After Divorce I Married a Tycoon-Chapter 136: Have You No Shame?

Exposed by Gavin Sinclair, Scarlett Jewel was instantly rendered speechless.

She was just about to make an excuse when Gavin coldly cut her off.

"Let me tell you, Scarlett Jewel. The same excuse might fly once or twice, but it gets old after that."

"You’re both supposed to be greeting guests. Just look at Claire Mercer—so calm and composed, so dignified."

"Then look at you. So utterly graceless and petty."

Gavin Sinclair’s face filled with disgust just looking at her.

"Scarlett Jewel, either you fill the role of Mrs. Sterling of the Sinclair family, or you get out now."

Rose Gable chimed in. "Gavin’s right. You don’t even care about your own wedding."

"When a guest finally does show up, you act so rudely and make the Sinclair family a laughingstock."

"If you can’t handle being Mrs. Sterling of the Sinclair family, then you can just get the hell out."

Felix Sinclair also narrowed his dark eyes, staring at Scarlett Jewel.

"It’s not so easy being a daughter-in-law of the Sinclair family."

"You schemed so hard to get where you are, so you’d better start doing your part."

With that, he looked away in disgust.

Berated by the three Sinclairs, Scarlett Jewel was both furious and terrified.

She was furious that the Sinclairs were showing her absolutely no respect.

With so many people coming and going, and with how loudly the three of them were speaking, some of the guests on their way to the adoption party were bound to overhear.

’If word gets back to Claire Mercer, how humiliating would that be for me?’

But as furious as she was, she was even more terrified.

She was terrified the Sinclair family would actually find an excuse to kick her to the curb.

’I fought so hard to get here, even branding myself as the other woman...’

’How can I just let them kick me out?’

At this thought, Scarlett Jewel lowered her gaze and began to apologize, trying to curry favor.

"Dad, Mom, Gavin, I was wrong. I’ll work hard to do better in the future."

"I’ll do my best not to embarrass you again."

"Hmph." Rose Gable turned her face away.

Gavin shot her a cold glare, not even bothering to say a word.

「Meanwhile, at Claire Mercer’s adoption party」

As it approached eleven o’clock, guests were arriving in a steady stream.

The eyes of guests who had never met Claire Mercer before lit up when they saw her.

"Mrs. Rowan, is this your goddaughter? She’s even more beautiful than a celebrity!"

Claire smiled graciously. "Thank you for your kind words."

Watching her interact with the guests—so calm, unflappable, and dignified...

Mrs. Rowan felt even more satisfied with her.

’As expected of the girl Adrian has his eye on.’

’There’s nothing petty about her at all.’

’So poised and graceful. Anyone who didn’t know better would mistake her for a daughter from some great, noble family.’

’But now, she’s our Rowan family’s precious daughter.’

As Mrs. Rowan thought this, her smile grew even more brilliant.

"And I’m not just boasting, but my daughter’s beauty is actually her most unremarkable trait."

A guest laughed. "Of course."

"A daughter doted on so much by Mrs. Rowan is bound to be extraordinary."

The sheer extravagance of the event made it clear that the Rowan family truly treasured this goddaughter.

Many families wouldn’t even give their own biological daughters such a grand affair.

They’d even invited the country’s former richest man, a testament to how much they valued and cherished her.

It seemed this former "fake heiress" of the Mercer family had truly made it.

"’Extraordinary’ is too generous," Mrs. Rowan said modestly.

"My daughter’s greatest qualities are her devotion, her thoughtfulness, and her kind, simple heart."

She didn’t want people to ruin Claire by putting her on a pedestal.

Another guest approached. "Congratulations, Mrs. Rowan! Your wish has finally come true after all these years, and what a beautiful daughter you have."

Mrs. Rowan replied, "Thank you, thank you. I hear your son is getting married soon? Early congratulations to you..."

At the mention of his own family’s upcoming celebration, the guest couldn’t stop smiling.

"Thank you, Mrs. Rowan. We would be honored to have you attend the wedding."

"We wouldn’t miss it... Please, go on inside..."

The guests for this hall kept arriving, one after another.

Mrs. Rowan and Claire’s faces were growing stiff from smiling.

Inside, Silas Rowan and Adrian Sutton were showing guests to their seats.

Mr. Rowan, for his part, was entertaining several high-profile guests.

The family was bustling with activity, and the hall was filled with a lively din.

The noise was so loud that even the Sinclair family, standing at the entrance of the banquet hall across the way, could hear it.

From the sound of the uproar, they could imagine just how lively the adoption party was.

By contrast, at Gavin Sinclair and Scarlett Jewel’s wedding...

The wedding was about to begin, but not even half the guests had arrived.

They had planned for one hundred tables, but guests had only filled a little over thirty.

Looking at the sixty-odd empty tables, every member of the Sinclair family grew grim-faced.

Humiliating...

It was utterly humiliating.

’When has the Sinclair family ever suffered such a great humiliation?’

They had gone all out inviting guests to their son’s wedding.

And yet, fewer than half of them had actually shown up.

To make matters worse, most of the guests present were from Rose Gable’s side of the family.

Every prominent family in Rhonia, big or small, had gone to the event next door.

Felix Sinclair’s face stung with shame.

The desolate scene before him was like a slap that left his face swollen.

Like Felix, Rose Gable was so furious she felt she might have a stroke.

’How could this be happening?’

’The wedding is about to start, and yet more than sixty tables are still empty.’

’If word gets out, what will become of the Sinclair family’s reputation?’

’But what could they do now?’

’The wedding is about to begin. No more guests are going to come.’

’To think that they, the Sinclairs, were supposed to be the richest family in Rhonia!’

’When had they ever held a banquet that wasn’t packed with guests?’

’Never had they been so publicly humiliated.’

Gavin Sinclair, however, couldn’t care less.

After all, the bride wasn’t Claire Mercer.

So he didn’t care whether the wedding was crowded or empty, humiliating or not.

But Scarlett Jewel did not think that way.

She was the one who valued this wedding more than anyone.

From the moment the date was set, she had been looking forward to this grand, spectacular wedding.

But now, looking out at the vast, empty banquet hall...

She could no longer maintain the forced smile plastered on her face.

’Was this the spectacular wedding she had been anticipating for more than a month?’

’The hall that should have been bustling and boisterous was this deserted.’

’Sure, more than thirty tables of guests had come, but this hall was set up for one hundred!’

’The remaining sixty-odd tables were already set with drinks and favors, and even the appetizers had been served.’

’But they sat empty, completely ignored.’

’Lined up in lonely rows, they seemed to be mocking her.’

Scarlett Jewel was so enraged she felt the blood rush to her head.

’It was all that bitch Claire Mercer’s fault.’

’If she hadn’t insisted on holding her stupid adoption party today.’

’Would my wedding have been this pathetic?’

’Would only a handful of guests have come?’

’This was all Claire Mercer’s fault.’

’She stole the Sinclair family’s guests and ruined the wedding I had anticipated for so long.’

"Claire... Mer... cer..."

She ground out the name, syllable by syllable.

The overwhelming hatred in her eyes made it seem as if she wanted to eat Claire’s flesh and drink her blood.

’Just you wait and see.’

’Once I have this baby and my position as Mrs. Sterling of the Sinclair family is secure...’

’This humiliation you’ve brought upon me...’

’I’ll find a chance to pay you back double.’

’By then, I’ll have endless money to spend.’

’Plus, I’ll have the status of Mrs. Sterling of the Sinclair family to back me up...’

’Dealing with a penniless, powerless nobody like Claire Mercer will be a piece of cake, won’t it?’

Still, dealing with Claire Mercer was a secondary concern for now.

The most important thing was how to salvage this wedding and save the Sinclair family’s face.