Olive's words came out with a nasal tone, making her emphasis particularly grating. Her eyes were filled with disdain for Julia.
"Oh, so it's a knockoff!" Olive's remark made the other girls understand immediately.
"Wearing a knockoff here is so embarrassing!"
"Yeah, totally! Pretending to be rich!"
Jordyn, who had a keen eye for fashion, kept staring intently at Julia's dress.
"Jordyn, stop looking. No matter how much you stare, it's still a knockoff!" Olive reminded Jordyn, noticing her fixed gaze.
Jordyn shook her head. "But this dress doesn't look like a knockoff. ANGEL's dresses aren't something just any factory can replicate!"
All the girls knew that Jordyn's family owned a fashion company, and her mother was a very famous designer. Jordyn had been attending fashion shows with her mother since she was little. How could she be wrong?
"ANGEL's dresses have a unique feature, a sort of anti-counterfeit mark. On the side of the waist, if you shine a light on it, you can see the ANGEL logo, which is invisible during the day."
By this time, it was already dark, and Julia was standing in a shadowy spot near the hotel entrance to avoid drawing attention.
Jordyn took out her phone and turned on the flashlight, shining it on the side of Julia's waist.
The ANGEL logo appeared instantly.
Everyone was utterly shocked!
It turned out to be true.
She wasn't wearing a knockoff!
No one was more surprised than Olive. She knew Julia the best, knew that she and Grady lived in the shabbiest neighborhood, knew that she spent her entire college life playing minor roles, knew how destitute she was.
But—
She was actually wearing an unreleased new dress from ANGEL!
It was said that this dress was incredibly expensive, costing hundreds of thousands, and it was a limited edition, meaning you couldn't buy it even if you had the money!
Olive had always thought that her own dress, worth tens of thousands, was on par with what some celebrities wore!
But Julia had outdone her.
Olive coughed and immediately put on a disdainful expression. "Julia, you've really outdone yourself. Come on, spill it! Which big shot did you hook up with? I'm telling you! Stop embarrassing the family!"
Julia sneered, "And how is it any of your business which big shot I hooked up with?"
Julia really didn't want to deal with Olive.
Back when she was with Harry, this cousin of hers would follow her around, calling her Julia this and Julia that.
Now that she had broken up with Harry, this cousin immediately turned her back on her, eager to distance herself.
Sucking up to the powerful and stepping on the weak.
Julia had already experienced the Avery Family's grandeur.
After saying her piece, Julia walked in with her invitation, thinking to herself how impressive Royce was. His high-quality imitation clothes could easily pass for the real thing! He had fooled everyone!
She didn't hear the continued conversation outside the door.
"Jordyn, are you sure that outfit isn't a knockoff?"
Jordyn shook her head. "Of course not. With the technology I just showed you, no factory could replicate it. ANGEL's technique is unique; no other company can produce it."
"So, it really is genuine!"
Olive coughed. "Alright, enough. Who knows, maybe she slept with some old guy to get such expensive clothes. Let's go in."
Olive, embarrassed and trying to save face, resorted to slandering Julia with baseless accusations.
The Imperium Grand Hotel was newly decorated.
Flowers were everywhere, and the path to the banquet hall was lined with colorful rose petals on both sides. The banquet hall itself was a sea of flowers.
It was a pink fairy tale world.
Pink beaded bouquets hung from the ceiling, and green vines climbed the walls, blooming with countless pink flowers that even spelled out "I LOVE YOU."
Each table had a bouquet of pink flowers, and even the tablecloths were pink, embroidered with clusters of flowers.
Even the guest towels had changed from white to pink.
"Oh my gosh, this place looks like a fairy tale!"
The girls were naturally captivated by the decor.
"Yeah, I heard Bailey loves pink, so Mr. Edwards turned this place into a pink wonderland!"
"Wow! Mr. Edwards really dotes on Bailey Avery!"
"He's totally a husband who spoils his wife!"
"If this is just the engagement, what will the wedding be like? Oh my gosh, I'm going to faint!"
"I heard Bailey is entering the entertainment industry. She got the second lead in her first show, and she's already set to be the lead in the next one. Plus, with such a great husband, she's totally winning at life!"
"I'm so jealous. Please, God, send me a Mr. Edwards too!"
Listening to these comments and looking at the decorations, Julia couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness.
"Julia, when we get married, I want to decorate the wedding venue like a blue ocean."
"Don't you love blue roses? I'll get you 9,999 blue roses!"
"I shouldn't say more; if I tell you everything, there won't be any surprises left!"
Julia felt a bit flustered.
Not wanting to draw attention to herself, she quickly found her assigned seat. As Bailey's older sister and a member of the bride's family, she naturally had to sit in a place of honor.
Just as Julia was about to sit down, her stepmother, Penelope, immediately yanked her aside.
"Julia Avery! You little brat, how dare you sit here? Are you trying to embarrass us?"
Julia steadied her thoughts. "Please tell me, how exactly am I embarrassing you?"
She knew very well that what worried Penelope and Bailey the most was people finding out about her five-year relationship with Harry Edwards.
"Don't think I don't know! You signed with a company, and it's one that's about to go bankrupt! Our Bailey is nothing like you! Bailey is going to be a big star! Do you really want people to know she has a sister like you?"
Julia had been familiar with Penelope's sharp tongue since she was a child.
"Don't think I don't know what you're up to. You dressed up so nicely today just to try and win Harry back, didn't you? Dream on! Take a good look at yourself; you can't compare to our Bailey in any way!"
"Let me tell you, if anything goes wrong today, I'll skin you alive! Go sit in the back!"
Julia glanced in the direction of her father, Aidan.
Aidan pretended not to see her and looked away.
Ha, very well.
Without another word, Julia found a corner and sat down.
Perfect, she didn't want to sit with them anyway.
Heaven knows, she wanted to distance herself from them even more!
Julia settled in and sent a message to Royce, letting him know she had arrived.
At precisely 8:08, the engagement ceremony began on time.
The ceremony itself was not complicated. It mainly involved the couple exchanging vows and engagement rings, followed by a toast.
Even as the toasts began, Royce was nowhere to be seen.
Julia glanced at the time, deciding it was about time for her to leave.
"Sis!"