Chapter 35 Slap
Victoria had never known humiliation like this.
She couldn’t stop herself from doing exactly what Marianne had said, scrutinizing Eleanor’s outfit.
And the result was just as Marianne described, down to the very
last detail.
It struck her like lightning. The joy she used to feel whenever she got her hands on a designer label now twisted into shame and indignation.
“Eleanor… what is going on?” The question slipped out before she could stop it.
Why is it that everything I wear ends up being just one tier lower than hers?
Why is it always like this?
She could no longer fool herself into thinking it was all just a coincidence.
The mere thought of Eleanor laughing at her behind her back made her blood boil.
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Chapter 35 Slap
Eleanor, on the other hand, stood frozen.
When she heard Victoria’s question, her first reaction wasn’t guilt.
It was annoyance.
These clothes weren’t cheap. She should be grateful I gave them to her. What right does she have to complain?
Victoria’s eyes remained fixed on her face, catching the fleeting flicker of irritation that crossed it.
And in that moment, as their eyes locked, they both seemed to realize something they had long refused to admit. Their friendship, beneath the polished surface, was fragile at best.
No, it wasn’t a sudden realization. The truth had always been there, quietly tolerated, carefully ignored.
Marianne gave a soft snort, clearly unimpressed by their silence.
She had never been able to stomach the way the two of them carried themselves with such misplaced confidence, as if the world owed them something.
“Well, if there’s nothing else, I’d appreciate it if you left,” she said coolly. “You’re disrupting our business.”
The owner gave a firm nod. “Yes, please. Take it outside.”
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Chapter 35 Slap
And just like that, Victoria and Eleanor were ushered out.
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They stood on the sidewalk, the silence between them heavy and suffocating.
Victoria glanced over at Eleanor, her heart a tangled mess of
emotion.
She took a deep breath, then another, before reaching out to grasp Eleanor’s hand. Forcing a smile, she said, “Eleanor, I lost my temper. That woman knew exactly how to get under my skin.
“The things you gave me were already really nice.
“I shouldn’t have acted the way I did.”
Her back teeth clenched tightly.
She felt humiliated, but more than that, she felt trapped.
Marianne had made one thing painfully clear. She didn’t have the kind of money Eleanor and Kenneth had.
If she fell out with Eleanor now, she would have no choice but to return to the world she came from.
And just the thought of that bleak, shabby reality sent a chill down
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her spine.
She couldn’t go back to living like that.
Eleanor knew her well.
She could see the reluctance in Victoria’s apology, but didn’t push her away. “Do you have any idea how hurt I was, seeing the way you looked at me just now?”
“I know. I’m sorry,” Victoria said, her voice low and tight. “I shouldn’t have doubted you. It’s just… Marianne twisted
everything.”
“She definitely did.” Eleanor’s expression darkened. “I clearly
underestimated her.”
“So… what do we do now?” Victoria asked, her voice dropping. For the first time, she was genuinely afraid of Marianne.
Time and again, that woman had outmaneuvered her without even breaking a sweat.
The frustration and resentment were almost too much to bear.
“We can’t let her keep pulling the strings,” Eleanor said, pushing the shop door open again. “Don’t forget why we came here in the first place.”
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Chapter 35 Slap
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Marianne let out a long, weary sigh when she saw them return.
The owner came over and spoke to her in a low voice, “Go talk
outside. Don’t let this disrupt business.”
“Sorry about that,” Marianne said with a polite nod, removing her
apron.
The owner looked at her with a mixture of sympathy and
helplessness. “You really picked the wrong kind of people to deal
with.”
Hearing that, Marianne couldn’t help but smile dryly.
Marianne stepped calmly to the doorway and blocked their advance. “Let’s keep this outside. You wouldn’t want to embarrass yourselves any further, would you?”
Eleanor was ready with a retort, but the curious glances from inside the store caught her eye. Without another word, she turned sharply on her heel.
The three of them stood on the sidewalk, framed by the quiet buzz of the street, the tension between them thick and unmoving.
“What is it this time?” Marianne asked, weariness bleeding into her voice, too tired to conceal it.
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Eleanor didn’t waste time. “Leave Kenneth. I don’t care what it takes. Name your price.”
Marianne tilted her head slightly, as though genuinely intrigued. “You’ve gone through all this trouble to stay by his side. What are you really after?”
She could understand Victoria. Money was a plausible motive.
But Eleanor? She came from a privileged background. What could she possibly want that she didn’t already have?
“Because I’m the one who truly cares about him,” Eleanor said
slowly, her tone deliberate, her gaze unwavering.
Marianne let out a sudden laugh, sharp and genuine.
She laughed until tears welled in the corners of her eyes.
Eleanor frowned, but kept herself from snapping back. She tried to bring the conversation back to reason.
“I’ve known him since we were kids. Our families are close. This… this is just a misunderstanding. I don’t want to lose the person who means the most to me.”
“Alright,” Marianne replied, to everyone’s surprise.
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Chapter 35 Slap
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Eleanor relaxed slightly. “What do you want, then? Just say it.”
“I want to ask you a few questions,” Marianne said, her smile faint but unmistakably sly.
Eleanor’s lashes flickered, but she gave a small nod.
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“You say he’s your best friend. You’ve known him forever. So you must know him better than anyone else, right?” Marianne spoke slowly, casually.
“Of course,” Eleanor answered confidently. “No one knows him better than I do, not even Victoria.”
Victoria nodded in quiet agreement.
“Then tell me. What was his best subject in school?”
Eleanor froze, her mind suddenly blank.
Marianne didn’t press. She merely moved to the next question, her tone light. “What’s his favorite TV show?
“Who’s his idol?
“What’s the one thing he’s most passionate about?”
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Chapter 35 Slap
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One question after another, ordinary on the surface, yet utterly unanswerable to Eleanor. Her brain scrambled for any memory, but came up with nothing.
She glanced toward Victoria for help, only to find her wearing the same confused look.
It was clear they had no answers.
Marianne shrugged, entirely unsurprised. “That’s what you call a best friend?”
Eleanor met her gaze, and for a moment, something flickered behind her eyes, a murky, unnamable emotion.
Perhaps it was the sting of humiliation, a sensation she’d grown accustomed to watching others endure. Only now, it was her turn under the spotlight.
And maybe she finally understood why Victoria had always reacted so badly to Marianne.
“Don’t go around calling yourself his best friend again,” Marianne said, tossing the words over her shoulder as she turned to leave.
The slap sound rang through the air like a gunshot.
Marianne’s head jerked to the side. A bright red handprint
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Chapter 35 Slap
bloomed across her cheek.
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Eleanor stood frozen, her arm still raised, staring at Marianne’s stunned expression. A flicker of satisfaction danced in her eyes.
That’s more like it!
She’s the one who should be humiliated, not me.
Who gave her the right to judge me?
Just because I couldn’t answer a few meaningless questions, that somehow invalidates everything Kenneth and I had?
Her gaze remained fixed on Marianne. The rush of retaliation surged through her, sweeping away the shame and frustration that had consumed her only moments ago.
Then a voice cut through the moment, sharp, furious, and unmistakable. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Kenneth stormed over, rage etched into every line of his face. He reached for Marianne, shielding her instinctively with his arm. “Are you out of your mind?”
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