Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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In her past life, at that extravagant banquet thrown by the Dalton family. Hailey had been humiliated and bullied by others.
Back then, she was a scared little mouse, too terrified to even think about standing up for herself.
The Dalton family members watched her suffer, and instead of offering help, they shamelessly berated her in front of all the guests.
From that moment on, the name Hailey Dalton became a running joke in Hallon City.
It was also at that same banquet where Selena, pretending to care, offered a few half–assed pleas for help.
Of course, it didn’t do a thing, but back then, Hailey, in her naive innocence, actually thought of Selena as a good sister and followed her around like a lost puppy.
As Hailey thought back to all that, a cold, deadly gleam flashed in her eyes.
She took her time walking over to a quiet corner, sipped her orange juice, and after finishing half of it, grabbed a delicate piece of cake.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a few guys heading her way
Here they come.
Knowing full well that the ballroom wasn’t the right place to deal with this, Hailey deliberately stood up and started heading toward a quieter part of the venue.
The three guys immediately followed her.
The place was huge, and tucked away at the back was a small pool. The area around the pool was surprisingly quiet, a sharp contrast to the chaos and noise in the main hall.
Hailey casually walked toward the poolside. The men picked up the pace, quickly catching up with her.
“Hey, Miss Dalton, one of them called out.
Hailey turned around. pretending to be confused, her face innocent as she asked, “What do you want?*
The guys blocked her path, and one bold jerk reached out to touch her shoulder.
Hailey effortlessly dodged his disgusting hand, acting shocked as she asked, “What the hell are you guys trying to do?”
“Relax, Miss Dalton, the blonde guy said with a sleazy grin, his eyes full of gross intent. “We just wanna be friends.”
The guys closed in, cornering her. Suddenly, the blonde guy lunged for her chest.
That was when Hailey’s innocent look completely disappeared. Without hesitation, she kicked him square in the balls.
The guy gasped in pain, dropping to the floor and clutching his groin. “Holy shit, that hurts like hell!
Taking advantage of the other two guys being frozen in shock, Hailey moved fast. She slammed her knee into the sto
guy on her left and slapped the guy on her right hard across the face.
of the
The men staggered back, groaning from the unexpected pain.
But Hailey wasn’t done. She grabbed the two men by their hair and dragged them toward the pool.
Fri, 28 Mar
Chapter 7
It was almost unreal how strong she was. The two large men, no matter how hard they tried to pull away, could escape bee iron grip. They were practically dragged, their scalps stinging from her pull
Thud- Thud-
With two heavy splashes, Hailey unceremoniously kicked both of them into the pool.
The summer heat was oppressive, but the pool water still had a slight chill from the cool of the night.
The temperature wasn’t sweltering, but as the night sky sank lower and the air got cooler, getting shoved into the water out of nowhere still made you shiver uncontrollably.
Hailey glanced at the guy still standing at the poolside, a teasing smile curving her lips as she arched a brow. “You gonna jump in yourself, or do you want me to give you a little nudge??
Under the pool lights, her face was flawless, her voice soft and almost ethereal, but it was enough to make
shiver when their eyes locked. It was like he was afraid of her.
“L… I’ll jump,” he stammered, clearly nervous, his steps shaky as he inched toward the edge. He took a deep breath leaped into the pool.
The next second, the three big guys were all drenched.
Hailey stood there by the pool, looking graceful and elegant in her gown, her hair styled to perfection.
On the outside, she looked calm and composed, but when she spoke, her words were ice–cold. “Consider this a little warning If I ever catch you bullying someone weaker than you, I’ll make sure you never have a chance to pass on your genes”
The three guys turned white as ghosts, nodding in sync, silently agreeing that Hailey was not someone to mess with
Hailey let out a slight smirk, then turned and walked away with effortless elegance.
From the shadows, Owen leaned casually against the wall, his handsome, aloof face breaking into a sofi, amused smile. He’d been looking for a quiet spot to take a call, but had accidentally stumbled into a live show.
This little liar claims she’s being bullied by the Daltons? With that attitude, it’s no surprise she’s the one doing the bullying He thought to himself. Though, she’s not completely stupid, I’ll give her that
“Yo, bro, are you even listening?” came the voice from the phone.
Owen replied calmly, That’s it. Got stuff to do.”
Jaden caught the hint right away. “What’s more important than the new project at work?” His gossip radar was pinging, and he could sense something juicy
Owen didn’t even acknowledge him and hung up the phone.
Jaden was left blinking, totally caught off guard. After years of digging up gossip, he knew something was up with this Dalton family party.
His brother, who never bothered with these pointless events, had actually shown up tonight. And while talking about the company’s new project, Owen had zoned out and straight–up hung up on him
Jaden made up his mind right then–he was going to find out exactly what was going on here. This party was definitely hiding something
Hailey Dalton had just returned to the banquet hall when her stepmother, Rose, called her over.
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Chapter 7
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“Hailey, sweetie,” Rose was dripping in jewels, pearls around her neck, diamonds in her ears, and a flashy sapphire ring on her finger.
She practically screamed I’ve just hit it big to anyone who was paying attention.
“Rose, what’s going on?” Hailey asked, her voice cool.
Rose eagerly took her hand. “Come, let me introduce you to some friends.”
Hailey followed Rose into the lounge.
Inside, there were already two people: a woman in fur and a man sitting in a wheelchair, his face hidden as he looked down
at the floor.
“Mrs. Blackwell, let me introduce you to my second daughter, Hailey Dalton.” Rose said smoothly, as if this was just another social obligation.
Isabel Blackwell’s eyes were sharp and calculating as she looked at Hailey, making the young woman feel like she was being sized up like an object.
Isabell scoffed, “Is this a joke? The engagement was with your real daughter, not her. What is this supposed to mean?”
Rose smiled like she had been ready for this. “Mrs. Blackwell, the engagement between our families was arranged by my father–in–law, and it wasn’t specifically with any one daughter.
“Hailey is just as much a Dalton as anyone else, and we love her dearly”
“Love me dearly?‘ Hailey couldn’t help but laugh, and even Isabel chuckled bitterly. “A daughter who was abandoned as a kid is loved dearly? Yeah, sure!
Rose’s smile faltered for just a second, but she kept her cool. “Mrs. Blackwell, not even your own kid is perfect. If Hailey married into your family, she’d be more than enough.
Even though Christopher Blackwell wasn’t favored in his own family, he was still her son, and Isabel wasn’t about to let anyone talk down to him.
Just as Isabel was about to fire back, Rose added with a casual shrug. “If you don’t like it, then we don’t have to do the marriage. It’s not like Dalton’s girls are dying to marry into the Blackwell family”
That one sentence shut Isabel up completely
Because no one else would marry Christopher, except for a Dalton family daughter.
The two women exchanged verbal jabs, while the bride‘ of the whole deal had no chance to speak up.
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