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Chapter 53 The Sterling Sister’s Secret and a Converging Path D
My brain felt like it was short–circuiting as I stared at Chloe Chase–or rather, Chloe Sterling. The mysterious woman who’d appeared in my life at just the right moments wasn’t just some random Good Samaritan. She was Damien’s sister.
“You’re…you’re…” I couldn’t form a coherent sentence as memories flooded back.
The cheerful driver who’d picked me up after Julian’s betrayal. The mysterious benefactor who’d helped squash my online scandal. The person who’d slipped me crucial information about Grayson Enterprises–it had been her all along.
Chloe grinned, not looking the least bit apologetic. “Surprise!” She fluttered her fingers playfully. “I was wondering when you’d figure it out.”
“You knew?” I turned to Damien, my voice barely above a whisper. “All this time, you
knew she was…
Damien’s expression remained neutral, but his eyes held a spark of amusement. “Chloe has her own way of doing things. I’ve learned not to interfere.”
Before I could process this revelation further, a commotion erupted across the room. A woman’s angry voice cut through the elegant atmosphere of the party.
“My dress! You’ve ruined my dress!”
All heads turned toward the source. Yan Yue stood facing another woman, their dresses somehow entangled. The fabric of Yan Yue’s counterfeit gown had torn at the seam, revealing the inferior construction underneath.
“This is your fault!” Yan Yue hissed at her companion, a tall woman in an emerald gown who looked mortified. “Your ridiculous beadwork caught on my dress!”
I recognized the instigator standing nearby–Giselle Grayson, Julian’s mother, whispering something to Yan Yue with a satisfied smirk. This was no accident. It was another setup.
Yan Yue’s gaze found me across the room, her eyes narrowing with fury. “You!” she pointed accusingly. “You did this somehow. You embarrassed me about my dress, and
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now it’s ruined!”
The room went silent. All eyes shifted between us.
Chloe sighed dramatically beside me. “Here we go again.”
I could see what was happening. Giselle had orchestrated this scene, hoping I’d be blamed for Yan Yue’s humiliation. It was a desperate attempt to salvage her family’s reputation after Mrs. Sterling’s carlier dismissal.
Instead of backing away, I straightened my shoulders and walked toward Yan Yue.
“Let me see the damage,” I said calmly.
“Stay away from me!” she snapped, backing up.
“I’m a designer.” I reminded her. “I can probably fix it temporarily, at least enough to get you through the evening.”
She hesitated, clearly torn between her hatred for me and her desperation to avoid
further embarrassment.
“Unless you’d prefer to walk around with your dress falling apart?” I added.
Mrs. Sterling appeared beside us. “There’s a lounge just down that hallway,” she said, her voice brooking no argument. “Hazel, would you be so kind?”
Yan Yue looked between Mrs. Sterling and me, then nodded stiffly.
In the elegant lounge, I pulled an emergency sewing kit from my clutch–something I always carried. Yan Yue stood rigidly as I examined the tear.
“This shouldn’t take long.” I said, threading a needle. “The fabric’s cheap, but workable.”
“It is not cheap,” she hissed.
“The original isn’t,” I agreed, working quickly. “But this copy was made with polyester blend trying to pass as silk. A decent fake, but still a fake.”
Her face reddened, but she stayed silent as I worked. My fingers moved deftly, creating an invisible repair that would hold for the evening.
“There,” I said finally, stepping back. “Good as new. Well, good as it was before.”
Yan Yue examined herself in the mirror, turning to see my handiwork from different
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angles. The repair was virtually invisible.
“How did you…” she began, then pressed her lips together.
“Years of practice,” I replied. “Design school teaches you as much about fixing mistakes as it does about creating beauty”
She stared at me for a long moment. “Thank you,” she finally said, the words clearly painful for her to utter.
“You’re welcome.”
As she headed for the door, she paused. “The woman in the green dress–her gown cost over fifty thousand dollars. She’s been flaunting it all evening
I understood the unspoken message, Yan Yue was returning the favor, giving me ammunition against the woman who’d embarrassed her.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said with a small smile.
After she left, I collapsed onto the plush sofa, suddenly exhausted. The night had been a roller coaster of revelations and confrontations.
“That was impressive,” came Chloe’s voice from the doorway. “Most people would have let her suffer after how she treated you.”
I looked up to find her leaning against the doorframe, watching me with undisguised
curiosity.
“I’m not most people,” I replied.
“Clearly.” She flopped down beside me with none of the rigid formality I’d seen from other Sterling family members. “That’s why Damien likes you so much.”
Heat rushed to my cheeks. “He barely knows me.”
Chloe laughed–a bright, musical sound. “Oh, Hazel. My brother doesn’t do anything without thorough research. He probably knows your favorite breakfast cereal and which side of the bed you sleep on.”
The thought should have terrified me, but somehow it didn’t.
“And what about you?” I asked, finally facing the elephant in the room. “The helpful ride–share driver? The mysterious tipster? Was that all just… what? Reconnaissance?”
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Chloe had the grace to look slightly sheepish. “I prefer to think of it as a preliminary friendship interview.”
“Is that what they call spying these days?”
“Hey, in my defense, I genuinely wanted to help.” She tucked her legs beneath her on the sofa. “When Damien mentioned you were having problems, I couldn’t resist stepping in. Plus, I wasn’t lying about being a fan of your designs.
Before I could respond, the door opened again, and Damien himself entered the lounge. His eyes moved between us, assessing the situation.
“Should I be worried?” he asked, his tone light but his eyes
watchful.
“Just girl talk,” Chloe replied with a wink. “I’ll leave you two alone.”
She bounced up and headed for the door, pausing to squeeze her brother’s arm as she passed. When she was gone, Damien came to sit beside me, leaving a respectful distance between us.
“I apologize for that scene out there, he said quietly. “Giselle Grayson has always had at flair for drama.”
“It wasn’t your fault.”
“It happened at our family event, to our guest.” His voice was firm. “That makes it my responsibility.”
I studied his profile, the strong jaw and thoughtful eyes. “Your sister,” I began. “She’s been helping me all along, hasn’t she?”
Damien nodded slowly. “Chloe has her own way of doing things. When she heard about your situation with Julian, she insisted on meeting you herself first.”
“Why not just introduce us normally?”
A small smile touched his lips. “She said it would be more interesting this way.”
I stared at him, speechless. The Sterlings had been orchestrating events in my life for weeks, watching me, helping me, all without my knowledge. The coincidences that had seemed too good to be true–they had been.
“So when we met at the hotel,” I said slowly, “when you offered to help me with my
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father’s company… that wasn’t chance either?”
Damien’s eyes met mine, dark and unreadable. “Does it matter?”
Did it? If they’d been manipulating events, pulling strings behind the scenes… but then 1 remembered how they’d helped me. How Damien had stopped Julian’s harassment. How Chloe had helped clear my reputation online. How the Sterlings had welcomed me tonight, defended me against the Graysons.
They’d been protecting me all along.
“I guess it depends on why, I finally answered.
His expression softened. “That’s a longer conversation than we have time for tonight. But I promise you’ll have answers soon.”
He stood and offered me his hand. “Shall we return to the party? Mother will be cutting her birthday cake soon.”
I placed my hand in his, feeling the warmth of his palm against mine. Whatever game the Sterlings were playing, I was now undeniably part of it. The question was: what role had they cast me in?
“Lead the way,” I said, rising to my feet.
As we walked toward the door, Damien paused. “For what it’s worth, Hazel, Chloe doesn’t go undercover for just anyone. She must have seen something special in you. from the beginning.”
“And you?” I asked, unable to stop myself. “What did you see?”
His eyes held mine for a long moment, filled with an emotion I couldn’t quite identify. “Everything” he said simply.
The single word hung between us, weighted with meaning I wasn’t ready to decipher. Damien opened the door, and we stepped back into the glittering world of the Sterling gala–a world I was beginning to realize had been drawing me into its orbit all along.
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