Chapter 22 - The Catfight (1/2)

Claire hears the crowd's initial collective gasp. Followed by a long silence. She knows they're out there. She knows they're all staring at her, judging her. But when she opens her eyes, she couldn't see anything—the darned floodlight is blinding her and hides everyone else in the darkness.

The microphone's static feedback hisses. ”Friends,” Gabriel says calmly over the mic. ”The love of my life. The one I'm going to spend my life with. Claire Monteverde!”

The crowd, having gotten the say-so from the de-facto alpha of everything around here, roar in applause. Ladies surround Claire, greeting her, giving her a friendly squeeze on the shoulder, telling her how lucky she is. It amazes her—the previously unreachable jet-set crowd, these supermodel-looking beautiful people, are welcoming her into their fold. This is it. She has arrived. She's at the pinnacle of life's awesomeness.

There's only one problem: this is all fake.

Now that Gabriel has so brazenly announced to the world their engagement, with people taking note of her, it's only a matter of time until one of them penetrates whatever cloak of secrecy Gabriel Tan has put up and discovers that Claire Monteverde is a big impostor.

So what would happen to her? What happens after a month, when her employment agreement with Gabriel, on account of the Red Contract, finally expires?

”I am quite speechless,” a voice says. Claire looks up to see Michelle, still dripping wet from having just emerged from the pool, but nevertheless a striking beauty still.

”For someone who's quite speechless, you're actually talking,” Claire says defiantly.

”Don't be too ċȯċky,” Michelle says. ”He'll discard you like yesterday's news. Gabriel Tan is the most fickle-minded man I know.”

”Really?” Claire says. ”He stood by you despite knowing about your cheating—”

--”You lie!”

--”I'm not!” From a corner of her eye Claire sees Gabriel approaching them. ”Gabriel has always known about your men, yet he put up with it as long as he didn't personally see it. Until two weeks ago, when you got so careless.”

”There's only one monster I see here,” Claire says coolly. ”And she's right in front of me.”

Rage lights up in Michelle eyes. In an instant, her hand flies, hitting Claire on the side of the face.