After Divorce I Married a Tycoon-Chapter 50: Don’t Let Your Ill-Mannered Appearance Be Seen by Others
One day, Claire Mercer received a birthday party invitation from Mrs. Rowan.
It was a personal invitation, addressed just to her.
This came as something of a surprise.
Invitations to banquets hosted by prominent families were typically sent out one per household.
Receiving a personal invitation meant you were held in high esteem by the hosts.
She had never had any dealings with the Rowan Family and had never even met Mrs. Rowan.
’What could she have possibly done to deserve her own invitation from them?’
’Was it because of Adrian Sutton?’
After all, Adrian was on friendly terms with Silas Rowan.
’Silas probably prepared a separate invitation for her as a favor to Adrian.’
Still, an invitation to a birthday party meant she had to prepare a gift.
Claire Mercer was stumped for a moment.
A simple or shabby gift was out of the question.
But she couldn’t afford anything too extravagant; she was a bit short on cash at the moment.
Claire Mercer was in a bind.
She called Adrian Sutton to ask if he knew anything about Mrs. Rowan’s personal tastes.
Adrian Sutton thought to himself:
’She’ll be happy enough if you just show up.’
’Why would you even need to prepare a gift?’
’She invited every prominent family in Rhonia, big and small, just for a legitimate excuse to meet her future niece-in-law.’
Of course, he couldn’t very well tell Claire Mercer the real story.
"You don’t have to go out of your way to prepare anything. Mrs. Rowan is actually very easygoing."
Claire Mercer replied, "No matter how easygoing she is, I can’t show up empty-handed, can I?"
That would be too rude.
Not that she was planning to use a gift to curry favor with Mrs. Rowan.
Adrian Sutton thought for a moment, then said, "I hear she’s very fond of traditional Veridian-style items."
’Traditional Veridian style?’
An idea instantly sparked in Claire Mercer’s mind.
She had majored in design in college.
She had also been continuously studying the traditional Veridian style.
Her dream was to popularize the culture of their nation, Veridia, on the international stage.
Her previous award-winning fashion designs had also been in the traditional Veridian style, and they had made her an overnight international sensation.
She became an idol for designers in her own country and even gained a bit of fame internationally.
If she hadn’t suddenly married Gavin Sinclair, she might have been a shining star in the design world by now.
’Although she had wasted two years, it didn’t seem too late. There was still time for everything.’
"Thank you, Adrian Sutton. I know what to give her now."
"But I’ll need your help with something."
Adrian Sutton said, "Go ahead."
"Well, could you ask Silas Rowan for Mrs. Rowan’s measurements?"
"And it would be great if you could get me a photo or a video of Mrs. Rowan, too."
"Are you thinking of..."
"It’s a secret," Claire Mercer said mysteriously. "Can you get them for me?"
Adrian Sutton replied, "It shouldn’t be a problem."
"Great. I’ll wait to hear from you."
With that, Claire Mercer quickly hung up.
A few minutes later, Adrian Sutton sent over Mrs. Rowan’s measurements and a video clip.
After thanking him again, Claire Mercer watched the video several times before immediately starting on the design.
She counted the days. Mrs. Rowan’s birthday party was in five days.
There was plenty of time.
「Meanwhile.」
The other families of Rhonia had also been invited.
The families that received an invitation were beyond flattered.
This included the Sinclair and Mercer families.
Especially the couple, Julian Mercer and Judith Caldwell.
Their excitement was beyond words.
Julian Mercer, his face creased with a huge smile, lavished praise on a stiffly smiling Scarlett Jewel.
"Our Scarlett is so capable! Why else would we be invited to Mrs. Rowan’s birthday party?"
The more Judith Caldwell looked at Scarlett Jewel, the more pleased she was.
"It must be thanks to my dear daughter’s connection with the Rowan family’s eldest son that we received an invitation."p>
"Scarlett is our family’s lucky star."
"Isn’t that the truth? Ever since Scarlett came back, it’s been one good thing after another for our family."
"Quick, call Oscar and tell him to come back to the country immediately."
"Yes, yes, Mrs. Rowan’s birthday party is a golden opportunity."
"Oscar is at a marriageable age, too. He can use this opportunity to find a good match."
So, Judith Caldwell immediately called Oscar Mercer, who was abroad negotiating a deal.
But compared to their excitement, Scarlett Jewel seemed rather preoccupied.
Mrs. Rowan’s birthday party... that meant it was Silas Rowan’s mother’s birthday.
She could never quite hold her head high in front of Silas Rowan.
What’s more, Silas Rowan was a symbol of her failure, a mark of shame from her gold-digging days.
Just seeing him reminded her of how pathetic she had been.
Silas Rowan had never mentioned what happened, but she never forgot her own humiliation.
In his presence, she felt like a filthy rat hiding in a sewer.
’Forget it.’
’He didn’t say anything before, so he probably won’t say anything in the future.’
’If he hasn’t held it against me, why should I keep obsessing over it?’
With that thought, Scarlett Jewel began to prepare for the party in five days.
She had already decided on her makeup and which gown she would wear.
’I heard the Sinclair family got an invitation too. Does that mean Claire Mercer will be there?’
’At her family recognition banquet, Claire Mercer had completely stolen her spotlight.’
’Even though Claire had made a pathetic exit in the end, her stunning appearance must have dazzled quite a few people.’
’This time, she would crush Claire completely.’
Judith Caldwell scoffed caustically.
"What right does she have to attend a high-society banquet like this?"
Julian Mercer said, "That may be true..."
"...but she’s still the Young Madam of the Sinclair family. They’ll probably bring her along to get her out into society, won’t they?"
The truth, however, was that the Sinclair Family had no intention of bringing her at all.
"What would she go for?" Mrs. Sinclair said to Rose Gable.
"She’s already married into our Sinclair family. She should stop thinking about showing her face in public and attracting unwanted male attention."
"Besides, Gavin is still at home recovering from his injuries. Why would she go to some party instead of staying home to take care of him?"
"True," Rose Gable said. "That little bitch has been getting more and more defiant lately."
"We can’t let her go and embarrass us at an event meant for networking with the elite."
They claimed they were afraid she would embarrass them.
In reality, they just wanted to cut off any chance for Claire Mercer to connect with influential people.
That way, they could better control and manipulate her.
Ever since she’d asked for a divorce from Gavin, they had noticed that Claire Mercer seemed to be growing more and more attractive.
Her aura, her clothes, her makeup—they were all a world apart from how she used to be.
As much as they detested her, they had to admit to themselves that Claire Mercer was beautiful.
’With a seductive, vixenish face like that, she should just stay obediently at home.’
’And stop herself from going out and tempting men.’
What they never expected, however, was to see Claire Mercer appear at the entrance to the banquet hall. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮
"Mom, how is Claire Mercer here too?"
Cynthia Sinclair, dressed to the nines, demanded with wide, discontented eyes.
Rose Gable was also stunned, and she turned to question Claire Mercer with displeasure:
"What are you doing here at Mrs. Rowan’s birthday party?"
Claire Mercer couldn’t be bothered to respond, and holding her gift box, she started to walk inside.
But Cynthia Sinclair spread her arms to block her way.
She lifted her chin arrogantly and asked in a vicious tone,
"Claire Mercer, my mother asked you a question. Are you deaf?"
Claire Mercer gave her a cool glance.
"Cynthia Sinclair, keeping your mouth shut for a second won’t make anyone think you’re mute."
"You shouldn’t let other people see how ill-mannered you are."
"After all, today’s guests are all important people with status and reputation."
