[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":10},["ShallowReactive",2],{"viewer-data-2603222E6F78-132":3},{"id":4,"number":5,"name":6,"content":7,"isLocked":8,"price":9,"hasRead":8},132,34,"Chapter 34: The Mistress Demands My Dress","\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Watching the banter between the siblings, Rose Harrison couldn't help but chuckle. \"Alright, alright, Lily. You’ve got the best eye for fashion, and Kellen is obviously the best guy around.\" She laughed, clutching her shopping bags.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Hmph! Rose, I can tell you’re not saying it from the heart. I don’t believe you,\" Lily teased, pretending to be offended.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"What’s this? My little Lily?\" Kellen strolled in with a warm smile. \"Did I miss a good show?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Kellen, you're finally here! Both my brother and Rose are picking on me.\" Seeing him, Lily instantly switched into 'sweet girlfriend' mode, leaning in to pout and complain.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Alright, alright! I know how you are—always looking for a laugh.\" Kellen lightly tapped Lily’s nose, doting on her.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">But the mood shattered as two uninvited guests stepped into the boutique.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Well, well. What have we here?\" Delilah Kelly sauntered in, her hand firmly gripped around Maximus Anderson’s arm.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Who are they?\" Lily asked, her playful expression vanishing. She narrowed her eyes, instinctively sensing trouble.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Rose froze. She hadn't told Lily or Caspian about her marriage to Maximus. The only reason Caspian even suspected anything was because he’d caught a glimpse of them during that disastrous confession incident a while back.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Caspian’s gaze sharpened. He remembered them. So, one was Rose’s husband, but who was the other woman? Why was she standing so brazenly at his side? And why had Rose never mentioned either of them?\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Delilah, what are you doing here?\" Rose asked, her voice icy.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Oh, Rose, don't act like you own the mall. I can be wherever I want. By the way, that dress you’re holding? I saw it first. Take it off and give it to me,\" Delilah said, her tone dripping with disdain.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Who do you think you are? Why should she give it to you?\" Lily snapped. She was a firecracker, always ready to explode at the slightest provocation.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Why? Because this entire mall belongs to the Anderson Group. I want a dress here, so I’m getting it.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">This was an Anderson Group mall? A bitter ache settled in Rose’s chest. As the legal wife, she hadn't even known, yet here was Delilah, bold enough to strip the clothes off her back in public.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Mr. Anderson, is this how your company does business? Sending people to mug customers for their clothes?\" Caspian stepped in front of Rose, his voice cold enough to freeze the air.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Max, honey, I’ve been asking for this dress for ages. I came here specifically to get it today,\" Delilah whined, tugging on Maximus’s sleeve.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">It was true; Delilah had been nagging him for weeks until he finally caved and brought her here. But as he looked at Rose, he felt a flicker of hesitation. She looked like an ethereal fairy in that dress—breathtaking.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Delilah, let’s go look at something else,\" Maximus said, trying to steer her away.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Yeah, lady, you don't even have the class to pull off a dress like this. Pick something else,\" Lily retorted.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"No, I want this one!\" Delilah stared Maximus down, daring him to defy her. This wasn't about the dress; it was about her position in his life. She wouldn't yield.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Rose, it’s just a dress. Is it really worth this much drama?\" Maximus turned his gaze toward Rose, attempting to leverage her into backing down.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Rose let out a hollow, bitter laugh. She knew it. She would always lose to Delilah.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Delilah, isn't having Maximus enough for you? Why do you have to come over here and fight me for a dress, too?\" Rose’s voice trembled with heartbreak.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Rose!\" Caspian heard the agony in her voice and moved closer, his face twisted in protective fury.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"I’ll take it off,\" Rose whispered. Ignoring the stares of the onlookers, she turned and walked straight toward the fitting room, leaving the tension thick and suffocating in the air behind her.\u003C/p>",false,0,1774272922445]