Ella walked towards the two women who were arguing. Fortunately, Winston chose to remain at a distance at this moment. After all, Lydia only came and stirred up trouble because of him. He didn't want to make things worse by making this mess worse.

Ella looked down at the girls as they wrestled, then she kicked as hard as she could.

Lydia screamed in pain.

"Sorry! Wrong person!" Ella shouted.

"Just hurry up and get this bitch off me!" Lydia cried.

"Okay," Ella said as she crouched down next to them.

She started pushing Cendy and Lydia apart, and at a glance, it looked like Ella was trying her best to separate them.

In reality…

"Ow! You're pinching me!" Lydia yelled. "Ella, that's my hair!"

"Ah! Don't step on my leg!"

"My nose–!"

At first, Cendy was upset that Ella was trying to help Lydia, but now she thought Ella was being more violent than she was.

Lydia seemed to have sensed that something was wrong as well. She desperately pushed Cendy and Ella away. Her face was bruised and swollen, and her nose was bleeding. She looked utterly wretched, having never been so humiliated in her life.

She yelled at Ella, "You hit me on purpose!"

"I didn't," Ella replied innocently.

"Don't fucking lie to me! You were on that bitch's side the whole time! Listen to me– I will tell my brother! Let's see what you have to say then!" Lydia screamed at her, her voice hoarse.

Lydia was certain that Ella would be afraid of Lucien and would back down. However, to her surprise, Ella remained indifferent and didn't even react to her threats.

"Did you hear what I said? I wasn't bluffing! I'll tell my brother to dump you! You think you can still marry my brother after a month? Dream on!" Lydia said fiercely.

Ella responded coldly, "Then you'll have to go back and give your brother a good talking to."

"Y-You smug little–!" Lydia shook with rage, but she didn't say it. Instead, she gritted her teeth and said, "You're gonna regret this!"

Lydia stormed out in a rage, casting a glare at Winston as she left.

The entire time, he didn't even try to intervene. He just watched her get beaten by Ella and Cendy. She stomped her feet in front of him. "

From the beginning to the end, Winston didn't help her to say something, just so coldly watched her being beaten by the two women, she stomped her feet, "You know Cendy hates you, right? You were just her backup if things didn't go well with Bowen. Well, listen- She and Bowen are gonna get married! Do you really think you still have a chance with her after playing second fiddle for all these years? Wasn't it enough that she cheated on you back then?"

"Who says I cheated?!" Cendy shouts. "I didn't fucking like Winston back then either! We never dated because I rejected him! Not everyone has fun leading men on like you do."

"Shut the fuck up!"

"If you don't get out right now, I'll beat you to death!" Cendy stepped closer to her, stancing up to fight again.

Lydia's blood ran cold. "You'll see!" She huffed before turning on her heel and leaving.

On one hand, Cendy's meal was ruined when Lydia barged in earlier. On the other… It felt really good to see her face all ugly and bruised like that.

Cendy turned and asked Ella, "You used to always hold me back from hurting Lydia before. Just now, it looked like you were enjoying it almost as much as I was."

That was because Ella believed anyone who hurts her friends deserves to die an agonizing death.

"I think it's time to go," Ella suggested.

Ella knew Winston wasn't enjoying the food here, and she had seriously underestimated Cendy's capriciousness.

"I didn't get to finish eating…" Cendy whined.

"Then stay here and eat. Winston and I will go," Ella replied.

"Well shit, what's the point of me eating alone? Wait for me..." Cendy grumbled, but she still followed and left with them.

As it was getting late, Ella had to go back to prepare for tomorrow's banquet. She got into her own small car, but she had to ask the restaurant chauffeur to drive her home since she'd been drinking.

"I'll head home now. Winston, make sure you eat a proper meal later, and remember to come to my house early tomorrow," Ella reminded him as she waved goodbye.

"I will, don't worry," Winston assured her with a nod.

Ella motioned for her driver to leave, and the car sped off.

After Ella left, Cendy seemed to realize something, "Wait! Crap… She was my ride home…"

A moment later, Winston's own chauffeur arrived with his sedan. Before Winston got into the car, he heard Cendy's sarcastic voice, "You just got back, and your mom bought you a million-dollar luxury car?!"

Winston replied, "I bought the car myself. I did some work on my own while I was abroad..."

But Cendy wasn't listening. She was too busy answering her phone: "Bowen? Hi, baby! You just happen to be in the neighborhood?" Cendy giggled. "Alright! I'll wait for you right here!"

Seeing Winston beside her at that moment, she said in an irritated voice, "What are you waiting for? Leave."

Once Winston got into his car and exited from the parking lot, he caught a glimpse of a black sedan pulling up alongside Cendy. A man, dressed in a black suit and wearing framed glasses, stepped out of the sedan, and the two of them warmly embraced.

Winston turned his attention back to the road, his expression stoic and devoid of emotion.

Then, his phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID before answering, "Hey, man."

From the other end, Eden's deep voice spoke, "You've been back for a while, and we haven't hung out yet. Let's meet up tonight."

Winston hesitated, replying, "Nah, just had a drink with Ella, feeling a bit dizzy. Also had some peppers – my stomach is still burning."

"Ella?" Eden inquired.

"Yeah, I haven't seen her in years. She's changed a lot, and she's gotten a lot prettier," Winston casually remarked, hinting at something.

Eden chuckled softly, "Next time you're free then, it's my turn to take you out."

The moment Eden hung up the phone, he stared at his screen, a little lost in thought. Almost automatically, his slender fingers pressed down a series of numbers, and then waiting for the other party to connect.

"Eden," came Ella's curt greeting.

Eden took control of the conversation, asking, "What did you think of my present for your mom?"

"Is that what you call a present?!" Ella scowled, recalling his speech she watched on TV earlier.

"At least I earned some approval from your mom," Eden defended himself. "I'm not much worse than Lucien if we tied!"

"You weren't that bad in the first place," Ella blurted out.

If it wasn't for Eden's sketchy reputation – which somewhat influenced the judges' opinion of him – Lucien wouldn't have won the award, much less tie with Eden for it.

That kind of stalemate was a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence.

"I'm glad you think so, darling. I'm trying to be a good husband for you," Eden's voice was silky smooth, and Ella was speechless. She couldn't tell if that husky tone was sarcasm or something else…

Wait.

Darling?

Husband?!

They weren't even married yet!

How could he say those things so naturally?!