After all, countless women were queuing up like her, all for the sake of that remarkably handsome, young, and successful man.
But now, she had lost to Mollie.
She could lose to anyone, anyone but Mollie!
From childhood to adulthood, be it in academics, a privileged lifestyle, or even in attracting the opposite sex, she had never lost to Mollie.
Stefanie, exasperated, reached for the gift bag in her left hand. It contained the red wine she had specially prepared to share a drink and end the evening with Jonathon. Swiftly, she pulled out the cork with her right hand and started to throw the wine on Mollie.
However, before the wine could be spilled, a refreshing coolness brushed against her neck.
Mollie had seized her wrist, causing the entire contents of the bottle to pour on Stefanie, leaving her drenched!
What was most infuriating was that even as she screamed, Mollie only raised an eyebrow and stated, "No need to thank me."
"You!"
The red wine trickled down meticulously styled locks of hair, making Stefanie look thoroughly disheveled. She stomped her foot in frustration, wishing she could tear Mollie to pieces.
At that moment, a tall figure abruptly entered her line of sight.
She immediately reined in her anger and peered at Mollie with a pitiful gaze.
"Mollie, I actually came to help you. You've mentioned your heart belongs to Corey. I'm here to help you remain untouched so you can get engaged to the one you love without a flaw in you. Isn't that a good thing?"
She cast a suggestive glance at Jonathon before murmuring in a coquettish tone, "Mollie, how could you throw wine on me?"
With that, she pretended to lose strength and staggered in Jonathon's direction.
But just in the nick of time, Jonathon deftly sidestepped, pulling Mollie into his arms to shield her from the spilled wine on the floor.
Stefanie ended up falling flat on her face!
Mollie cast a glance at Stefanie sprawled on the floor. She then playfully cuddled up to Jonathon's arms as if there was no one else around.
"Mr. Hudson, please be careful not to get wet. I'd be heartbroken."
She looked like a bewitching and spoiled young wife. Stefanie was completely furious.
"You're quite the actress, Mollie! You burned down the Hudson family's garden because you disliked Mr. Hudson, but now you're starting to show concern for him? Is this what you meant by lowering Mr. Hudson's guard and then taking the opportunity to escape?"
The words "taking the opportunity to escape" momentarily stunned Jonathon.
"Mollie, you're truly ruthless!"
Jonathon had been holding Mollie tightly in his arms. Upon hearing Stefanie's words, he slightly loosened his grip while fixing his gaze intently on Mollie.
He had noticed the recent changes in Mollie over the past two days. Everything felt like a dream.
He had his suspicions that her displays of goodwill and initiative might indeed be, as Stefanie suggested, efforts to run away from him.
Yet, every time such thoughts arose, he forcefully suppressed them, all for the sake of preserving the rare tranquility and warmth they had.
However, Mollie's sister whom she could talk about anything with had exposed Mollie's true plan, laying bare the truths he had kept hidden and refused to confront.
Jonathon felt an unusual sense of unease then.
Mollie remained unusually composed. After squeezing Jonathon's hand, she picked up the in-room phone by the door.
"Hello, there's a rabid dog in Room 1823. Please send someone to handle it."
Handle a rabid dog? Stefanie was so infuriated that her eyes seemed ready to burst into flames. She pointed at Mollie, but she couldn't find the words to respond. Ignoring her entirely, Mollie raised an eyebrow and promptly locked Stefanie out of the hotel room.
As she turned around, she found herself meeting a pair of dark, gloomy eyes. Mollie cleverly held onto Jonathon's neck, flashing a pleasing smile.
"Mr. Hudson, you wouldn't believe that woman but doubt your wife, will you?"
Jonathon pursed his lips, still gazing down at the woman before him.
She referred to herself as "wife."
This greatly pleased him, especially as he watched her blink at him like a fox, so alluring and lively that he wanted to embrace her and sink together.
"To put it bluntly, Corey is like a pile of crap to me now. Now look at you, Mr. Hudson. You are the prodigy among men, and you are superior in every way. You can easily outshine him in every aspect!"
"I like to hear that." Jonathon's lips curled into a smile.
Seeing his demeanor softened, Mollie promptly offered him a sweet kiss.
Heh, it would be a waste not to kiss him now!
Jonathon tightened his grip around her slender waist, pulling her closer into his embrace like an insatiable young beast eagerly savouring the sweetness of his desires.
"Mollie, I'll accept it if you can deceive me like this for the rest of my life."
In the end, she was carried into the bathroom by Jonathon.
When they came out of the bathroom, she coincidentally received a call from her father, Theo Hays, whose vehement roar sounded from the receiver.
"Mollie, get your a*s home immediately!"
Mollie didn't need to think about it to know that it must be Stefanie's doing.
Different situations called for different action, so it seemed. As she hummed a little tune while entering the home, she spotted Theo sitting upright on the living room sofa, alongside Stefanie who had tear stains on her face.
"You despicable girl! You keep bullying your sister! Hurry up and apologise!"
Without waiting for her to change her shoes, Theo began loudly scolding her.
"Dad, I was also at fault in this matter. Things wouldn't have turned out like that if I hadn't interfered and let Mollie handle it on her own. But I was really afraid that Mollie would be taken advantage of. Considering she's a young lady who came from the countryside and hasn't seen much of the world, I was worried she wouldn't be able to handle those men..."