525 Knock-off Dresses

Central Harbor Restaurant

As soon as they got inside the private dining room, their food was served. The management preferred that all guests, especially the club members, had their orders taken upon reservation. This ensured that the preparation and serving would be timely to avoid the long service.

As the three of them enjoyed their lunch together, Damien opened up topics that were not related to Shadow or their suspicions. He wanted to have a nice, enjoyable meal with just the three of them not being reminded of their difficulties. He didn't know why, but he felt the need to have this moment to be peaceful—as if they were just in the eye of the storm and a heavier storm would come soon.

Later, Amelia excused herself to the ladies' room after eating, leaving the couple behind.

"Thanks for today," said Katherine as she held Damien's hand.

"My pleasure." He pressed a kiss on the back of her hand, smiling at her as he leaned to kiss the corner of her lips.

A buzzing sound caught their attention, and their eyes darted at Damien's phone on the table. 

Seeing as it was Styles, he picked it up right away. "Styles," he said. 

"Just letting you guys know that there are Shadow agents sent to areas near our building. I checked their mainframe just a moment ago and saw the order; they're still looking for Chris. I think it's best if you stay out for the meantime."

"Okay, keep an eye out. We'll leave the restaurant soon," Damien replied.

As soon as he ended the call, he turned to Katherine and brought her to her feet as he got to her seat, and told her about the phone call with Styles. Then, he suggested, "We should go."

"Okay, I'll go wash my hands first and tell your mom we're leaving." She followed Damien out of the room but just as they stepped out, his phone rang again. "I need to take this; it's an important call from Monaco." 

He received the phone call as he stood by the door to their private dining room while she went straight to the ladies' room.

Entering, Katherine found Amelia by the sink washing her hands—next to her were two socialites touching up their makeup. They wore skimpy dresses that were almost identical to each other—one was in white, while the other was in red. The women were giving Amelia judgy stares, but the latter had her chin up and her poker face on as though she didn't have a care in the world.

"You know what I hate the most?" one of the socialites who wore the red dress asked her friend. "People who wear knock-offs. Such disrespect to the brand."

"I couldn't agree more. It's like trying hard to belong in the upper-class world where they don't really belong," added the other socialite, and the two laughed as they faced Amelia.

Katherine walked over to the sink and washed her hands. She was just about to say something back to the socialites when she heard Amelia chuckle.

Amelia took the time to dry her hands with a paper towel before smiling at the two women. "What made you think I'm wearing a counterfeit dress?"

The woman in the red dress pointed at the logo on the left side of Amelia's dress and haughtily said, "That logo is from a famous brand, and they don't have that design. I can bet that you're wearing knock-off clothing!"

Katherine laughed as she faced the two women and stood next to Amelia. "How much do you want to bet?"

"What?"

"You're insistent that she's wearing fake. Why don't we bet on it?"

"Ha! You don't even know who I am, and you want to bet with me?"

With a smile on her face, Katherine shrugged, "No, I don't remember irrelevant people." 

"Irrelevant?! She's Vicky Lee!" exclaimed the one in the white dress. "Bîtch, she's Mr. Tyer's woman!"

"Tyer?" Katherine echoed.

"Yes! One of Esmea's famous investors and a board member of Crown Resort Group!"

Oh, how funny the situation is. These socialites didn't even know who they were talking to—one was the mother of the chairman of CRG, who was also a shareholder of the company, while the other was the chairman's fiancée and the heiress of Young Corporation. 

Katherine heard about Mr. Tyer from Damien when the 'scandal' about them broke out, implicating Young Corporation and Crown Resort Group before the project bidding. The board member pissed Damien off when the former was being problematic during the emergency board meeting.

"I see. But Mr. Tyer is a married man, and I know who his wife is. You sure have the guts to admit you're his mistress," said Katherine. Has the world always been like this? These women were so bold.

The woman in the red dress cleared her throat and shrugged off the commentary. "So, how much do you want to bet? I am a hundred percent sure that I am right. Do you want to lose money that much?" Her eyes darted to Katherine's dress and saw the same logo on the left side. "Ha! Even you are wearing a fake one too. You two must be friends." 

"Hmmm…" Katherine looked at her clothes and pouted. "Now that you mentioned it… I guess I might be. But oh well, you can name your price," she responded with an innocent look on her face.

"Twenty thousand dollars!" she blurted.

Amelia hissed and questioned, "Are you sure you are willing to lose that much money?" This was a silly child's game, but since they were already in it, they might as well enjoy the ride. She exchanged looks with Katherine, and they bore knowing smiles that only they understood.

"It's not my money I'm losing. It's yours—after it will be proven to be fake. I have a friend from the main branch who can confirm it." A proud smile cast on her face, seemingly confident about her stance. She held her phone in her hand as if she was about to call someone.

What she didn't know was that it wasn't only money she would be losing today. Oh, Vicky Lee… Don't you feel the urge to flee?