Chapter 1.36: The Fontaine Family

The dark-haired heiress walked onto the patio with a curious look on her face. She wasn't the first guest to arrive. Plenty of other women were there. It was hard to tell who was from the book and who wasn't with the wardrobe changes. A few familiar faces she recognized as being side characters from large noble families. They were much closer to one another than she was, so she chose to stay far away. The group of rich women stared and whispered with interest. Leila guessed they hadn't been made aware of her inclusion by the Fontaine heiress. The woman in question was coming over, dressed in a flowery gown that matched her long, kinky hair.

"Welcome! I'm so glad you came." The ginger hugged Leila and gave her a quick squeeze. She smelled strongly of peppermint from the perfume the heiress saw her spray beforehand. "I hope you aren't overwhelmed by so many people."

With a perfectly rehearsed smile, the noblewoman giggled softly and stepped back. She looked over to Ezekiel, who rolled his eyes. The man handed her the armful of gifts he was holding. "Well, the more the merrier! I brought with me extra pastries, tea mixes, and beauty products, so it's a pleasure."

At the mention of gifts, a few of the noblewomen looked over with curiosity. They wanted to know what a former criminal could have brought to a charity party. She ignored the looks and directed her attention elsewhere. On the tables next to them were plenty of boxes and wicker baskets she was sure they had gifted. If she had to guess what was in them, she would say rare dresses and the trendiest diet product on the market. The sheer amount of boxes that sat across from her impressed Leila. It was a clear sign that they had money to burn and show off with. A pair of the women glanced at Ezekiel with nausea.

This made her blood boil as she looked at each girl with a hidden rage. Of course, a bunch of girls who spent their lives locked away at pompous boarding schools was bigoted. The way their lips curled up, and they scurried to move further away, sat heavy in her mind. Ezekiel, being a foreigner, was a perfect punching bag to use against her. These noblewomen would gossip about him right in her face and she would have to take it. If she didn't, Leila honestly didn't know what would happen. The combined power of all their gray-haired fathers and big-bosomed mothers was that of a bomb. They weren't some low-wage workers she could get away with retaliating against. These girls lived in the same world as Cleo and had their own shady connections.

'For the first time in a while, I'm at the bottom of the totem pole. I don't know how to feel.' Leila kept her fake smile on as she flashed it to them. This left the group staring in shock at her lack of reaction.

The ginger ooed and awed as she took some of the bags. As she chatted, she led the two over to one of the last empty tables. "They smell delicious! We'll have to save them for later, as catering has arrived."

"Cortina's mother ordered a full-course meal for everyone to eat." One of the nameless side characters said as she walked over. The other women watched with interest as she held out her hand. "I'm sorry, but I don't think we've met. My name's Quincy."

Leila shook her hand, observing the woman. She had long wavy hair that was navy blue and matched her eyes. From the outfit she was wearing, the dark-haired teenager could tell she was trying to impress the others. The fabric and style of her dress were outdated, but any random person, they would assume it was really expensive. A calculated look was in the other noblewoman's eyes. Her hand sat on her hip as she blocked the teenager from going any further into the party. This made the heiress groan internally. She had stepped into a world of gossip and high school politics. The woman was sizing Leila up right in her face. The tone of voice she had was cold, and the handshake was tense. The teen wondered what rumors sat heavily on her mind.

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"We haven't met. It's really nice to meet you! My name is Cleo, and this is my friend, Ezekiel. He attended the academy." She made sure to include the guard as the woman completely avoided him.

The navy-haired woman hummed and gave the man a quick grin. It was all teeth, with her dark blue eyes darkening. "It's nice to meet you both. My brother attended the academy when I was young. Did you retire from the military before or after working as your friend's bodyguard?"

And there it was, the first hit struck at the man. She knew it was going to come, but not so boldly. This wasn’t a shade hidden in comments but a full-blown callout. Leila kept her smile on even though her blood boiled and she wanted to say a snide retort. The other woman had called Ezekiel out, implying he had washed out of the military and was forced to work for her. It amused her that a woman at a charity event would be so cold about someone possibly needing help. The hypocritical ness of her actions hung heavy over the vocal part of the dark-haired teenager's mind. The navy-haired woman gave her a look, daring her to speak out and risk being dogpiled by them all. She had these women to back her up and Leila only had Ezekiel, with who they could easily get into trouble if he spoke out.

"I had always wanted to work with Cleo after I finished my training. Her father helped me get into the academy, so I wanted to repay him. Being by her side is good enough for me after serving." Ezekiel pressed closer to the silent heiress. His arm wrapped around her waist as he looked at Quincy coldly.

"Oh?" Quincy looked at his arm with a subtle little smirk appearing on her face. She gave a glance to the group, who was frozen, watching closely. "I have to apologize. I didn't know you two were intimate."

At that comment, someone gasped. Everyone had become frozen in disbelief. You could hear a pin drop in the atmosphere that arrived. That was a huge claim to make. A noblewoman having a love affair with a guard hired by her father was madness. To them, she was dating down out of desperation. And the fact that he was a foreigner made it worse for the bigots. Leila looked down as she struggled to not curse the woman out and humiliate her. The man's arms tightened as he digested the response. They both had similar expressions of shock that soon thawed out and became vibrant emotions. With a nod of her head and a laugh, Leila smiled at her. The teenager wasn’t going to let some side character wash her out and dog-walk her for a quick giggle.

"I guess you've never had a friend who is male before? It's normal for friends since childhood to hug and stay close in public." She laughed, covering her mouth with her hand. "I assumed that you would understand something as basic as that."

"I didn’t think a question would upset you." The navy-haired woman still had that shit-eating grin on her face. She flipped some of her long hair off her shoulder and crossed her arms over her larger chest. “It’s normal to assume.”

Leila shrugged at her words with an exaggerated sigh. "And it's normal to keep such groundless claims out of our mouths. I would never say that you were dating one of the butlers or groundskeepers at your father's mansion."

This made Quincy red in the face, and she balled up her fists. She opened her mouth to retort, only to rethink and stand there seething. A chilly silence had overtaken the room as the two faced off. Not only was dating a servant bad, but dating one as low as a cleaner was even lower. The two had thrown jabs at one another in front of everyone without any care. Their ginger-haired hostess was gobsmacked as she watched them argue. Quickly, she stepped between them with her arms out. She looked absolutely stressed out by their behavior.

"No more cattiness, you two! We're here for one thing, and that's charity." Cortina put her arms down and clapped her hands together. "Now, let's move on to actually opening all these presents!"