The day Mandy came back from France, she immediately called out for Essie.
When Mandy found out that Zac's ex-lover was coming back to town, she was overwhelmed by a state
of panic, so she immediately instructed her close friend to act as a third wheel during the jewelry
exhibition. She had asked Essie to secretly engage in destruction, so that she could be together with
Zac.
Essie almost fainted when Mandy came up to ask her. She was just a hostess to Zac. Why did she
have to turn herself into a bitch?
She knew that she should have declined, but Mandy had threatened their relationship and forced her to
promise. With her persistence, Essie just couldn't find it in herself to refuse.
Essie had chosen a bright yellow ancient style dress to wear for the jewelry exhibition. Her black curly
hair was simply tossed to her back, with light make-up applied to her face. Her appearance was fresh
and refined with a green tea flavor, which was appropriate as that was her role.
Essie spun around as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. Satisfied with her look, she smiled at
herself and nodded. She mustered up her courage to be the antagonist for the event and was ready to
cause destruction!
When they arrived at the hotel to pick up Leila, she was already in the lobby waiting for them.
She wore an ink chiffon skirt and her curly long hair worked perfectly well with her bright make-up. Her
hair flowed with the wind, and she looked pretty as a picture. However, what struck Essie’s attention
the most was the bold necklace that was wrapped around her neck. It seemed to be made of blue,
green and white turquoise. It had an interesting and unique design that looked like a blooming jasmine
from a distance.
She found it vaguely familiar, but couldn't point her finger to where she had seen it before.
Leila was bothered to find Essie sitting on the passenger seat, as that seat had always belonged to her.
Zac got off the car to open the door for her. Essie thought to herself, 'I expected that they'd be
estranged for at least a few days. I didn't expect them to resolve their quarrels so quickly.' Their love
seemed to have a very solid foundation. Besides, it was very common for lovers to quarrel from time to
time.
Leila had no plans of sitting in the back seat. She smiled at Zac charmingly and greeted him before she
tapped on the window of the passenger seat and said, "I'm sorry, but can we switch seats? I'd much
prefer sitting here." Since Essie was just his roommate, there was no reason for her to be too polite.
"Sure." Essie easily budged. Just before she was able to open the door to step out, she suddenly
remembered the mission she had shouldered and quickly let go. "I apologize, but I have a severe case
of carsickness. If I sat on the back seat, I would instantly feel sick. If I end up vomiting, Zac would not
be too happy about that." She smiled in embarrassment.
When she heard this, Leila's bright face had quickly turned pale, but after short moment she recovered
as usual. She had to keep up a good image to Zac and couldn't undermine herself to Essie's level.
"Just sit in the back seat, Leila." Zac said this in a tender tone which was implied as an order. Leila bit
her lip while she lowered her head in disappointment before she went and sat on the back seat.
Essie had to spend the rest of the car ride dramatically acting like she was feeling sick. At one point,
she even put her hand on her forehead and pretended that she had fainted.
Zac couldn't resist himself and found himself laughing. He watched her play her part with no mercy. He
thought of her as a little devil who was sometimes confused, self-willed, unreasonable and sometimes
even a little shameful. However, with her by his side, he was never bored and always entertained.
As they walked along the hall, the jewelry were displayed lavishly and the space was filled with gold
and jade.
Essie looked around with astonishment and stopped in front of a pink diamond necklace. "Wow!" she
exclaimed. Her eyes were bright as diamonds as she marveled on the beautiful piece.
Leila grunted and looked down on Essie with disdain all over her face. She watched her from afar as if
she was a little pest meddling with her business. Diamonds were as typical and ordinary as a carrot or
turnip in the lives of the wealthy, upper class societies. However, for humble commoners like Essie, it
was a rare treasure that she perceived as a precious work of art.
She noticed the way Leila looked at her and quickly turned over to Zac, thinking that he had the same
disdainful expression.
Essie found Zac watching her endearingly with a subtle smile on his face. He touched the back of her
head and teased her. "I never knew you were fond of these things."
"Of course. I'm not the kind of person who doesn't value money. Besides that, as a fashion designer, I
appreciate art and beauty in all forms."
Zac smiled when he heard this and respected her frank and honest demeanor. Her words were never
hypocritical nor did she ever try to conceal her true self. "In that case, you should appreciate me as
well," he said with delicate giggle.
She raised the corner of her lips into a smirk and said, "Well, I admire your impudence."
"Alright, more reason for me to act shamelessly without having to feel ashamed," Zac quickly remarked
with a mischievous smile on his face. Essie squinted her eyes at him and wondered when he needed a
reason to act that shamelessly.
The exchange between the two was starting to get in Leila's nerves. It felt like it had been quite some
time that neither of them noticed her presence and she felt completely ignored.
"Zac, I have a secret to tell you," Leila suddenly intercepted in the middle of their conversation. She
wanted to evoke her presence and draw his attention on her.
"What secret?" Zac asked casually.
"Back then, I decided to get into jewelry design because you had given me this necklace that you
personally designed," she said. Leila placed her hand lightly on the turquoise necklace on her chest
while she tried to charm him by fluttering her eyelashes lightly.
When Zac finally noticed the necklace she wore, there was a flash of incomprehensible darkness and
deepness in his eyes.
This necklace...
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda