Thorns Grow After Betrayal (Celeste and Chester) novel Chapter 101

Both Lance and Zeke turned at once to find Joanna's eyes shining with unshed tears, her cheeks flushed. She was curled up in the corner of the car, looking utterly fragile, her whole body trembling ever so slightly. She seemed heartbreakingly pitiful.

"Joanna, are you all right?"

"What's wrong, Joanna?"

"Don't come any closer." Joanna shrank behind her seatbelt, her voice small and full of self-pity. "I'm just… feeling a little down. I've been away for so long—I just wanted to attend a ceremony in peace, see some old friends… I never planned to take anything, or steal anyone's thunder…"

Lance couldn't stand to see her so upset. Protective as always, he jumped in, "Joanna, don't cry. I've already called in favors across the industry—there's no way anyone's lending that woman a dress tonight!"

"But I heard Mirabelle invited Celestine to be her design consultant. I'm terrified… Chester said he's too busy to come tonight, and I… I really am scared…" Joanna tilted her head back, the diamond earrings dangling from her ears catching the light as her eyes shimmered with tears.

Lance wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms and comfort her, but, as luck would have it, that insufferable Zeke was right there.

Something occurred to Lance, and a cold smile crept onto his lips. "So that's the infamous design consultant Mirabelle found—Celestine, right? Figures. I haven't even had a chance to settle the score with her yet, and now she dares show up in person!"

He remembered the debacle with the dress yesterday—Celestine must have orchestrated that fiasco, trying to threaten him. Pathetic. She picked the wrong man to mess with.

"A woman who can't even manage her own home wants to break into the world of fashion? What a joke."

Joanna, don't worry. Just wait—you'll get a front row seat to their humiliation tonight.

After his Instagram post two days ago, Lance had refunded Mirabelle's payment for the dress and even sent two tailors to "fix" it up for her. He'd also called every reputable brand in the business, making sure no one would loan Mirabelle a thing. Tonight, the only option she'd have was that feathered white fringe dress—cheap and embarrassing.

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