However, a moment later, a trace of confusion flickered in his eyes. He clearly remembered seeing specks of red blood on the hotel bedsheets.
Sean Carter watched Damien Valerius's reaction and thought to himself, 'The Valerius Family will probably call off the engagement with the Sterling Family now. After all, with her reputation, that Sterling girl is completely unworthy of my boss, Damien Valerius.'
Just when everyone assumed that Sharon Dalton would once again be the one accompanying Mrs. Sterling and helping to greet the guests today, Sharon herself appeared, entering alone through a side door. She was dressed in a high-end custom gown, her expression somewhat crestfallen.
Seeing Sharon Dalton enter by herself through a side door, rather than following Mrs. Sterling through the main entrance, people couldn't help but wonder why she wasn't by the matriarch's side today.
The young ladies who had just been chattering about Aurora Sterling immediately surrounded Sharon Dalton. In the past, Sharon had always been at Mrs. Sterling's side, greeting these socialites with the air of a hostess. Although Sharon wasn't a true-born lady of the Sterling Family, being by Mrs. Sterling's side afforded her a certain elevated status.
"Miss Dalton, why did you come by yourself today? Aren't you supposed to be with Mrs. Sterling?" Miss Miller was the first to ask.
Sharon Dalton's expression stiffened. She knew she would be asked about this. She hadn't even wanted to come, especially since she was still shocked that Aurora Sterling was alive. Her first impulse was to go home and ask her mother what was going on, but she couldn't accept it. 'I refuse to believe Aurora has changed for the better,' she thought. 'I have to witness her make a fool of herself in front of everyone. I'll make Mrs. Sterling see that I'm the best.'
"I don't need to be by Grandma's side today. Aurora is back," Sharon Dalton said with a smile.
What? Aurora Sterling was back!
"So, you're saying that ill-mannered woman, Aurora, is attending today?" Miss White asked, her eyes dripping with scorn.
Sharon Dalton observed the women's reactions to the news, feeling immensely satisfied. 'Aurora's awful reputation is deeply ingrained in everyone's minds,' she gloated inwardly. 'The thought of her trying to salvage her image with a single luncheon is simply impossible!'
"Miss White, you shouldn't say that," Sharon Dalton said with false sincerity. "After all, Aurora is Grandma's biological granddaughter, the true lady of the Sterling family. At the end of the day, I'm just an outsider. It was my honor to be able to do a few things for the Sterlings and Grandma before. I'm sure Aurora will take good care of everyone, too."
Evidently, however, Sharon Dalton's sanctimonious words did not win over the socialites present.
"Someone like Aurora? What has she ever done besides disgrace the Sterling Family? I've got to admire her, though—she actually has the nerve to come here and make a fool of herself," Miss White said, laying the sarcasm on thick.
The other young ladies also wore scornful expressions. In their eyes, Aurora Sterling was no different from a streetwalker caked in gaudy makeup.
Before long, news that Aurora Sterling would be accompanying Mrs. Sterling today had spread throughout the banquet hall.
Just then, attendants opened the main doors to the banquet hall, and Mrs. Sterling walked in, surrounded by a small entourage and positively beaming.
Since they knew Aurora was supposed to be coming, the guests in the banquet hall craned their necks to look at the people around Mrs. Sterling. They saw the Sterling family's butler and maids, and next to her, a girl in a small pink dress who looked like a doll, but there was no sign of Aurora.
Miss White's brow furrowed as she looked at Sharon Dalton. "I thought you said Aurora was coming. Where is she?"