I Stopped Loving Him When He Let Me Bleed Out novel Chapter 489

Standing on the periphery, Sienna listened to their back-and-forth about legacy families, connections, and social capital.

Every single word was a deliberate reminder that none of these things had anything to do with her.

It was just the upper crust engaging in their usual, self-important gatekeeping.

Not bothering to entertain the performance any longer, Sienna took a sip of her champagne, lowered her glass, and gracefully walked away.

Shortly after, an elegant woman approached with a cocktail in hand, looking Sienna up and down with perfectly manufactured curiosity.

"You came with Finn, right? I haven't seen you around before. What does your family do?"

Sienna had fully anticipated this question, so she had her honest answer prepped and ready.

"My parents are..."

"Oh, her—" Sasha practically materialized out of thin air, hijacking the conversation with a bright smile. "Her story is incredibly inspiring."

"Oh? Do tell," the woman asked, her curiosity piqued.

Sasha took a half-step forward.

"Mrs. Townsend, have you ever heard the phrase 'small-town nobody climbing the ladder'?"

She maintained a sweet smile, delivering the words as if sharing a fun new cultural idiom. "It's used to describe someone from the middle of nowhere who claws their way up by doing nothing but passing exams. It's actually quite impressive. Take Sienna, for example. She made her way from some tiny rural town all the way to Metropolis purely on her own grit, completely crossing class boundaries. If you look around this entire ballroom, you won't find a single other person like her."

Mrs. Townsend listened intently at first, but soon caught the venom hidden beneath the sugar.

Sasha's tone and phrasing sounded like a compliment on the surface.

But underneath, the message was painfully clear: She isn't one of us.

She offered a polite chuckle.

"Well, that is certainly quite unique."

Her gaze had already drifted away from Sienna, all genuine interest entirely extinguished.

Mrs. Townsend quickly analyzed the key takeaways in her head: Poor background, zero connections, desperate to climb the social ladder.

Having navigated high-society marriages for over a decade, she was all too familiar with this exact type of woman.

Sienna had no idea a permanent label had just been slapped on her forehead, but she could physically feel the shift in the room's energy.

The initial looks of curiosity had morphed into something decidedly uglier.

As she walked past one of the tables, she caught a snippet of a hushed conversation.

"Honestly, the last one was better. At least Chloe was the daughter of a recognized calligrapher."

Sienna's footsteps faltered for a fraction of a second, but she didn't stop.

She continued walking until she found a relatively empty corner, setting her glass down on a cocktail table and staring at the condensation gathering on the rim.

Nearby, another conversation drifted into earshot. The voices were low, but clear enough for her to catch every word.

"Did you hear? The Health Commission recently gave an exceptional promotion to a female inspector. Apparently, she's incredibly young, but she cracked a massive corruption case right after joining. Even the higher-ups explicitly praised her."

A second voice chimed in.

"Yeah, my husband mentioned that. I can't remember her last name, but supposedly she's a total powerhouse."