At that moment, without wasting another second, Cora looked directly at Penelope and spoke with calm determination.
"I'm not interested," she said, her voice steady and clear. "The thing is, I actually have something very, very important that I'll be doing that day. I would have loved to come, I really would have, but I'm very sorry - I don't want to collect an invitation card and then end up disappointing you on the same day by not showing up."
At that moment, hearing what Cora just said, Penelope's jaw immediately tightened like someone had just slapped her across the face. Even though she tried to quickly mask her reaction, the anger was written all over her features. She was absolutely furious because she knew that Cora had just completely rejected her so-called generous offer, the invitation that she had presented like it was some kind of golden ticket.
Penelope's eyes flashed with irritation, and when she spoke again, her voice had lost all that fake sweetness from before.
