The hospital room door closed again.

Mrs. Shaw slowly walked up to Joanna Sullivan and said with a faint, mocking smile, "Miss Sullivan, did you see that? When the Shaw Family is around, Mason won’t even spare you a glance. It doesn’t matter if you’re his first love or not; you, Miss Sullivan, will never be fit for the Lawson Family’s circle. The only stage you’re fit for is a literal one—for people to watch and be entertained by!"

The words made Joanna Sullivan’s face turn deathly pale.

She gritted her teeth and retorted, "Mrs. Shaw, I don’t understand what you mean. I’m a world-class dancer. Before I retired to work behind the scenes, I even performed for foreign royalty. How can you say I’m not good enough?"

Mrs. Shaw scoffed in disdain. "A world-class dancer? Isn’t that just thanks to good marketing and that pretty face of yours? Miss Sullivan, people say that if you’re going to be the other woman, you should at least be discreet and keep your head down. But someone as brazen as you, who even dares to threaten my daughter? You’re the first I’ve ever seen. Do you have any idea who the Shaw Family is?"

Joanna Sullivan froze, then put on a wronged expression. "When did I ever threaten Miss Shaw? I was just reminding her about her roommate..."

Before she could finish, Regina Shaw cut her off. "Mom, she did threaten me, and now she’s trying to drag my roommate through the mud. She’s definitely trying to use someone else to absolve herself of guilt again. Her greatest talent is finding a scapegoat and pushing all the blame onto them."

Joanna Sullivan stared at Regina Shaw in disbelief.

’Could it be that she’s covering for Eve Vaughn?’

’This is impossible!’

Joanna Sullivan couldn’t wrap her head around it. ’Logically, Regina Shaw and Eve Vaughn should be rivals in love. How could she possibly be defending Eve Vaughn?’

’After all, Eve Vaughn is the biggest threat to Regina Shaw becoming the future Mrs. Lawson!’

Joanna Sullivan knew the Shaw Family was powerful and influential, and she didn’t dare burn her bridges with them. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

So, she could only play the victim, saying pitifully, "Miss Shaw, you’ve really misunderstood me. This time, Mason was just being a Good Samaritan. He only saved me because he saw someone giving me a hard time. The person who’s actually involved with Mason is your roommate, Miss Shaw. I tried to give her a friendly warning, but she refused to believe me. If you don’t believe me, Mrs. Shaw, you can investigate it yourself."

Mrs. Shaw glanced at her daughter, a flicker of doubt in her eyes. "Which roommate is that?"

Regina Shaw, terrified that the truth about Eve Vaughn and Mason Lawson would be exposed, said firmly, "Mom, don’t listen to her nonsense! She’s obviously just trying to change the subject. She’s the one who’s constantly trying to seduce Mason, and she deliberately provokes me and flaunts herself in my face."

Mrs. Shaw doted on her daughter. Of course, she would believe her own child over a woman trying to seduce her future son-in-law.

Therefore, Mrs. Shaw didn’t believe a single word Joanna Sullivan had just said.

She looked down her nose at Joanna Sullivan. "Miss Sullivan, those tears might work on men, but any woman can see exactly what you’re up to. I saw you all over Mason Lawson with my own two eyes, and you still have the nerve to deny it? Fine. In that case, I’ll just have to teach you the consequences of messing with the Shaw Family!"

With that, her sharp gaze swept over Joanna Sullivan before she turned to Regina Shaw. "We’re leaving!"

The mother and daughter swept out, leaving Joanna Sullivan practically seething with rage.

She truly couldn’t understand it. Why did Regina Shaw refuse to believe that Eve Vaughn and Mason Lawson were involved, and instead target her at every turn?

And Mrs. Shaw’s words from earlier, about being something for people to watch and be entertained by, had utterly trampled on Joanna Sullivan’s dignity.

After all, she had given up marriage to join that world-class dance troupe, all so she could achieve enough to be worthy of Mason Lawson.

’But now?’

’I’ve sacrificed so much and finally achieved success and fame, yet the Shaw Family still looks down on me?’

’Why?’

...

「In a Bentley near the hospital.」

Mason Lawson’s brows were tightly furrowed, and Eve Vaughn’s expression wasn’t any better.

Thinking about how definitively he had left last night, and then the gossip from this afternoon, Eve Vaughn just couldn’t see his relationship with Joanna Sullivan in a positive light.

But Mason Lawson offered no explanation, no apology, and was even acting this cold and distant.

Eve Vaughn couldn’t have been more disappointed. She made an excuse, saying, "I should go. Senior Shaw will be down any minute, and they’ll worry if they can’t find me."

Just as she was opening the door, Mason Lawson’s cold, heavy voice came from behind her. "So now you think that with the Shaw Family’s backing, you can treat me with this kind of attitude, is that it?"

Eve Vaughn’s heart sank. She turned to face him. "What’s that supposed to mean? Are you accusing me of throwing their weight around?"

"Am I wrong? Regina Shaw and I are not a couple. So when she and her mother stormed into Joanna Sullivan’s hospital room to confront her, who exactly were they venting for?"

In that moment, Eve Vaughn suddenly felt as if the man before her were a complete stranger.