Chapter 11 I Don't Mind Playing Along

"Would you mind if I personally said hello to Mr. Yang? You can walk around to socialize. I'll be right there with you, dear." Lucian spoke affectionately soft towards Shelly. After those words, he let go of her hand and parted.

Shelly very rarely refuted what Lucian wanted. She had always made sure that she attended such formal events with him. Over time, she began to become infamous in the eyes of the noble ladies of the city. Somewhat uncomfortable with the way some people looked at her, Shelly said, "Lucian, please don't leave me. I feel like some of these people hate me. I can go with you if you'd allow me to..." Shelly tugged Lucian by the sleeve. She made her shoulder tremble and gave off a timid look.

Lucian sighed and said, "Okay. You should make more friends, you know. You are too lonely." Lucian walked intently towards Mr. Yang.

"I... I'm scared, Lucian..." Shelly spoke in a low voice. Lucian truly tried to sympathize with the lady. Megan's departure had actually affected him greatly. The man vowed that no partner of his would ever feel the urge to leave his side.

Megan took quite some time in the salon. When she arrived, she was greeted by Kari along with the rest of their team. They eagerly waited for her by the entrance.

Megan wore a bright red dress, which was simple yet made her look splendidly elegant. Her curly long chestnut hair was coiled into a bud, leaving only a few strands beside her ears. Her peep toe shoes had diamonds on them, which shined whenever they were revealed from the slit of her dress. She commanded the attention of everyone in the room. Some were amazed; some felt jealous; and some were simply confused. Shelly, on the other hand, felt something that only corresponded to her - anger.

Lucian spoke to Mr. Yang as Megan entered the hall. They were distracted by the commotion that Megan had started. Both men looked towards her direction. For days, Lucian had been waiting for his requested information on Megan. Disappointingly, his men still failed to provide some. As Shelly turned her attention towards Lucian, she found that his eyes were glued unto Megan. There was anger, amazement, and even a hint of nostalgia in the man's eyes. Shelly looked cordial, but her fists were clenched tightly. 'Why would you ever return to this place, you bitch!' Shelly cursed the bane of her existence. Her eyes were filled with disgust, but soon enough she mellowed down.

"Lucian, look! That's Megan, right? I wouldn't have thought that she'll ever return..." Shelly sounded excited. Some could even thought that she was looking forward to meet Megan.

Lucian didn't say anything. He had already met Megan prior to that occasion, and so he wasn't surprised to see her.

"Lucian, do you think Megan will..." Shelly paused dramatically. "Do you think she'll be angry if she sees us together? She seems to be alone. Where is that man she eloped with? Why didn't he come?"

It sounded that she cared much about Megan, but the mention of the other man behind Megan had touched Lucian's nerve. The man remained to be in a daze. He had dealt with all kinds of people in the business circle, but Megan was the only person he couldn't see through.

"Lucian... I will talk to Megan, okay? After all, she is one of the few people I know in this place." Lucian's face changed when he heard what Shelly had said. He didn't know that Shelly was only acting cordial.

"I don't think that this is the best time for you two to talk. Stay here with me, please. Why don't we eat? I don't want you to starve, dear." Lucian thought that he had successfully diverted Shelly's attention. He could never allow an interaction between Shelly and Megan.

"Lucian!" Shelly whined as she pulled the man's sleeve, much like a spoiled child. Lucian simply chose to ignore her. Alas, Shelly made her way towards Megan.

Megan was talking with a boss when she heard a familiar voice from behind. "Megan, you... You're back?"

It would seem to Megan that Shelly had further developed her acting skills. They had not seen each other for years after all. Shelly convincingly seemed pitiful next to Megan. Strangers could believe that Megan had threaded over Shelly in the past.

"Long time no see, old friend!" Megan said cordially. Shelly was surprised with Megan's reaction. Megan had indeed learned to play such games. Seeing the reunion of the two 'old friends', the boss standing beside Megan bid them farewell like a true gentleman.

"Yes, we haven't seen each other for such a long time. Why did you come back, bitch?" Shelly said as she gritted her teeth. Having Megan to herself, Shelly unleashed her true colors.

"Why did I come back?" Megan echoed sarcastically. "Of course I'll return, Shelly! This place is my home..." Megan approached Shelly and said a few words. Shelly subconsciously took a few steps back.

"You..." Shelly abruptly stopped talking as someone passed by. She inched closer to Megan and sarcastically said, "You've got to be kidding me! For your information,

Lucian and I are very happy with each other. You're nothing but a woman from the past. Lucian even denies being married to you! Ha-ha." With a more serious face, Shelly dared, "If you truly have no intentions of luring Lucian, then sign the divorce papers you've left behind!"

Megan chuckled and said, "Oh, please! I've signed those papers long before I left. The only thing left for Lucian to do was to sign them. Maybe you should charm your man instead of telling me off." Megan needed none of that conversation, and so she decided to leave. Just as she walked away, Shelly grabbed her hand. Megan instinctively pushed her away. Shelly acted as if she had fallen to the floor, making the impression that she was assaulted.

She was able to milk the situation before Megan could even react. Just like a seasoned actress, tears streamed down her face. "Enough, Megan. I don't want any trouble. Even if you are angry with me, how can you hit me? Everyone saw it!" the scheming woman wailed. She gathered the attention of everyone around them.

"What did she do?" "Yes, such a blatant woman. Who is she?"

No one interfered. Megan could hear the crowd murmur.

"You're still the same old Shelly after all these years, huh? Well, this is amusing! Since you like to act, I don't mind playing along." Megan stared at the crowd before she walked towards Shelly's direction. She made it seem that she had accidentally stepped on Shelly's hand. Shelly shrieked in pain. Megan wore a pair of shoes with a four-inch high heel. Shelly's hand felt unbearably painful.

As if just realizing that she had stepped on Shelly, Megan bounced away quickly. In that process, she was able to exert more force unto Shelly's hand. "Oh my God! I'm so sorry! I did not see your hand!" Megan said after she gasped fraudulently. "I'll call an ambulance right away! God knows you need those hands for embroidery," she said with a hint of contempt. Shelly's mother was an embroiderer. Her mother wanted Shelly to continue her craft, but she heartlessly refused.

Shelly bit her lip and thought, 'You're a shady bitch, Megan!'

As Lucian made his way to the scene, he was mesmerized by Megan's leg. The man saw it through the slit of her dress. He grew angry at himself over the fascination he felt.

"Shelly," the man exclaimed worriedly. Lucian pushed Megan away in order to reach Shelly. The mistress' hand was bruised, and skin peeled off from it. Things looked far graver that they actually were.

"Lucian, Megan didn't mean it. Don't lash out on her..." Shelly's initial reaction was to defend Megan. In the eyes of the people around them, Shelly was a truly generous person.

"I take full responsibility of my actions. I'm truly sorry, Ms. Shelly. Please allow me to take care of all you medical expenses. I'll even give you an ointment so that your wound would not scar. I brought it from abroad and I will ask my assistant to send it to you later." Megan spoke with utmost indifference. She had truly learned to speak her mind clearly. She already promised that she would take the responsibility and she also apologized. If Shelly still wanted to make trouble for her, that would make everyone think that she was being unreasonable.

"I don't care about the medical bills! You better drop the act, Megan!" Lucian felt distressed. The man was furious to see how indifferently Megan acted.

Megan was truly amused with how things developed. In her eyes, the couple had never grown ever since she left. Even Lucian was his same old self - blaming Megan for all the shit that happened around him.

"Mr. Lucian, I'm afraid your anger is a little bit uncalled for. People saw what had happened here. Even Ms. Shelly attested that it was an accident. She accidentally ripped open my dress and fell off. I just wanted to go to support her. I'm just not used to wearing high heels, that's all. Your girlfriend is not even angry, so why should you?" she defended herself. She knew that Shelly liked to pretend that she was generous and easy to forgive people, so this time, she played along to satisfy her.

Before Lucian could even retort, Shelly butted in and said, "Lucian, it was my fault. It's time we get go. I knew she would be unhappy when she saw me." Tears formed at the corner of Shelly's eyes as she spoke. She had become an expert on that over the years.

Lucian lifted Shelly on his arms. He could see the laced garment inside Shelly's dress, as did some people. No one dared to say a word. It would seem that the rumors about Lucian's fetish was true.

Noticing how the crowd eyed her, Shelly protested and said, "Put me down, Lucian." The mistress was also aware of her current predicament.

"Don't mind these idiots. Someone even has her whole leg exposed. You're fine, my dear," Lucian said while glancing at Megan. He found several men dumbfounded over Megan's legs just now. They were the city's elites, yet they acted like savages at times.

'What a romantic couple!' Megan sighed in her heart as she watched them leave.