Chapter 32: Is she Qualified

However, no one on the first floor knew that Stuart was sitting in the open-air café on the second floor. His gaze was focused on the red figure all the way. He witnessed what had happened from the very beginning without a tiny mistake.

Todd sipped his coffee and tried to poke into more details. "Stuart, Miss Greg, is your fiancée from the family that has been chosen for you? Wow, she's wildly arrogant."

Stuart's eyes became cold. "Is she qualified?"

"Right, she's not qualified, but why do you keep watching. The show is almost over." Todd laughed. Stuart ignored his teasing and gently waved backward. Mr. Bates quickly stepped forward and bent over to put his ears close enough to hear. Stuart whispered, Mr. Bates, continually nodded and then left in a hurry.

Todd's curiosity was stirred and asked in interest. "Hey, are you going to get involved?" Stuart took a sip of coffee and gave an affirmative answer. His gaze never left Edie for not even a moment.

Edie finally decided to give up. She took a deep breath. "You can have it, and I'll take it off."

"Don't, Edie, I'll buy it for you." Seeing she was going to throw in the towel, Melissa became anxious. At that moment, an old man with a suit came in. "Please pack up all the sizes of this dress for Miss Lara." His words attracted everyone's attention.

"Mr. Bates?" Edie was surprised. Why is he here? If he was here, was Stuart nearby? She couldn't help but look around, but she didn't find Stuart. Mr. Bates respectfully performed a British aristocratic etiquette to Edie. "Miss Lara is thrifty and is always unwilling to spend money. The master has told me to buy all the things you are interested in."

The clerk doubted if she understood it right. "Sir, you mean all the sizes? There are ten in total…"

"Yes, all of them." When Mr. Bates spoke to others, he was like a standard British gentleman.

"Don't; why do you need to buy all of them?"

"Miss Lara, the master told me that he doesn't want some other vulgar women to wear the same clothes as you. If you like one, we'll buy all the sizes."

Victoria was shocked. As the daughter of Greg's, couldn't she be luxurious? Who's the master? Did Edie find a sugar dad recently? Of course, it was not impossible. Edie was in the entertainment world, a place where women found it hard to survive without some sure backstage drama.

The clerk picked up the dresses and handed them over to Mr. Bates with a big smile. Mr. Bates paid the bill and inquired Edie with full respect. "Miss Lara, would you like to go shopping? I'll pay for everything." Edie had not gotten used to the British-style etiquette. She felt a little bit uneasy. She wanted to know what was going on, but she knew that it was not the right time, so she just nodded and quickly walked out.

Just as she was about to leave, a sharp voice came from behind her. "Edie, shame on you! You became someone's mistress." Edie didn't expect Victoria would say such a vicious word. "Victoria, what did you say?"

"Well, obviously, you have found a sugar daddy, haven't you? Surely you are the daughter of your mother. She used to be the mistress of many men before she died. You've continued her career. Now, you are still…"

Edie couldn't bare Victoria insulting her mother. She slapped her hard on her face. Victoria was shocked. She widened her eyes and looked at Edie with a pair of unbelievable eyes. "Edie, you hit me? Who are you? How dare you hit me!"

Mrs. Greg, who looked on indifferently, instantly blew up. She huddled over her beloved daughter and glared at Edie. "Edie, you've become more and more uncultured since you left our home many years ago."

How hypocritical she was. You were looking at the disgusting mother and daughter. Edie felt sick to her stomach. "I shall overlook your insult on me because of your fostering. It was not good enough that I survived. You are not qualified to judge my mother. The slap was just a lesson you should learn. Next time, it will be worse."

Victoria was angered entirely by Edie's arrogance. She rushed to fight back, regardless of her identity. Unfortunately, her hand was firmly grasped by Mr. Bates in the air. "Miss Greg, if you can't control your words and deeds, then the Mall will not welcome you." Mr. Bates was neither humble nor pushy, standing straight with dignity, which correctly shows the etiquette from the real Nobel families.

"Who are you then? How dare you to drive me away? I'm rich. I can go anywhere I want." Victoria shouted back.

"I'm sorry, the Mall belongs to my master. If you don't go now, you and your family will be blacklisted from the Mall." Mr. Bates was quite calm, which made Victoria looked embarrassed.

Victoria couldn't believe that Edie could have found such strong backing. She didn't dare to go on anymore. She was not afraid of being blacklisted because she cared about her family's reputation. But if she leaves, she would become the laughing stock of the city.

Edie saw that Victoria finally calmed down, she pulled Melissa's arm and walked out. Mr. Bates followed them. "Edie, you are a mistress. You've ruined the reputation of Greg's. I'll tell dad. I'll tell him all about it. You will see." Victoria screamed from behind with a terrible expression, and her gorgeous make-up looks awkward.

Edie sneered. "Miss Greg, my surname is Lara, and yours is Greg, how could I ruin Greg's reputation? If there is someone that could possibly ruin it, it must be you."

Victoria's Dad? Edie really wanted him to be a real father, but he was nothing like a dad. Victoria was enraged, but she could only repeat "you will see" helplessly.

Edie finally heaved a sigh of relief after they walked outside the Mall. She turned over to Mr. Bates. "I don't know how I can possibly thank you enough, Mr. Bates."

"Mrs. Yates, it was within my duty." Edie hesitated and asked, "but how did you know this time?"

"Mrs. Yates, Mr. Yates, and his friend were having coffee nearby. He happened to witness what happened. So, he asked me to deal with it." Stuart was really nearby. He saw it, he didn't look down on her but reached out a hand to rescue her.

"Mrs. Yates, would you like to go shopping? Mr. Yates asked me to escort you the whole way."

Edie shook her head. "No, you can go back to Stuart. I'll hang out with my friend for a while and then come back… Um, tell Mr. Yates, thanks for his help."

"You can tell him personally tonight, and Mr. Yates will be so happy." Mr. Bates replied with a gentle smile, and then he left.