Chapter 144 - Ballad Of A Greedy Maiden

For tonight's party, Bianca put a bit more effort in dressing herself up.

Among the high society, she is well-known to be a peerless beauty with overflowing charms – and that's what she wishes to impress on everyone later on. She had the country's top designers and stylists work on her outfit and makeup for the occasion. Though it's what she does in every other event, her preparations this time are more refined and elaborate.

That's because tonight isn't just any other night. 

"Of course, the Young Miss must be the prettiest of them all since she'll soon be the head of Middleton Corporation," was what her attendants kept telling her the whole time.

Indeed, Bianca will get a hold of the crown.

The controversies surrounding Neil are but a small matter despite the accusations against her. Her succession to the throne will still happen just as planned. Not even Marcellus can go against the whole family's decision – nor what will happen to Winter this evening.. 

Bianca would make sure that tonight was the night she'd end it all. 

'If I go with this, I can finally get all the wealth and fame that I want - in any time I desire at that. Such power is truly incredible...' she mused to herself as she began to make her way to the cruise ship's banquet hall. 

'Poor sissy dear, though~ She will have to give up her own life in exchange.' 

With a graceful and confident stride, she walks down the hall until she eventually reaches the entrance to the balcony that will lead her to the venue of the party. 

She had put on a classy-looking cocktail dress with gold and black as its main color palette. Along with that are her most expensive pearl jewelry and a pair of high-heeled black pumps. Her elegant apparel tonight will surely make her stand out as the fairest - she believes so with her chest puffed out and her chin raised up high.     

'Yes, please. Don't hold it against me. After all, dear sister, you're the one who pushed me to the point of no return.' 

As that thought coos in her head, a conceited smirk graces her face. 

Bianca steps into the balcony, wordlessly announcing her presence to everyone who's already in the banquet hall. Cyrus and Grace had arrived an hour ahead of her. Jacob, on the other hand, would be appearing much later. 

So, for now, she'll have to enjoy all this attention on her own.

At her attention-catching entrance, some of the guests turn their heads in her direction before proceeding to shower her with the kind of attention she enjoys the most. She finds it pleasing and elating to look down on this crowd of prestigious, affluent figures. From that balcony, they all appear like they are smaller than her regardless of how influential and prominent they are. 

'How delightful~'

From that point on, Bianca is on the roll.

She warmly greets everyone she knows there, engages in conversations, gives out pleasant remarks and compliments, entertains questions, and displays a benign facade through it all – a saintly image she has come to be known for. Her social mask is as impenetrable as ever, it seems. Each one of the people she comes across that evening is easily deceived by it.

"Ughhh… When will Jacob come? He's sure taking his time. I've been raring to go to the upper floor with him for a while now," Bianca complained moments later, already getting tired and impatient. 

Right now, she is standing near the entrance of the banquet hall, waiting for her fiancé to arrive. She has been greeting the other visitors and conversing with them as she does so, though all she really wants is to be at the upper floor - at the VIP hub that is located there, to be exact. 

It has a bar and casino that is filled with the richest of rich whose main interests she shares - gambling, drinking, and all sorts of fun. She often calls it as a fancy playground for adults like her.

The things she just wants to do in a place like this are to enjoy the attention that people give her and spend money as much as she wants to. But then, for this evening, in particular, she has to remind herself that there's something more important than the typical. She'll have to carry out her scheme and finish it as soon as possible. That way, she can enjoy herself to the fullest tonight.   

'Now then, is that whore already here? I doubt she's gonna back out after that incident. If anything, she'll definitely use this party to strike back. I'd love to see her try…' Bianca thought, looking around the banquet hall for any sign of Winter. 

'Moving out all of the sudden, huh? Seems fishy to me. What's more, she's been quiet lately. No movement at all. Just what it is she's planning?'

No matter what it is, she is confident that it will not match hers. In fact, she is confident that she will not even be able to set it in motion.

"Oh, hey, look. It's Bianca." 

"Bianca? My, it's nice to see you again."

She snapped out of her thoughts when Lacey and Amanda appeared out of nowhere.

Even though they have acknowledged her presence and even approached her to say their greetings, she could tell that they wanted to be anywhere but there with her. They're fidgeting a little, though they still did a splendid job of hiding it, especially considering that they'd never been good at fooling her. She shot them a displeased and unimpressed look, already aware of what's gotten them on pins and needles.

"Oh, yes, how nice to see you two again…" Bianca greeted impassively, scowling.

"Surprised to find a couple of retards here. Seems like Mr. Lexington's standards for their guests have decreased massively. How concerning."

"Well, I don't know about that…" Lacey muttered, shooting back an exasperated look.

"Winter was the one who gave us an invitation, and Sir Lexington had let her do so."

Her eyes widened in surprise.

With just that single sentence, anyone would have already gotten an idea of how close Winter and Marcellus were.

The Lexington family doesn't associate themselves with just anyone, after all – regardless if they're wealthy or famous, much less invite someone they're not close with to such a special gathering. If the head of the family himself allows an outsider to give out party invitations to others, then that must mean he already considers them as one of them. 

'That shameless bitch…' Bianca wanted to spit out then. 

'Now, you're trying to force yourself in to other people's households? How pathetic. Shows just how desperate you are to find some sort of belongingness.'

She was too absorbed in her thoughts that she failed to notice what Lacey and Amanda caught sight of at that moment.

Suddenly, the banquet hall began to get noisier – almost like there's a spectacle going on. They turned to look at where the rest of the crowd was staring out to. That's when they lay eyes on a certain scene that is taking place at the entrance of the venue. It's a sight they were somehow expecting but were not completely prepared for.

"Oh, how wonderful! That's Winter with Sir Lexington, right?!" Amanda chirped in pleasant surprise.

"They came together? To his uncle's homecoming party even? Isn't that already a confirmation?" Lacey wondered out loud, astonished to see the sight as well.

"Then, Lacey, does this mean?"

"I think it is, Amanda."

"Those two are really in love!" the two of them then blurted out in sync, catching Bianca off guard.

They went on to squeal and giggle among themselves while she stood frozen at the side. It almost took her an ounce of guts to look at where they were gushing on about, and as soon as she saw Winter and Marcellus descending the staircase side by side, something in her seemed to snap – something dangerous. She could see how happy they were together, and she could hear people saying how perfect they looked together. As much as she doesn't want to admit it, Lacey and Amanda are right – they do look in love with each other.

And it maddened Bianca.

This is exactly what she's preventing to happen. This is what that whole mess with Neil should be for. This is what she talked about with Jacob before.

'That girl doesn't deserve happiness!' was what Bianca thought.

Yet, to her dismay, it didn't stop with Winter and Marcellus arriving together.

When he announced to everyone in the banquet hall that they're officially dating, she almost lost it, but when she revealed that she was actually Wynonna Snow all along, she felt like going there and dragging her all the way back down from her high. For that entire moment, she could feel a storm brewing in her – cold rage rushing throughout her.

Menace spills through Bianca's hardened expression, but before anyone can see it, Jacob has finally made his appearance and pulled her back to reality.

"Get a grip, Bianca."