The Wife He Dumped, The Queen She Returned As novel Chapter 208

Unable to stomach another second of this delusion, Belle shot up from her chair.

"Your precious Astrolabe of brass was only worth fifty grand! You just had a total power trip and threw a hundred grand at it just so you could steal it from us!"

"You toss some cash around and suddenly think you're God? You expect everyone to grovel at your feet? Ask yourself—were you even sincere when you bought it? Did you actually come here to celebrate Mr. Goodwin? We all know you're just here to buy your way into a business deal!"

Jenna's face flushed a furious crimson. "You..."

Belle didn't give her a single second to counter, violently swatting away Jenna's pointing finger.

"Me what? You want to know why Rhonda won't sign with you? Because your taste is absolute garbage!"

"The piece Chloe picked out was from Rhonda's private collection. The pre-auction starting bid was easily pushing half a million dollars! You have a narrow mind and an even narrower heart. Who the hell would ever want to do business with you?"

A collective gasp ripped through the room.

"What?! Half a million dollars?!"

"No way! Where on earth would Chloe get that kind of cash? You've got to be kidding!"

The entire table swiveled to stare skeptically at Rhonda, but she just stood there in silence, her lack of denial sealing the truth.

Instantly, every pair of eyes locked onto Chloe.

She simply stood there, an unbothered, ethereal presence. Her amber eyes were perfectly calm, radiating not just a breathtaking beauty, but a cool, aristocratic detachment that felt utterly out of reach.

That kind of effortless, old-money grace couldn't be faked.

Standing next to her, Jenna—despite being dripping head-to-toe in obnoxious designer labels—just looked like a pathetic, try-hard new-money fraud.

At best, her behavior was boorish; at worst, she reeked of cheap, unrefined desperation.

"Chloe, did you really drop half a million on that?" someone asked, their voice hushed with sudden reverence.

Another immediately chimed in, "Chloe, you were always the top student in our grade! Gorgeous and brilliant. I always knew you were destined for greatness!"

The very same people who had been mercilessly dragging her name through the mud five minutes ago were now staring at her with wide, starstruck adoration.

Chloe didn't spare them a single glance.

But before Chloe could retaliate, Belle grabbed her wrist.

"Chloe, don't. I'm fine."

Despite just taking a hit to the face, Belle was shockingly calm. She gave Chloe a subtle, meaningful glance, flicking her eyes up toward the security camera mounted in the corner of the ceiling.

Chloe stared at her, her chest aching with a fierce, protective pang.

Yanked back by Preston, the red haze finally lifted from Jenna's mind, and absolute terror crashed into her as she realized what she'd just done right in front of him.

Despite being the violent aggressor, she instantly burst into crocodile tears, trembling violently as she threw herself against his chest.

"Preston, I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry... I didn't mean it..."

"Did you hear the horrible things she was saying about me?"

"I-I don't know what happened to me. Suddenly it felt like I was back overseas, trapped in that room, getting beaten again... I just lost control..."