaze slicing through Gabriel’s ashen face like a knife.

Dead silence fell over the lawn.

I pointed at the ground beneath our feet, my voice terrifyingly calm. "Also, this private villa you’re all partying in? He personally promised it to me as my wedding gift."

The smile on Florence’s face shattered completely. She slowly turned to look at Gabriel, tears instantly welling up in her eyes. "Gabriel... she's lying, right? We've been married for four years. You never told me you had another woman."

Married for four years.

Those words hit my temples like a sledgehammer.

Gabriel didn't look at me for even a second. He dropped the wine glasses and tightly hugged a trembling Florence, his voice panicked and heartbroken. "Florence, let me explain, please don't get worked up, watch your health."

That sickening display of tenderness froze the last bit of warmth in my heart.

"So I'm the one who's been kept in the dark," I sneered. "Gabriel, trying on wedding dresses with me while throwing a birthday bash for your wife in my bridal home. Wow."

Gabriel snapped his head toward me like a cornered beast. "Shut your mouth! Can't you see Florence is already hurting?!"

Daphne immediately rushed forward, shielding Florence and pointing right at my face. "Priscilla, have you no shame! Gabriel stopped loving you a long time ago! You fly all over the world and never fulfill your duties as a partner. Gabriel and Florence are true love. You’re just a desperate, clingy psycho!"

"True love?" I took a step forward. "So you all teamed up to frame me as a thief on that plane? You deliberately destroyed my career just so you could carry on with this sick lie guilt-free?"

"Enough!"

Nathaniel stepped in, blocking Florence, grinding his teeth. "Stop playing the victim! Your mistakes at work are your own fault, stop blaming everyone else! Florence and Gabriel have a child, and their son needs a father. Face reality and bow out with some dignity."

Hearing these words come out of my own brother’s mouth was the peak of absurdity.

"Who's the one truly embarrassing them—"

A full glass of red wine was dumped over my head.

Daphne held the empty glass, her eyes dripping with malice. "That's to wake you up. Stop throwing a tantrum here. You are the unwanted one. Now get the hell out of Florence's house!"