Jilted Ex-wife Billionaire Heiress

Chapter 15 Damsel In Distress

Darya scanned the crowd, wasn't surprised to see that Regina's little act was working

Especially on the men.

Maybe there was something about a woman in a soaked, almost see-through dress, with wet hair, pitiful doe eyes and big, precious tears rolling down her beautiful cheeks that roused the inner knight in them.

More than one had turned to aim a disapproving scowl at Darya, not that she cared.

She ignored the whispers and pointed looks.

Micah helped hold the tux jacket over Regina's shoulders in place, and stared at Darya silently, as if waiting for an apology.

Darya scoffed. 'Forget it. I'm not apologising'

She did it three years ago.

"It didn't help improve Micah's impression of her.

She wasn't doing it again.

She wasn't the same fool in love again.

Darya shrugged. 'If you can't see through what she's doing, you are not as smart as I thought.'

'Please, Micah.' Regina tugged at his arm, blinked those wet, long-lashed eyes up at him. 'Don't be mad at her. It's my fault, after all. I shouldn't have...'

She let her sentence hang, giving the audience the opportunity to draw their own conclusions.

Darya resisted the urge to roll her eyes again-Avery said it wasn't ladylike.

'You are still getting the bill for the dress,' she said to Regina. 'I take either cash or cheque."

Then she turned to leave.

But Regina wasn't about to let her end the show so prematurely.

Her quiet, dignified sobbing escalated into loud weeping.

She lunged forward, grabbed hold of Darya's hand and shed more beautiful tears. 'Please, Darya, I know you are angry because you and Micah are...no longer together. I know you hate me because you had to give your bl for me. Micah paid you well, but it's not just about the money, is it? I can understand why you are upset, why you pushed me on impulse. I don't blame you, I really don't. I just wish, for your sake and Micah's, that you

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Chapter 15 Damsel In Distress

could let go of the past and move on. After all, the two of you are already divorced.'

It was a well-rehearsed speech, densely packed with information.

The audience got what they came for-the dirt.

So this woman wasn't just Mr McAllister's mystery date, she was Mr Cavanaugh's ex-wife?

And she used to donate blood to the other woman, who happened to be Cavanaugh's current date?

Ah, that explained why she pushed the poor woman into the pool-jealousy was a green-eyed monster, indeed.

Guests invited to the Hagen Ball were too well-mannered to take pictures or videos publicly, but it didn't stop some of them from discreetly texting their friends, summoning them to come out to the patio for the mustn't-

miss show.

Micah frowned imperceptibly.

He disliked the idea of having his private matters discussed in public.

He stepped forward and reached for Regina's hand, intending to take her away from the crowd.

She had begged and begged for the chance to come here tonight.

Micah only relented to keep her quiet.noveldrama

Maybe that had been a mistake.

'Uh-uh.' Darya wagged a finger at Micah when he approached. 'You don't get to whisk her away after she slung mud at me like that.'

She judged the distance between them, stepped back a little to give herself more room, then raised her right arm and smacked Regina right across her beautifully made-up cheek.

'Aaaah!'

Regina did a half-turn, stumbled, teetered on her stiletto heels and almost lost her balance.

The tux jacket slipped off her shoulders onto the floor.

Her cheek was rapidly swelling up.

But that wasn't the worst of it.

Since she had been standing right on the edge of the pool, the half-step she took brought her right back into

the water.

Regina fell, back first, into the pool, creating a huge splash.

She was too stunned to scream.

Panicking, she floundered and thrashed about in the water.

'Did you forget you can swim?' Darya kept herself out of the splash zone and mocked from a safe distance.

Regina froze for half a second, but quickly recovered herself. 'Help! Leg cramp!'

'I'll give you points for improvisation, but you are not as good an actress as you thought.' Darya shook her head.

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Chapter 15 Damsel In Distress

'The water's five feet deep. The surface barely reaches your shoulders if you stand up. And...' She pointed to a spot right in front of Regina. "There's a ladder right there.'

Micah said nothing, but he heard and saw everything.

This time, he didn't jump into the pool, simply held out a hand for Regina, who took it gratefully.

She climbed out of the pool, using the ladder, looking much less graceful than she did five minutes ago.

The illusion of the damsel in distress was shattered.

'You pushed me!' was the first sentence out of her mouth.

She was furious, but also secretly glad.

Now that Darya had pushed her into the pool right in front of a crowd of witnesses, plus Micah, she couldn't possibly walk away unscathed.

'You already accused me of the crime, I might as well make it count for something.' Darya flicked a speck of invisible dust from her sleeve. 'Consider that payment for ruining my gown. Your ten-second dive into the pool is worth three hundred thousand dollars. I'd say it's well worth it.'

Before Regina could speak, Darya anticipated and pre-empted her accusation. 'Before you say I pushed you twice, let me remind you, this place is covered by

cameras.'

She cocked an eyebrow at Regina's stunned look. 'You didn't know? Ha, isn't that interesting? This is the 70th anniversary of the Hagen Ball. Ms Pauley, the organiser, decided to make a documentary. She's given a heads-up that the venue will be covered by cameras to capture the event. The notice is written on

the back of the invitation card. Didn't you read it?'

Regina's face, already pale from the cold, had gone a shade whiter.

Of course she hadn't read it.

She never got an invitation.

She was here as Micah's plus-one.

How the hell was she supposed to know there would be cameras?