Chapter 73

Susanna stepped into the corridor with a face thatshowed clear irritation.

"Take it!"she barked,shoving the bank draft towardMarissa as if it were something filthy she couldn'tstand to hold.

Marissa stood there,unbothered,which only madeSusanna's fury burn hotter.Worried Phil might hearand scold her,Susanna quickly covered the receiverwith her hand,leaning in closer to hiss,"You'd bettertake the card and disappear!Don't think that justbecause my husband still shows you a bit ofkindness,you can use that to crawl back into theFletcher family.As long as I'm around,that will neverhappen."

Marissa glanced at her,but she said nothing.WhenSusanna raised her hand again,Marissa sidestepped effortlessly, and the bank card slipped from Susanna's fingers, landing on the floor with a soft clink.

"You dare refuse me?" Susanna snarled, her face contorted with fury.

She hadn't imagined Marissa would be this defiant,standing there in silence no matter what she threw at her.

Ending her call with Phil in a huff, she stormed toward Marissa. "Why are you still pestering us?" she shouted. "Our family owes you nothing! You've already found your real parents, so why can't you just stay with them? Why do you keep haunting us like this?"

Marissa, dressed elegantly in heels, didn't move an inch as Susanna tried to shoulder into her.

"Let me tell you something-Phil's affection won't get you back into this family! You'd better leave Ozreka now before I stop being nice!" "Then do it," Marissa replied flatly, her tone unbothered as she leaned lazily against the wall,glancing down at the fuming woman barely reaching her shoulder.

Susanna's phone started ringing again, the sound grating in her ears. "Who keeps calling me?" she snapped and rejected the call in frustration, too irritated to even glance at the screen.

"Just you wait!" she seethed, taking a few steps toward Marissa, only to stop short when she caught the chill in Marissa's eyes.

Flustered, Susanna quickly looked away and muttered under her breath, "You won't be staying here for long."

Pulling out her phone again, she called the Fletcher family's bodyguards.

"Get two people up to the second floor," she ordered, lifting her chin high as she shot Marissa a smug look, already picturing her being dragged out.But her triumphant look quickly faItered when she heard the response on the other end.

"What do you mean you're not allowed in? Are all bodyguards being stoppoed, or is it just ours?"

The Fletcher family's security had been stopped at the entrance of the makeup studio.

The call was filled with noise and overlapping voices,and unable to make sense of any of it, Susanna ended the call in frustration, her face dark with annoyance.

"Is anyone around?" she yelled, hoping someone would step in and kick Marissa out.

But luck wasn't on her side. The dressing room was packed with stylists and assistants rushing about, all too busy to pay attention to her tantrum.

The few who noticed from a distance quickly ducked out of sight, wanting no part in the drama.

After all, everyone here was either rich or connected,and the last thing they wanted was to meddle in someone else's dispute.A couple of them, however, recognized Marissa.They'd seen her arrive earier with Marc and quietly slipped away to inform their superior.

Evelina glanced around nervously, feeling a little embarrassed for Susanna but also relieved no one had come by.

"Listen, you'd better leave before | completely lose my temper!" Susanna barked, slamming the phone down and strutting as if she owned the world.

She was convinced Marissa had somehow sneaked in under the guise of the Fletcher family's daughter,and the idea made her bristle with contempt.

Marissa let out a humorless laugh.

At last, she saw Susanna for what she truly was-hypocritical, shameless, and inflated with self-importance.

Any prior respect she had for Susanna evaporated completely.

"You don't believe I'm serious?" Susanna's eyes locked onto Marissa's, a flicker of destructive malice in them as she noted the uncanny resemblance between Marissa and Phil's first love.

"Take that makeup off!" Susanna demanded,asserting the control she assumed she had over Marissa.

Marissa rarely used makeup. Years of Susanna's constant scolding had made going bare-faced second nature.

She had never questioned it until now.

"Why should I listen to you?" Marissa's gaze fell on Susanna again,disdain in her eyes.

Things had deteriorated so much that Susanna still expected her to obey, hoping to mold her into a perfect puppet.

Susanna, momentarily at a loss, replaced her anger with a sarcastic grin. "Now that you've caught the eye of a wealthy man, you think you can defy me?"

She fumed, her mind spinning. She couldn't fathom how Marissa could change so much. Surely that woman must have hooked some powerful man with her looks and charm.

Marissa would never have dared to talk to her like this before!

Marissa didn't bother denying it. "Well, being young and attractive, it's only natural that I catch the attention of certain men," she said coolly. Her gaze slid over Susanna and Evelina with a hint of mockery."As for you two... you're simply not capable."