Chapter 2 Three Years of Deception

Ethan instinctively pushed away the woman clinging to him. Lila's face stiffened.

"A customer ordered custom clothes and specifically asked for me to come. I wonder who made the call?" Tessa ignored Ethan's question and scanned the room.

A girl stepped forward. "I called you. Today Ethan's first love, Ms. Johnson, returned to Majestic City. I didn't know what gift to give her, but I heard you're quite skilled, so I thought I'd let you have a try."

The girl was Willow Brown, Lila's sidekick.

"It's your honor to serve Ms. Johnson, so you'd better do a good job." She patted Tessa's shoulder. "I know you and Ethan are acquainted, that's why I'm giving you this opportunity. But don't try to fool us just because you know Ethan. Lila is Ethan's true love. If nothing else, if you mess this up, Ethan will be the first one who won't let you off."

She smiled at Ethan. "Right, Ethan?"

Ethan gave Willow a cold look, his eyes warning her to shut up.

Willow felt indignant and stood beside Lila, muttering complaints.

"Hello, you must be Ms. Garcia, right? I'm Lila. I really enjoyed your oatmeal yesterday, thank you." She took the initiative to greet her. "I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you again in the future."

"As for the clothes, I trust your craftsmanship. I've loved all the clothes Ethan brought me every time he visited me abroad. Don't listen to Willow's nonsense."

So all those latest designs Ethan had taken from her before, claiming they were for clients, were actually to please Lila.

Tessa felt a tightness in her chest.

Three years of dating, three years of being deceived. Her sincere love had only brought her lies in return.

It would be a lie to say it didn't hurt.

She disguised herself well, forcing a smile. "It's my greatest honor to have customers like my work."

Lila wasn't satisfied with Tessa's reaction. She smiled sweetly. "Of course I like them. And our connection doesn't end there. Haven't you noticed? The two of us look quite alike."

As soon as she said this, Ethan's expression suddenly changed.

Tessa's gaze swept over Ethan and finally returned to Lila, her eyes crinkling with a smile. "Not really. I'm much prettier than you."

Everyone gossiping froze.

These people were all friends of Ethan and Lila, and naturally knew of Tessa's existence. In their impression, Tessa was just a docile and obedient substitute. They never imagined she would say something like this today.

The atmosphere instantly became awkward.

"Enough. You want to order custom clothes, right? Tessa has your measurements on file, no need to measure again. As for the style, you can communicate online. Today is Lila's welcome party, everyone go do what you're supposed to do!"

Ethan spoke up, making it more than obvious he wanted Tessa to leave.

But someone wouldn't let Tessa off.

"Look at Ethan! He must be so close to Lila to know her measurements haven't changed. Can we start looking forward to your baby? Come on, everyone, let's have a drink to celebrate the early arrival of your child!" Evan couldn't stand seeing Tessa bully Lila, so he deliberately twisted the knife in Tessa's heart. "Ms. Garcia, would you like to join us for a drink?"

"Sure."

Tessa picked up a glass of red wine and looked toward Ethan and Lila. "Congratulations on having a child soon."

Everyone froze again, but Ethan's face visibly darkened.

"Wow! Ms. Garcia is the most self-aware woman I've ever met. Or are you saying Ethan isn't your only man? I get it. Gold diggers like you are all the same—out with the old, in with the new. If you can't get what you want from this man, just move on to the next one. You have no real feelings anyway, and you're never short of men."

As soon as Willow said this, the surroundings fell silent.

Their hostile gazes all fell on Tessa.

Especially Evan.

He looked down on Tessa, but also lusted after her beauty and figure. He had long been thinking that if Ethan dumped Tessa, he wouldn't mind having some fun with her.

"If you can behave, stay. If not, get lost." Ethan's face was dark.

He was scolding Willow, but his eyes were on Tessa. "Why haven't you left yet?"

Tessa looked at him coolly. "You haven't paid the deposit yet."

Ethan transferred the money with a dark expression.

Tessa watched the money arrive in her account on her phone and adopted a strictly professional attitude. "Mr. Robinson, you've ordered quite a few custom clothes from me before, with many different measurements. Which measurements should I use?"

Her face was innocent and pure.

Lila looked at Ethan in disbelief, her eyes full of hurt. "Besides me, who else have you ordered custom clothes for?"

"Quite a few." Tessa said coolly, taking out her work phone and pulling up the chat history. "Let me count for you. 1, 2, 3, 4..."

"Tessa, that's enough!"

Ethan interrupted her with a dark face, but unexpectedly, the noble and proud Lila also shouted, her voice choked with tears. "You're the one who's had enough! You lied to me. I might as well drink myself to death!"

Lila acted rashly, picking up glass after glass of wine.

Ethan looked at Tessa angrily. "Are you satisfied now? Leave right now!"

As he ordered her out, he went to stop Lila. "Stop drinking!" He held Lila and shouted, "Try drinking one more glass! Don't you know you have a stomach condition? Stop this nonsense!"

The crowd started teasing. "Too sweet! Way too much sugar!"

Stomach condition?

Tessa's heart ached sharply, but the feeling quickly passed.

She watched this farce with cold eyes, a mocking smile playing at her lips.

One insisted on drinking, the other tried to stop her.

Lila lost her balance and fell into Ethan's arms. Ethan held her tight. "Punishing me by hurting yourself—are you stupid? Those were all clients. Why won't you listen to my explanation!"

Lila's eyes were full of hurt, tears hanging in her eyes, about to fall but not quite. "I am stupid, but does that matter to you?"

Her sobbing voice carried a hint of coquettishness.

"What do you think!" Ethan picked up Lila and walked away.

As he passed by Tessa, their eyes met. He opened his mouth to say something, but unexpectedly met Tessa's icy gaze.

Her heart trembled hard.