She's Too Busy Winning to Watch Him Cry novel Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Over the holidays, Madeline Vance’s family was trying to force her into a blind date with a wealthy heir, and her parents had given her a substantial amount of money to buy some “decent” clothes for the occasion.

Madeline dragged Lyra Fairchild along to browse a high-end designer boutique.

Under the boutique’s warm, ambient lighting, rows of exquisite couture gowns hung from polished wooden racks.

Madeline immediately spotted a sophisticated dress that would be perfect for her mother. “This would look amazing on my mom.”

Then, pulling out a pale pink, youthful gown, she said excitedly, “Lyra, you have such a radiant complexion. You’d look absolutely stunning in this pastel shade.”

The stylist chimed in, “With a figure like yours, miss, any of our custom designs would look breathtaking on you.”

Lyra politely declined. “You’re the one going on the blind date, not me.”

Madeline smirked playfully. “I’m about to go on a date with The Wentworth Heir. Why don’t you look the least bit happy for me?”

Lyra thought to herself, how could she be happy about it?

She already knew exactly how this was going to end.

The blind date was going to be a massive failure.

Madeline wouldn’t even give that arrogant heir the time of day.

“Well, I-”

Before Lyra could casually spin a lie, Madeline interrupted, “How do you think I’d look in this one?”

Clearly, Madeline didn’t care about the date either.

Lyra nodded, offering immediate praise. “It’s gorgeous. Go try it on and let’s see how it looks.”

Madeline happily turned to leave, but just as she did, Tabitha walked into the boutique, causing Lyra’s smile to falter.

“Lyra, it’s been a while,” Tabitha said with a sickeningly sweet smile. “The last time I saw you, you hadn’t even graduated college. Time flies, and now you’re already working.”

She continued in a patronizing tone, “Why didn’t you pursue your master’s? Did you know Jasmine graduated with an Ivy League PhD? What’s the rush to start working at such a young age? If you don’t educate yourself when you have the chance, your options will be severely limited later on

She delivered the speech with the condescending air of an elder offering unsolicited advice.

If Lyra hadn’t had the memory of Tabitha’s bitter, ruthless nature burned into her very soul from her past life, she might have actually believed the woman was just a respectable, well meaning mentor

Lyra kept her face completely expressionless, returning her attention to the gowns without giving the woman the time of day.

Confused by the tension, Madeline lowered her voice. “Who is that?”

“Jasmine’s mother.”

Madeline gasped softly.

Tabitha had only just moved to Seaborne City. It was only because Rowan’s recent investments had suddenly skyrocketed the Ford family’s prospects that she dared to shop in places like this.

Back in the day, Tabitha and Delilah Fairchild had been classmates. Delilah had married into immense wealth, while Tabitha, after being too picky for too long, had eventually settled for a man from a painfully average, moderately comfortable background.

Even though the Ford family’s status had risen recently, they were still lightyears behind the Fairchild empire.

Buying a gown this expensive was a luxury she only allowed herself once a year during the holidays.

But remembering that Rowan had just bought her daughter a half-million-dollar sports car and was actively funneling lucrative deals to the Ford family, she felt a surge of pride. Soon, riding her daughter’s coattails, she would be living this kind of lavish lifestyle every day.

At the thought, Tabitha smiled in deep satisfaction.

She had been brilliant to invest all her hopes in her daughter.

Tabitha’s son was much younger than Caleb Fairchild; he was still in school and couldn’t take the reins of the family yet. Because of that, she had placed all her bets on Jasmine.

She had explicitly told Jasmine to get close to Lyra.

Initially, the target had been Caleb.

Jasmine had played the role of the caring, older confidante perfectly, making herself instantly likable. As she spent more time with Lyra, they naturally became best friends.

Jasmine was educated, elegant, and empathetic-even Caleb had found himself captivated by her.