Ashley fixed her gaze on Judy for a long time without uttering a single word. Even Lena couldn't help
but be scared of her right now, not to mention Judy who was cowering behind her.
Finally, Ashley opened her mouth and asked, "You said you had seen me putting her ring in my purse,
didn't you?" She was watching Judy closely. Her voice was so calm that no one could tell what was on
her mind. It almost felt like she just asked a simple question in a friendly way.
But for Judy, it was not friendly at all. On the contrary, her calm and emotionless tone was chilling.
Meanwhile, Lena, who was stunned this whole time, had quickly snapped out of it. One part of her was
still stressed while the other part of her just felt angry.
She couldn't believe she was scared of Ashley. Lena, a real rich, spoilt brat, always believed she was
better than Ashley who was adopted by her parents. Without the Mu family, Ashley was nothing.
However, everyone thought they were the same, and no one realized the difference between the two
sisters. Lena loathed Ashley! Whenever they were together, Ashley would steal the spotlight from her!
Even right now, when she was the target of public criticism, Lena was the one who felt like the loser.
Lena calmed herself. She hadn't lost yet. She still had a chance. "I think Judy has already made herself
clear. Ashley, she saw you take it. What else do you want her to say now?
I didn't intend to bring Judy in, but you refused to give the ring back to me. That ring is very important to
me, so I had no choice but to ask Judy for help," Lena said tying to play the helpless victim.
Then, she turned to the waitress and said, "Judy, don't be afraid. I won't let anyone harm you." Lena
turned her attention back to Ashley.
"Ashley, I understand you are quite displeased with Raymond and me but we are already engaged.
And soon, we will be married. There is no point in creating all this drama.
Raymond loves me. I really wish you could find a way to be happy for us," she pretended to plead.
Lena's little diatribe revealed a lot of information to the guests.
Everyone was shocked!
They never expected Lena to confirm their suspicions.
There was a rumor in the party that Ashley had stolen Lena's ring out of jealousy, as Raymond had
chosen Lena instead of her.
If the situation allowed, Ashley wanted to applaud her almost believable performance.
However, Ashley was not going to give Lena the chance to ruin her reputation.
Ashley flipped her hair and said, "What a good story! A woman took her younger sister's engagement
ring because she was in love with the fiance!" Ashley couldn't help but laugh at this point. Everyone
held their collective breath. The only sound in the room was Ashley's laughter. When she had laughed
her fill, she continued, "But there is a big loophole in your story. I'm married."
Lena's face fell when she heard this. 'Married? So what? Your husband is just a normal guy with a
pretty face. You are asking for trouble, flaunting him like that. He's nothing compared to Raymond!'
thought Lena.
Ashley had broken the silence. People started to talk.
Everyone was discussing this new, and vital, piece of information.
People's eyes would wander over to her from time to time.
"Ha, married? Are you really married? You don't even have a ring on your finger! You are either married
to a guy who can't afford a ring or you're lying to us," mocked Teresa.
"I agree! Who would marry a poor guy? She's lying! We can't trust her! She just claimed that she was
innocent and had nothing to do with Lena's ring. But Judy saw her stealing it! If it hadn't been for Judy,
she would have fooled all of us!" a girl said loudly.
"They are raised by the same parents. How could she turn out to be such a bad person? Look at Lena!
She is so sweet and kind!" a girl in the back of the crowd said.
Another girl answered, "Hey, they are raised by the same parents, but they didn't come from the same
parents. She is adopted. Lena isn't. That's why they are so different!"
These harsh words fell on Ashley's ears, and, this time, they hit her where it hurt the most. Her self-
esteem was shattered. Embarrassed, she hid her hand behind her back as she didn't want anyone to
notice her bare finger anymore.
Indeed, she didn't have a ring. Her marriage with Andrew was a secret. She had never cared about the
ring. But now that she was under public scrutiny, she felt very low.
"Oh my goodness! Can you people just stop talking and guessing? Why don't we just open her purse
and find out whether she has the ring or not. The waitress said she saw her taking Lena's ring and
putting it in her purse," someone suggested.
"Right! Lena! Why don't you just check her purse?" another girl suggested.
Lena looked awkward and said with hesitation, "I don't think that's a very good idea..."
"Girl! She stole your ring! You're just taking it back. Why is that a bad idea?"
asked one girl and tried to grab Ashley's purse.
Ashley acted quickly and didn't allow her to succeed.
"You don't have any right to search me or my purse. I told you I didn't take her ring. If you don't believe
me, you can call the cops. Let them handle it!" said Ashley, looking at the crowd cautiously.
"That girl already saw you stealing it! Why are you continuing to lie? We are not going to call the police
and give you a chance to escape!" commented someone in the crowd.
Johnny walked in with the spare dress and saw Ashley surrounded by a group of people. They were
talking and pointing at her. Johnny didn't know what they were saying, but he was sure they weren't
complimenting her.
Johnny called his boss on the phone as he pushed through the crowd to get to Ashley.
"Excuse me, Sir..." said Johnny to a man who was in his way.
"Excuse me, Madam..." he requested a short woman who was standing on tiptoe and peeking through
a gap in the crowds.
Finally, Johnny managed to make his way to Ashley. He looked around her worriedly and let out a deep
breath when he saw that she was okay.
"Miss Mu, are you alright? What's going on?" he asked.
Ashley shook her head and didn't say a word.
"Wait! Who is this guy? He looks so familiar! I think I have met him," someone commented. People had
noticed how Johnny had made his way to Ashley and was now standing right next to her.
Most of them didn't really have the chance to meet Andrew in person. Johnny was his personal
assistant, so he went to many events with Andrew or on his behalf. People had fawned over him. So it
wasn't difficult for them to recognize Johnny.
However, only a few people knew who Johnny was. Not everyone had the social status to attend the
events Johnny went to on behalf of his boss.
"That's impossible. I don't recognize him at all. Is he the man Ashley is married to? What do you think?"
one person asked.
The person right next to her shook her head and answered, "I don't think so. That man addresses her
respectfully and maintains a distance. He is more like a servant rather than a husband."
Johnny's arrival gave Teresa the chance she had been looking for. She quickly snatched Ashley's
purse when she wasn't looking and opened it. She emptied it out and dumped everything on the floor.
Everyone held their breaths. It was so quiet that when the phone dropped on the ground, it sounded
extremely loud.
It was too late for Ashley to stop Teresa. Everything was already on the floor.
There was not much in it save for her phone, a packet of tissues and the ring that was planted in there
by someone else.
"Ha! Ashley, what is this?" Teresa asked as she picked up the ring and held it in front of Ashley's face.
She smiled proudly like a winner would and continued, "It was in your purse. I got you! What now?
What's your explanation now?"
Teresa showed the ring to the crowd and smiled triumphantly at Ashley.
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