She Left She Thrived She’s Worth Billions novel Chapter 939

However, a closer look revealed that the innate pride of a prominent socialite still flickered in the depths of Elara's eyes.

So...

Why dress like this?

Melanie had nothing against dressing sensually, but the dress Elara wore wasn't sensual.

It was vulgar.

It screamed of a cheap, male-gaze aesthetic, making it blatantly obvious that it wasn't Elara's preferred style.

Elara could see the confusion in Melanie's gaze regarding her attire and secretly ground her teeth.

It wasn't like she wanted to dress this way!

But Alistair Davenport loved this aesthetic.

Or rather, whether Alistair genuinely liked it or not, he enjoyed forcing her to dress exactly like this.

Ever since Elara became Alistair's fiancée, he had ordered his bodyguards to throw out all her old clothes.

At first, Elara thought Alistair was simply eager to spoil her, only to discover that the new wardrobe he bought—whether winter coats or summer dresses—was universally trashy.

The fact that Alistair would hand her a few thousand dollars after every time he took her to bed already destroyed her dignity, making her feel like a paid escort.

These flashy, low-cut, incredibly short dresses only cemented the harsh reality that in Alistair's eyes, she was nothing more than a cheap plaything.

Elara was finding it harder and harder to endure.

She felt like she would lose her mind if she had to remain Alistair's fiancée much longer.

And yet...

The Bennett family's business was undeniably bouncing back, thanks to Alistair's financial backing.

Whenever Elara cried to her parents, complaining about Alistair's disgusting behavior, Callum and Chloe Bennett would patiently lecture her, urging her to endure it.

One time, pushed to the edge, Elara got into a screaming match with them.

In a fit of rage, Callum had actually threatened to disown her entirely.

From that moment on, Elara realized she had no hope of escaping Alistair anytime soon.

Truthfully, throughout their entire relationship, Alistair had never laid a hand on her.

"Hello? Honey!"

Dominic's voice boomed through the speaker, though his words were heavily slurred.

That ridiculous endearment didn't just baffle Melanie; it caused Preston, who had been standing silently beside her, to instantly darken with fury.

"Dominic, are you drunk in the middle of the day? Who are you calling honey? We've been divorced for an eternity."

Melanie stated, a look of sheer exasperation on her face.

She assumed Dominic was drinking so heavily because he had taken a massive hit recently.

Even though Barney had publicly pointed the finger at Gavin Lockridge as the mastermind behind the counterfeit scheme targeting the Royce Group.

Melanie knew exactly what had really happened. Barney had lied.

The true culprit was Dominic.

Yet, even if Dominic was the one executing these underhanded tactics, Holden Lockridge, the puppet master pulling the strings of the Lockridge Group, was far from innocent.

If anything, the person who truly saw the Royce Group as a thorn in their side and wanted them destroyed was Holden himself.