Neil Walker, the CEO of International Fashion, came from an extraordinary family background.
With his perfect physique, handsome looks, and natural charisma, how could a woman like Anna, who already had children and was raising two, ever be worthy of him?
"Yeah, the press conference is in two hours. Just come straight over," Anna said quietly into the phone.
"Alright, I just landed. It'll take about an hour and a half to get there from the airport, so I'll make it in time. See you at the venue," Neil replied.
Anna hung up, a hint of helplessness flickering in her eyes. He was always so accommodating toward her, but unfortunately…
By the time she left her house, it was nearly noon.
She drove to the press conference venue. Even though it hadn't started yet, the lobby was already packed with reporters.
This press conference wasn't just for the fashion companies in Ocean City. Almost all the notable ones from across the country had come.
International Fashion was a major brand, and even if they couldn't secure a collaboration, networking alone was a valuable opportunity.
Anna didn't linger in the lobby for long. She turned a corner and went backstage.
With over twenty minutes left before the conference began, she still needed to prepare.
As soon as she sat down, her phone buzzed with several messages.
Ruby: Miss Marie, I waited for you at the coffee shop yesterday, but you seemed too busy.
Ruby: Miss Marie, can we talk before today's press conference?
Anna glanced down at her phone, a cold smile tugging at her lips. Her fingers tapped lightly across the screen as she typed a simple reply:
No need.
Just as she looked up, a sharp voice pierced the air.
"Anna, you actually dared to show up!"
Anna raised her eyes and saw Tina strutting over in a tight black mini dress with a slit that nearly reached her hip.
Her voluminous curls spilled over her shoulders, and her face was so heavily made up it looked like she was auditioning for some reality show.
Anna ignored her, turning her head as if she hadn't heard a word.
But Tina wasn't about to let it slide.
Clicking her high heels loudly across the floor, she stopped in front of Anna, her voice full of arrogance.
"Anna, what are you doing here? Aren't you embarrassed?"
Her voice was so loud that people backstage all turned to look at them.
Seeing the attention, Tina's smile grew wider. She lifted her chin proudly and said, "Today is the launch event for International Fashion's chief designer. What are you doing backstage? Don't tell me you think you're the chief designer?"
Anna looked at Tina's arrogant figure and chuckled softly. She didn't bother answering.
Tina, annoyed by Anna's calm demeanor, felt like she was being treated as a joke. Grinding her teeth, she pressed on.
"Anna, stop pretending to be Miss Marie. You're ruining her reputation!"
Anna lifted her head, her dark eyes sparkling with amusement as she said firmly, "I am Marie."
Tina burst out laughing, as if she had just heard the funniest joke in the world. Her face twisted with mockery as she sneered,
"Anna, what right do you have to pretend to be Miss Marie? Marie is International Fashion's chief designer, worth millions. And you? What do you have? Oh, right, a stillborn child! Aren't you afraid of being laughed at?"
Anna's eyes turned icy as she looked up, her gaze cutting straight through Tina.
With a calm and steady voice, she said, "No surprise. The daughter of a mistress, with no manners, acting like a shrew in public."
Tina's face darkened instantly. It was true her mother had married George Ives after being the other woman, but that was years ago.
Now that she was the soon-to-be daughter-in-law of the Luke family, no one dared to bring it up, until Anna threw it in her face.
Grinding her teeth, Tina snapped, "Anna, this is Marie's launch event! Don't you have any sense of shame?"
Anna ignored her, her calm and collected demeanor only making Tina's fiery temper burn hotter.
"What's going on here? Seems lively," a man's voice cut in just as Tina was about to explode.
Zach, dressed in a sharp black suit, looked respectable despite the frivolous smile playing at his lips.
The moment she saw Zach, Tina quickly masked her fury.
Crossing her arms, she pointed coldly at Anna. "Mr. White, I heard from my Father that you're getting engaged to my sister tomorrow. She's supposed to be your fiancée, yet here she is, claiming to be Marie at the launch event."
Zach's face immediately darkened. His marriage to Anna had only been arranged to silence the rumors after that incident three months ago.
The White family's stocks had crashed, investors had pulled out, and to calm the chaos, he'd been forced to go along with the engagement.
If it hadn't been for that, he never would've agreed to marry someone like Anna, a woman he saw as secondhand goods.
Now, with the engagement set for tomorrow and the marriage certificate soon after, she was here pretending to be Marie?
If the international fashion world discovered this, the White family could forget about ever collaborating with them again.
Thinking of that, Zach's expression grew darker, his eyes filled with open disgust.
With a cold voice, he fixed his gaze on Anna and said, "Stop embarrassing yourself here. Go home!"
Anna frowned slightly.
She really didn't want to waste time on him, so she answered with calm indifference, "My affairs are none of your business."
Zach's temper flared. He strode up to her, glaring fiercely. If they hadn't been backstage with people around, he might have already exploded.
"I'm warning you, if you want to be the White family's daughter-in-law, you'd better behave! Pretending to be International Fashion's chief designer, do you think they'll just let you off? Anna, stop chasing vanity! Don't make things worse for yourself!"
But Anna wasn't shaken by his threats. She let out a cold laugh, met his eyes directly, and said clearly, "I am International Fashion's chief designer, Marie."
The words had barely left her lips when Zach laughed mockingly.
Narrowing his eyes, he looked her up and down before sneering, "What guts. You? Pretending to be International Fashion's chief designer? If you're really Marie, then show us the proof."
Tina quickly jumped in, her smile sharp and cold. "Yeah, sis, talk is cheap. If you're really Marie, then show the evidence. Otherwise, pretending to be the chief designer not only shames the Ives family, but if International Fashion gets angry with the Whites, can you afford that price?"