"One minute you're the mistress, the next you're interrogating her like you're the wife. Some people seriously have no shame."
Someone helped Natalia up.
"Sweetheart, don't cry. There are plenty of men out there. You deserve better."
"Exactly. Karma will come for the cheaters."
Maeve had to hand it to her—Natalia had no business *not* working in film and television. All it took was one photo and a sob story, and she'd built herself an entire identity: humiliated, resilient, and tragically pure.
The kind of heroine who suffers beautifully until a man comes along to "save" her.
Maeve casually flung the photo at Natalia's face.
"Show's over. Wrap it up."
Maeve had a strong arm. The edge of the photo sliced across Natalia's cheek, leaving a sharp red line.
Natalia clutched her face, eyes burning with humiliation as she glared at Maeve.
The crowd erupted again. "What is wrong with you—why do you keep hitting people?"
Maeve swept her gaze across the loudest voices. "How much did whoever hired you pay? What are you—background actors?"
The crowd: "…"
Andres caught the implication immediately.
*Background actors?*
Maeve pointed, one by one. "You. You. You—and you. I've been watching you. You're with her."
By "her," she meant Natalia.
"People who shop at Imperial Grand dress the part. Clothes, bags, jewelry—details matter."
"But look at yourselves. Everything you're wearing put together doesn't look like it cost more than a couple hundred dollars."
The question landed.
Even the sales associates, who'd been watching from behind the counters, started to reconsider. Natalia had painted herself as a hardworking girl from nothing. But the women stirring the pot—middle-aged, underdressed for a luxury boutique—didn't fit the setting at all.
One of them tried to bark back, but Natalia grabbed her arm.
"Auntie, forget it," Natalia said softly. "Don't get in trouble for me. I'm not worth offending the wrong people."
"I only just got back from abroad. I came to visit an old classmate who works here… I never expected any of this."
It sounded plausible. Conveniently plausible.
And just like that, the mood started to tilt again—Maeve was the materialistic bully judging people by their clothes.
Maeve's eyes cooled. She unlocked her phone.
"Then everyone take a look," she said. "What is this?"

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