After taking a look at the text message, Nora turned off the screen, and tossed the cell phone back into her pantsuit’s pocket again. When she looked up, she noticed that Rachel was looking at her. She said exaggeratedly, "Hey, Sheril, why isn’t your cousin wearing a dress? Doesn’t she dance?"
Nora’s pantsuit was actually a form of veiled rejection.
None of the wealthy and nobles liked being embarrassed, so they usually spoke tactfully and would never go too far.
However, what Rachel said was too direct.
The look in Nora’s eyes darkened slightly, but before she could say anything, Sheril said, "Neither of us is dancing tonight."
"Why not?" asked Rachel, despite knowing exactly why. She asked, "Are you not going to dance just because you don’t have Caden with you now? Why don’t I lend him to you for a dance, then?"
Sheril subconsciously glanced at Caden.
The man in the black tuxedo looked handsome and gentlemanly, but he didn’t dare to meet her eyes.
When Rachel pushed him forward, Caden automatically took a step back and stood next to her again. He said, "Rachel, we’ve already agreed that I’ll be your dance partner tonight. If I dance with Sheril, then what about you?"
Rachel raised her chin slightly and said, "Tsk, what’s the big deal? Men have the right to choose, right? You can choose between me and her, can’t you?"
Then, she cast her eyes down and said with a smile, "Sheril and I are cousins, so we’re real close. No matter who you choose, the other party won’t get mad. Right, Sheril?"
Caden looked at Sheril cautiously.
Sheril’s heart would always ache whenever he gave her such a fawning look in the past. He was clearly talented, yet he was always looked down upon because of his background.
Every time he made her angry, she would always relent whenever he looked at her like that.
But at this moment, all she felt was disgust.
She looked away and said, "I—"
Before she could finish, Nora interrupted her coolly and said, "No, it’s fine. She has a dance partner."
"She does?" Rachel looked around and said, "Who is it? Why didn’t you bring him over and show us?"
Nora cast her eyes down. In a seemingly half-amused manner, she said, "You’ll see when the party starts, wouldn’t you? What are you being so anxious for? Oh, I get it. Don’t worry, Sheril won’t take back someone that she’s already thrown away."
She was originally intending to humiliate Sheril, but Nora’s words in this instant infuriated her instead!
After Nora said that, she immediately led Sheril away in the opposite direction and deprived Rachel of the chance to say anything.
A vicious look flashed across Rachel’s eyes as she stood where she was. However, she quickly adjusted her expression, took Caden’s arm, and said, "Do your best when you dance later. I want everyone to see that she’s nothing without you!"
With the exception of Ms. Smith, Sheril had been the most eye-catching person in all the previous dance parties.
Ms. Smith was a Smith, so it was only natural that she would outshine her, but why Sheril too? Obviously, it was just because she had hooked up with a good boyfriend!
Without Caden leading her this year, let’s see how she’s gonna dance!
Nora found a corner, sat down on the sofa, and rested on it.
She wanted to tell Sheril not to worry and that she would find her a dance partner, but when she looked over, she saw that her head was lowered and she was texting seriously: "Where are you, Logan? You said that we’ll meet at the dance party tonight. Surely you came, right?"
The situation where Nora couldn’t find a dance partner in the dance studio the other day was still fresh in Sheril’s mind.
Thus, she had specially told Logan to also attend the dance party tonight, so that her cousin would have a dance partner if she wanted to dance.
Nora had worn a pantsuit when they left the house, so she hadn’t said anything to Logan. However, she wanted Logan to be her own dance partner now.
However, he didn’t respond even after she sent the message.
Sheril decided to call Logan. After it rang for a long time, he finally answered. It was just that he sounded terribly tired. He asked, "What is it?"
Sheril was taken aback for a moment. Then, she asked, "Are you not here yet?"
"... I’m reaching soon."
After he said that, Sheril seemed to hear someone else speaking there. However, she only heard the words "pay off your debt" and "how to run away" before the call was disconnected from the other side.
Sensing that she didn’t look so good, Nora asked, "What’s the matter?"
Sheril looked at her.
The young woman in front of her wasn’t from New York. Mom said that she’d had a hard life and hadn’t seen much of the world before, so she wanted her to spend a little more effort taking care of her. Her cat-like eyes were always downcast and she seemed disinterested in everything. She looked sleepy all day long, yet she had the power to reassure others.
Sheril said, "Something seems to have happened to Logan."
After saying that, Nora lowered her head and started to use her cell phone.
Had it been someone else, she might have found them a little unfeeling, but if it was Nora... Sheril leaned toward her and looked at her cell phone—the screen was completely dark.
Only a small red dot was moving.
During her moment of hesitation, Nora said, "He should be fine. He’s already at the party."
As if to verify the authenticity of her words, almost immediately after she said that, Logan appeared around the corner.
He was a little pale and he was limping a little. His usually frosty expression looked even icier at the moment and he had an impatient look on his face. He exuded a cold and distant aura that screamed "Don’t come near me".
Sheril stood up abruptly. "What happened to you?"
Logan glanced at her and replied, "I’m fine. I twisted my ankle, that’s all."
Sheril was about to speak when Rachel’s loathsome voice rang out again. "Sheril, your dance partner must be Logan, right? Did he sprain his ankle?"
Her voice was a little loud, causing the people around them to look over again.
Rachel’s little sidekick next to her said, "Of all times to sprain his ankle, he simply had to do it now. Tsk, it’s okay if you don’t wanna dance, you know. You don’t have to make so many excuses... To be honest, your dancing is only so-so without Caden anyway!"
Rachel frowned. "Don’t say that. How could Sheril possibly have chickened out...? She’s always said that dancing is just a hobby to her. She’s not doing it as a means of livelihood."
The sidekick went into mockery mode right away. She said, "Of course, she’s not doing it as a means of livelihood. I mean, how can she possibly compare with you, Rachel? She only got bonus points in the past because she had Caden leading her. You obviously dance better than her. It was just that your partner pulled you back."
"We’re finally setting things right this year, though. With you and Caden teaming up, you’ll definitely be the dance queen this year! Sheril, just admit defeat if you’re scared. Why put on such a lofty act? Isn’t the purpose of coming to a dance party exactly to dance?"
Sheril was so angry that her hands were shaking.
The expression of Logan, who had just entered the venue, turned even icier.
He endured the discomfort at his ankle and said coldly, "Who says she’s not dancing?"