Chapter 124

Layla replied with a wry smile, "Your jealousy is amusing." Despite being surrounded and under attack, she remained unruffled,calm and composed , like a white rose among thorns, displaying purity and resolve.

"What I am to Mr. Holland has nothing to do with you. Why so worked up? Or is this just a case of wannabes trying to stir up drama where there is none?"

"You dare to call us 'wannabes'?"

"Who do you think you are?" someone sneered.

"It's pitiful that Miss Eilish lost to a nobody like you. She's the top socialite; what gives you the right to take her man?"

"Yeah, know your place! Don't you ever look in the mirror?"

"Mistress, shameless!"

"Home wrecker!"

Layla couldn't help but let out a cold, mocking laugh as she stared at their sour faces and listened to the venomous words.

"If Miss Eilish hasn't made a fuss, why are you all so worked up? Sounds like a classic case of sour grapes to me. Pretending to fight for someone else's cause, when in reality... Well, let's just say your true motives aren't that hard to guess. All these high society ladies, not so high and mighty after all, are they?"

"You-" A girl in a pink dress, in a fit of rage, grabbed a nearby potted plant and hurled it at Layla's feet.

Crash-

Layla deftly stepped aside, but shards scattered, splashing water on her dress.

She frowned and glared at the girl in pink. "Apologize."

"Apologize to you? What a joke!"

"You're nothing but a worthless tramp," they taunted her, emboldened by their numbers.

Layla's gaze darkened as she grabbed the girl's wrist and yanked her close.

The girl gasped, shocked by Layla's strength. "What are you doing? Let go, you're hurting me!"

"Apologize!"

"I... I won't..." The girl in pink was scared but too stubborn to give in.

"You all know my family runs a boxing gym. I'm not known for holding back, and you ladies seem a little too delicate for a scuffle. Would be a shame if someone got hurt."

"Let go, it hurts so much." Tears welled in the girl's eyes.

"Let her go."

"What are you waiting for? Help me!" The girl struggled, crying out for help.

"Anyone else want to try their luck?" Layla challenged them with a defiant stare.

The other girls didn't dare move, afraid to get hit.

"You-"

"I'm losing my patience. Apologize!" With a slight increase in pressure, the girl in pink cried out, "I'm sorry!"

Layla released her.

"You'll regret this!" The girl in pink shouted "Assault!" and "Help!", running out of the restroom.

"What's going on?" Vincent, who had just come to use the restroom, stumbled upon this scene. A few girls scurried out, yelling about someone being hit.

"Samuel's girlfriend went berserk!"

"She was like a savage, threatening to beat us up-it was terrifying!"

"Call security!" The girls dashed off to get help.

Vincent frowned as he watched Layla walk out of the restroom with perfect composure. She then brushed past him as if he wasn't there.

"You had the audacity to throw punches at my mom's birthday party? Layla, how could you be so barbaric! And to think I used to believe you were pure and kind-hearted, but now it turns out you're..."

Layla cast a glare at Vincent, one reserved for mad dogs, her expression dripping with contempt. "Being kind doesn't mean letting yourself be stepped on. My kindness isn't here for devils like you to exploit."

"A devil? You're the one pretending to be innocent while harboring ambitions of becoming Mrs. Holland, like a wolf in sheep's clothing. Stepping on me to climb up the ladder, did you think of me as just a stepping stone?"

"You're not even worthy of being my stepping stone!" Layla retorted with disdain.

"Vincent, how old are you, still trying to throw your weight around using your granddad's name? Let me know when you have the power to challenge him yourself. Until then, watch your mouth, or are you asking to have your other hand rendered useless too?"

Layla lifted her chin with the grace of a swan, leaving without a side glance.

Her beauty, her pride, pierced Vincent's eyes with pain. Recalling how she used to be his, looking at him with adoration, worshipping him like a god, and now to see her transformed into someone so loathsome...

In a fit of rage, Vincent grabbed Layla's wrist tightly. "Stop right there!"

"Let go, Vincent! Don't make a scene and embarrass everyone," Layla warned.

"After what you've done, you're worried about saving face?" Vincent sneered. "Get away from my uncle!"

"No way!"

"Let me go. Stop this pathetic clinging."

Layla was annoyed and tried to push him away forcefully.

"You shameless hussy, how dare you try to seduce my son!" Lucy stormed over, fuming.

She knew this wild girl would cause a scene at her birthday party. Hitting a guest was one thing, but to pester her precious son was utterly shameless.

With a slight furrow of her brows, Layla enunciated each word clearly in her retort, "Mrs. Holland, please get your facts straight-who's seducing whom. Your son's relentless pestering is tiresome. Kindly take him away and stop him from harassing me."

"My son harassing you? Ha, maybe take a long hard look at yourself first. Every girl around Vincent is a beautiful heiress, and who do you think you are?"

If those "heiresses" were anything like Vincent, Layla thought with a sneer, they were well-matched with the scumbag.

Lifting her wrist, with Vincent's fingers still clinging to it, leaving red marks, Layla challenged, "Take a good look for once. Who is harassing whom?"

Vincent's face drained of color, and he quickly released her wrist. "Mom, I only intended to teach her a lesson. She had the audacity to start a fight at your birthday party."

"Of course, I believe you, Vinny. It's all her fault!" Lucy pointed an accusing finger at Layla. "You sobbed in my car, pleading that you truly loved my son, begging me not to tear you two apart, and then turned around to hook up with his uncle. You're shameless, Layla, absolutely without scruples. I believed your refusal of a million dollars showed your principles, but it seems your ambition knows no bounds."

"Mrs. Holland, to be honest, I regret not taking that million dollars to compensate for the years I wasted. The same day I stepped out of your car, I caught your darling son cheating with my best friend in the dorm. Who's the disgrace now?" Layla retorted with biting sarcasm.