"Well, I must say, this looks more dramatic than any television drama," Anne said dryly, crossing her arms. "But if you're done with your acting, you can leave now."
She turned toward Clara "Let's go. We have other important things to do."
Clara nodded and followed Anne, with the bodyguards walking behind them.
Eva watched Madison and Olivia closely. The way they were treating Anne was beginning to upset her more and more.
"Sister, wait!" Olivia called.
Anne stopped.
Olivia quickly stepped in front of her "Sister, I'm sorry. Because of me, Aunt Madison is upset with you," Olivia said, making a sad face. She reached for Anne's hand and held it tightly.
"Olivia, why are you apologizing to her?" Sophie said gently, pretending to comfort her daughter. "You haven't done anything wrong."
But Olivia didn't let go of Anne's hand. Her fingers tightened around it, and her sharp nails dug into Anne's skin. Anne's expression changed slightly as a sharp pain shot through her wrist.
"Olivia, let go of my hand."
But Olivia continued holding on. Anne tried to pull her hand away, but Olivia tightened her grip even more. The bodyguard standing behind them noticed Anne's discomfort and immediately stepped forward.
Before he could intervene, Anne forcefully pulled her hand free. The sudden movement caused Olivia to lose her balance.
She stumbled backward and fell onto the floor. "Ouch!" Olivia cried, grabbing her ankle.
A few customers who had witnessed the entire incident exchanged looks. Some covered their mouths, trying not to laugh. Olivia looked around, humiliated.
Then she looked up at Anne with tears in her eyes.
Madison and Sophie immediately rushed toward her.
"Oh, Olivia, darling, are you okay?" Sophie asked worriedly as she helped her daughter up.
Madison turned toward Anne, anger flashing across her face. "What is this behavior, Anne? Olivia is your elder sister! How could you push her like that?"
Anne looked at Madison in disbelief "I didn't push her, Mom. She was holding my—"
Before Anne could finish, another voice suddenly came from behind Clara.
"What is going on here?"
Everyone turned toward the voice.
Jason stood there with secretary Russ and his bodyguard, Jack, on either side of him.
Nobody had noticed him entering the store. Even Clara hadn't realized he had been standing behind her.
Jason's eyes immediately moved across the scene. His gaze stopped on Anne. Then he noticed her wrist.
There were visible nail marks on her skin, and a small trace of blood had appeared where Olivia's nails had dug into her.
For a brief moment, Jason's expression hardened.
"Are you all right, Ann?" Clara asked, noticing Anne's injured wrist.
"Don't worry. I'm fine," Anne replied, rubbing her wrist.
Clara immediately took Anne's hand and examined it. "How are you fine? Look at your wrist!"
She turned toward one of the store assistants "Go quickly and bring the first-aid kit."
"Yes, ma'am," the assistant replied and hurried away.
"I'm fine, Clara. You don't have to worry," Anne said, gently taking her wrist back.
She then looked toward the staff members who had gathered around them. "What are all of you doing standing here? Get back to work. Can't you see there are customers in the store?"
"Sorry, ma'am," the employees said together before quickly returning to their duties.
Jason continued watching Anne silently.
He wanted to walk over to her and check her wrist himself.
But he couldn't.
Not here.
Not in front of everyone.
He had spent years pretending to love Olivia, and he couldn't let his real feelings for Anne show now.
"Jason..." Olivia suddenly called. She took a few unsteady steps toward him. "Ouch... I think I hurt my ankle."
Madison immediately moved beside her. "Olivia, what are you doing? You'll hurt yourself more if you keep walking."
But Olivia ignored her. She continued toward Jason. The moment she reached him, she leaned into his arms and began crying. "Jason..."
Jason instinctively caught her before she could fall. "Careful," he said, keeping his voice calm.
Olivia buried her face against his chest.
But even as he held her, Jason's eyes moved past her shoulder. They found Anne. And once again, his gaze fell on the marks covering her wrist. His jaw tightened.
Someone had hurt Anne, and he needed to know exactly who.
"Anne," Jason said, keeping his voice controlled, "what happened to your wrist?"
Anne glanced down at it. "Nothing serious. It's just a scratch."
Jason's eyes narrowed slightly. "That doesn't look like a scratch."
Before Anne could answer, Clara stepped forward.
"She was trying to pull her hand away from Olivia," Clara said coldly.
Everyone looked at her. Clara crossed her arms. "I saw what happened."
Olivia lifted her tear-filled eyes toward Clara.
"Clara, I didn't mean to hurt her."
"I didn't say you meant to," Clara replied. "I said I saw what happened."
Olivia went quiet. For the first time, she looked uncomfortable.
Jason noticed the change in her expression, and so did Eva.
Eva had been watching Olivia carefully since the beginning, and she was becoming increasingly suspicious of her behavior.
"Enough," Eva said firmly. "Everyone keeps accusing Anne without even asking what actually happened."
Madison looked at Eva.
"But Eva, I saw Olivia fall."
"And did you see Anne push her?" Eva asked.
Madison fell silent.
Eva continued. "Because from what I saw, Olivia was holding Anne's hand first."
Madison looked uncertain.
Olivia immediately shook her head. "I wasn't trying to hurt Sister."
Her voice became soft again. "I just wanted to apologize to her."
Sophie quickly stepped in. "Exactly. Olivia was only trying to make peace with her sister."
Clara gave Sophie a cold look. "Then why was Anne bleeding?"
Sophie had no immediate answer. The room became quiet. Anne looked from Sophie to Olivia. Something about the entire situation felt wrong. The drink incident and Lily's nervous behavior. Sophie immediately blaming the staff.
Olivia grabbing her hand. And now everyone was somehow blaming Anne.
Anne slowly turned toward the manager. "Where is the employee who was serving the drinks?"