A Beauty With Multiple Masks

While Arielle was deep in thought, a few socialites approached her in a friendly manner. “Ms. Moore, you look like a really nice person. Shall we be friends?” “Ms. Moore, you have such a good figure. Do you mind sharing some tips to keep fit?” “We should exchange contacts. Since you’re now back to Jadeborough, we should keep in touch more often.” Those women appeared to look really friendly and seemed to be truly interested in befriending Arielle. However, Arielle could easily see through their real intentions. However, she pretended to be ignorant and nodded with an innocent expression. “Sure… I would love to make some friends here.” While the socialites gathered around Arielle and chatting with her enthusiastically, Shandie, who was upstairs, finally woke up. She saw Cindy, who was holding her hand tightly, with a worried expression, while Henrick looked distracted as if he was not concerned about her at all. Shandie’s resentment festered at once. It’s all because of that b*tch, Arielle, that my dad doesn’t love me anymore! Feeling aggrieved and frustrated, tears streamed down the woman’s face. “Mom… “ “Darling, you’ve finally woken up! Don’t cry, don’t cry…” Cindy comforted her daughter and could feel her heart aching. After seeing that Shandie was fine, Henrick told the two women that he was going to head back downstairs. “There are still a lot of guests downstairs. I’ll go and entertain them first,” the man said. Before the mother-daughter pair could reply, Henrick had already turned around and left. After the door was shut, Shandie could no longer contain her frustration and threw a pillow against the door. “Mom! Just look at dad! I can’t stand it anymore! I want Arielle to disappear right away!” Cindy was also burning with anger. It was supposed to be her darling daughter’s birthday party. However, Arielle had stolen all the attention instead. Cindy took a deep inhale to calm herself down and tried to comfort her daughter instead, “Darling, let’s not rush it first. If something bad happens to her right after she returned to the country, your dad would definitely suspect us. As you know, your dad is really chauvinistic and hates it when people don’t listen to him. So, you have to be patient and don’t act rashly yeah!” “So what should we do now?” Shandie covered her face with her hands and started bawling her eyes out. “My birthday party is ruined! Everyone will start making fun of me. Those women’s favorite activity is gossiping behind other people’s backs!” Just when Cindy was about to reply, Janet knocked and entered the room. Holding an envelope in her hand, the nanny exclaimed in delight, “I have great news! Mrs. Southall, Ms. Shandie, there’s another joyous occasion to celebrate!” Shandie was not interested in knowing what it was at all and looked away. “There’s absolutely nothing to celebrate, everything is so screwed up! Today is the worst day ever in my entire life!” Not to mention that Arielle was the center of attention throughout the party, and Shandie had even fainted in front of everyone! Who knew what those socialites would gossip about? Meanwhile, Cindy remained composed and asked Janet, “What’s the good news about? What’s that in your hands?” Janet walked towards them excitedly and explained, “I have just received a document for Ms. Shandie. It has the emblem of the Crown Coffee Academy on it.” “Really?” Cindy immediately took over the envelope from the nanny. After opening the envelope and looking at its contents, she tugged on Shandie’s hand excitedly and exclaimed, “Shannie, it’s really good news! You’ve come in first in the Socialite Coffee Competition!” The Socialite Coffee Competition was a competition organized by the top baristas around the world. The winner of the competition would become the ambassador of Soir Coffee, which belonged to the Nightshire Group. To be able to take part in the competition was already not easy. Cindy was over the moon that her daughter had emerged as the winner of the competition! To her, it was indeed a great honor. Sharing her mother’s excitement, Shandie had also looked through the document a few times. Apart from the usual congratulatory words, it was also stated on the document that she had to attend the awards ceremony held at the International Hotel at Norham the following week. According to tradition, Vinson would also be at the awards ceremony to personally announce the new ambassador of Soir Coffee, as well as to give out the awards. Shandie suddenly felt energized at that thought. Cindy was smiling from ear to ear as she said, “I’m sure you’ve made an impression on Mr. Nightshire at the birthday party. When you turn up at the awards ceremony, I’m sure he will be surprised and see you in a different light.” Shandie clenched the paper tightly and replied in excitement, “Exactly! Mr. Nightshire will definitely remember me well. After I officially become the ambassador, those gossipy socialites will naturally have to shut their mouths!” Not only could she become the center of attention again, but Shandie was also hoping that she would leave an unforgettable impression on Vinson. “It’s a joyous occasion worthy of celebration indeed!” Cindy removed the jade bangle on her wrist and gave it to Janet while saying, “This is your reward for bringing us such great news.” However, Janet refused the gift instinctively. “Mrs. Southall, I can’t take this! All I did was receive the document… This bangle must be worth at least a few hundred thousand?” Cindy forced the bangle back into the nanny’s hands and said, “Well, this is worth way more than a few hundred thousand! Just take it to any random shop and they will quote a price of at least a million. Of course, other than this being your reward, I’ll need your help in something else as well.” A hint of greed flashed across Janet’s eyes. Tempted by the offer, she kept the bangle and asked, “What is it that I can help with? Just tell me, Mrs. Southall, I’ll do my best!” “Help me keep an eye on Arielle and report to me whenever you notice any unusual activities on her end!” “Understood! I’ll definitely keep a close watch on that hoyden from the countryside!” There was a trace of sorrow in Cindy’s eyes when she heard the nanny’s words. Is Arielle really from the countryside? Cindy could not help but wonder as there was no news from the men she had sent and they were still not back yet. Besides, the address provided by Arielle was at South Island, which was certainly not the countryside. When Arielle stated her address, Cindy did not think much about it. She thought that Arielle might have gone to work at South Island as it had been so many years after all. However, judging by the current circumstances, Cindy felt that she should investigate in detail what Arielle had been up to and where she had been to during these past ten years. It did not seem possible for a girl who grew up in the countryside to have such a classy demeanor. At that thought, Cindy could not help but remind her daughter, “Shannie, mom thinks that Arielle is not as simple as she seems. Before I come up with a plan, don’t do anything rash yeah? We should lie low and avoid any complications for the time being.” “I know, I know.” Even though Shandie agreed, she did not think that her mom’s concerns were warranted. Apart from inheriting her mom’s good looks, she’s probably just a country bumpkin. How threatening can she be? She can’t possibly have also inherited her mom’s intelligence? To Shandie, intelligence and talents were a result of nurture and not nature. Shandie was good at arts and had a good reputation in the socialite’s circle. Besides, her achievements so far were attained after spending huge amounts of money on various classes and training. As such, the woman found it ridiculous at the notion that she had to be cautious of a country bumpkin. What happened was just the result of a one-off miscalculation on her part. “Mom, I have an idea. I want to invite Arielle to attend the awards ceremony with me so that she would realize that we are worlds apart and feel bad about herself.” After giving it some thought, Cindy agreed that it might be a good idea. “Sure. Let’s ask both Arielle and your dad to go. That will make your dad see that you are the more valuable daughter between you and Arielle!” The mother-daughter pair were getting excited at the thought of Arielle being utterly humiliated at the awards ceremony. After all, looks alone would not be sufficient for a country bumpkin to gain a foothold in Jadeborough.