For a while, it was as if someone had pressed the mute button for the entire party hall.
There was no other sound aside from the soft music that the Hunts were playing.
Yvonne’s friends next to her, the rich young men taking the opportunity to fool about, the people with actual status and influence, as well as the guests that had just entered the hall... All of them were looking at him in disbelief.
Justin’s voice just now had neither been too loud nor too soft, but because everyone was paying attention to him in order to determine his stance, his words had reached everyone’s ears clearly.
Everyone looked at him incredulously, and then at Nora.
All of them were wondering the same thing—what was going on here?
Why did the atmosphere between Mr. Hunt and Nora Smith feel kinda off?! Also, why was Mr. Hunt still holding Ms. Smith’s hand even though so much time had passed since he grabbed her hand to stop her?
Yvonne’s friends next to her started whispering and speculating again.
"What’s going on? Why does it look like Mr. Hunt knows that hillbilly?"
"Why do I feel like there’s an unusual relationship between those two?"
Along with those words, the few of them looked at Yvonne and asked, "Surely Mr. Hunt doesn’t have anything to do with her, right, Ms. Smith?"
She lowered her head and slowly said, "I don’t know what kind of relationship the two of them share, but even if they aren’t related in any way, a host won’t stand by idly and watch as someone bullies their guest, right? After all, those men went too far."
Rachel was so jealous that she was almost out of her mind. She said, "Yeah, what kind of relationship can Nora Smith and Mr. Hunt possibly share? They have nothing to do with each other at all! Mr. Hunt must have just found those people’s actions too much. It’s just a shame that he doesn’t know what that woman is like!"
Everyone exchanged looks with one another, all of them sensing something amiss.
Why did Yvonne look a little unhappy? It seemed like that woman’s presence was really bothering her...
Everyone was smart here. They hadn’t thought of that in the beginning, but now...
Could it be that Nora Smith’s good looks had also attracted Mr. Hunt?
Just as everyone was speculating, Nora, the subject of the drama, waved and shook Justin’s hand away in disdain. Her voice was low and impatient as she asked, "If I can’t hit him, then what should I do?"
Her shoes were too uncomfortable. She wanted to deal with the people in front of her as soon as possible so that she could change her shoes.
Justin’s icy voice rang out. "Where’s the butler?"
The butler in charge of the Hunts’ external affairs had already noticed Justin the instant he appeared. Upon hearing his words, he hurriedly came over. "Sir."
Justin pointed casually at the men. "These frivolous and flippant people here... Send! Them! Out! Nicely!"
The meaning behind his deliberate emphasis on the words ’send them out nicely’ was very obvious. There was no way the butler could see those people out the door politely anymore.
The butler nodded immediately. "Yes, sir."
With a wave from him, a few security guards rushed over. They held down the frivolous rich second-generation heirs, buckled their hands behind their backs, and dragged them out!
The men were dumbfounded. One even shouted, "Mr. Hunt, Mr. Hunt...! What are you doing? All we did was say a few words to her... Do you know who she is, Mr. Hunt? She’s a socialite! It was mutually consensual when we chatted with each other! We didn’t force her into anything!"
The word made Justin’s pupils shrink.
He suddenly said, "Stop."
The security guard stopped and let go of the man. The man wasn’t from an influential family. He had come to the party by tagging along with someone else’s invitation so that he could get to know more people.
Thus, when Warren incited them to go over, he had done so accordingly.
He wasn’t willing to be driven out just like that. On top of that, he also had the guts to speak up. He immediately said, "Are you doing this because you’re not aware of her identity? Don’t let her beautiful appearance fool you! I heard tha—"
But before he could finish, Justin interrupted him. "Who did you hear that from?"
The man subconsciously looked at Warren standing among the crowd, causing him to shrink back and hide behind Yvonne.
He didn’t see Warren, but he didn’t dare to drag the Smiths into this, either. Thus, the man could only say, "I... I just overheard some people..."
"Can things that you hear through the grapevine be brought to the public?" Justin looked at the butler and said, "Find Ms. Smith a lawyer, and sue him for slander."
"... Yes, sir," said the butler.
"There’s no need for that." Nora suddenly interrupted him. Then, she lowered her voice and slowly said, "I don’t care about all this. I just want to change my shoes now."
He fell silent for a moment. Then, he looked at the butler and said, "Never mind, then. Don’t sue him anymore."
His voice was deep and tinged with displeasure.
The butler silently said a prayer inwardly for the man.
If they had sued him, all he would have had to do was just pay damages for harming the other party’s reputation.
But now that they weren’t suing him anymore, the man would probably have to pay an even higher price to appease Mr. Hunt.
The butler wasn’t the only one who understood that; the man understood it even better.
He panicked at once. "I was wrong, Mr. Hunt. Please let me off!"
Unfortunately, Justin was no longer paying attention to him.
What more did he have to say to him when his girlfriend’s feet were uncomfortable?
He waved casually. The security guards immediately dragged the men to the door...
Once they went out the door, he would really have to pay the price for his actions!
The man was so terrified that he yelled, "Isn’t she just a woman who looks a little better than most, Mr. Hunt? Who is she to you? Why would you protect her like that?!"
The place fell silent.
Everyone looked at Justin curiously.
Yvonne clenched her fingers nervously.
Justin wouldn’t admit it, right? After all, Nora’s status was too low; she wasn’t worthy of him at all. If he admitted it on an occasion , everyone would hear of it!
Having a girlfriend in private and showing her off to everyone were two completely different things!
Nora raised her eyebrows.
She said unhurriedly, "We don’t have anyt—"
Before she could finish, a warm arm suddenly snaked around her waist, and her feet left the ground the next moment—Justin had picked up her and was carrying her in his arms!
Her head whipped toward him, and she saw Justin carry her to the sofa next to them with his gaze lowered.
He put her down gently when he reached the sofa.
It was only then that everyone finally noticed that he had been holding an exquisite bag all this time. He opened the bag, took out the shoes inside, and slowly squatted down. He took off the shoes that Nora was wearing, and then changed her shoes for her.
His series of actions came so suddenly that even Nora herself was dumbfounded.
Never would she have ever thought that the lofty man high up in the air would actually squat down and change her shoes for her.
Then, the man stood up straight as if he wasn’t the person who had just bent over. As if overlooking everyone from the top, he slowly said, "Let me make the introductions. This is my girlfriend, Ms. Nora Smith."