Chapter 5

When Dorene refused to take the glass, Dolly placed the champagne flute down on the marble bar with a soft clink. Without warning, Dolly reached out with both hands and grabbed Dorene's bare wrists, leaning in as if going for an intimate, friendly hug.

The moment Dolly's skin touched hers, Dorene felt like she had been bitten by a snake. Her body reacted on pure instinct. She tried to step back, but Dolly's perfectly manicured nails dug viciously into the soft flesh of Dorene's wrists, holding her in place.

Using the momentum of the fake hug, Dolly pressed her lips right next to Dorene's ear.

"Did you see the way he looked at me?" Dolly whispered. Her voice was no longer sweet; it was a venomous, grating hiss. "You are never getting him back. He's mine."

The sheer malice in those words acted like a match dropped into a pool of gasoline. The anger Dorene had been suppressing all night exploded. Her eyes narrowed into deadly slits, and she violently shoved Dolly's hands away from her body.

It was just a sharp, defensive push to free herself. The physical force was entirely directed at Dolly's wrists, not her torso.

But the second Dorene's hands broke free, Dolly let out a blood-curdling, theatrical shriek. She threw her arms up in the air and hurled her entire body backward, as if she had been shoved by a linebacker.

Dolly's back slammed brutally into a tall cocktail table positioned right behind her. The table was stacked high with a massive pyramid of crystal champagne glasses.

The impact tipped the table. The entire glass tower came crashing down.

The deafening sound of hundreds of glasses shattering against the marble floor ripped through the ballroom. The string quartet stopped playing instantly. The lively chatter died in a second. Hundreds of eyes snapped toward the bar.

Dolly collapsed onto the floor, surrounded by a sea of broken glass and spilled champagne. She curled into a tight ball, her hands clutching her lower stomach in a death grip. All the color drained from her face, and fat, heavy tears began pouring down her cheeks.

Kadyn, who had been standing a few feet away, froze in shock. When he saw Dolly writhing on the floor, his pupils dilated in absolute horror.

"Dolly!" Kadyn screamed. He sprinted forward, dropping to his knees right into the broken glass, ignoring the shards cutting into his suit pants.

He carefully gathered Dolly's shaking body into his arms, his hands hovering over her as if afraid to break her further. "Are you okay? Where does it hurt?" his voice trembled with panic.

Dolly leaned her head weakly against Kadyn's chest. She let out a pathetic, breathless sob. She looked up at Kadyn, then cast a terrified, trembling glance at Dorene. "Kadyn... my stomach... it hurts so much... our baby..."

The word baby dropped like a bomb in the silent ballroom.

A collective gasp echoed through the crowd. The whispers started immediately, loud and vicious. The eyes staring at Dorene shifted from curious to absolute, condemning hatred.

Dorene stood frozen. Her arms were still slightly raised from where she had pulled away. Her brain completely short-circuited. She stared down at the woman on the floor, unable to comprehend the flawless, evil acting she was witnessing.

Vivian was the first to snap out of it. Her face turned purple with rage. She pointed a shaking finger at Dolly. "You lying bitch! You threw yourself backward! Nobody pushed you!"

Kadyn's head snapped up. His eyes were bloodshot, burning with a violent, irrational rage. He glared at Dorene as if she were a convicted murderer. He completely ignored Vivian's shouting.

He pulled Dolly tighter against his chest and pointed a shaking finger right at Dorene's face.

"Dorene Hale!" Kadyn roared, his voice echoing off the high ceilings. "If you have a problem, you come at me! Why the hell would you hurt Dolly and an innocent child? !"

The accusation hung in the air, cementing Dorene's guilt in the eyes of everyone present. She was officially the jealous, psychotic ex-girlfriend who tried to kill a pregnant woman.

All the blood rushed out of Dorene's face. Her fingertips went ice cold. She took one step forward, her voice shaking with a mix of fury and profound betrayal. "I didn't push her, Kadyn. Are you not even going to ask me what happened?"

"Shut up!" Kadyn cut her off ruthlessly. Disgust dripped from every word he spoke. "I saw you violently shove her with my own eyes! Save your pathetic lies!"

The crowd's whispers grew louder. How vicious. No class. She belongs in jail. Every word felt like a physical blow to Dorene's ribs.

Dolly let out another agonizing moan, her fingers twisting into Kadyn's shirt collar. "Kadyn, please... don't yell at her," she cried softly. "She's just upset... she didn't mean it..."

The ultimate display of fake forgiveness. It worked perfectly. Kadyn's protective instincts flared to a dangerous level, and the crowd's hatred for Dorene peaked.

Kadyn scooped Dolly up into his arms. He glared down at Dorene with absolute zero warmth. "If anything happens to Dolly or my child, I swear to God, I will destroy the Hale family."

Dorene stared at the man she had loved for seven years. She watched him use another woman's lie to nail her to a cross without a second of hesitation. It felt like a giant, invisible hand had reached into her chest and crushed her heart into powder.

Vivian lost her mind. She lunged forward, ready to physically rip Dolly's hair out, but Dorene grabbed Vivian's arm and held her back with surprising strength.

Dorene didn't shed a single tear. She kept her spine straight, but the light in her eyes completely died.

She looked past Kadyn's furious face and locked eyes with Dolly, who was resting her head on Kadyn's shoulder.

Right in Kadyn's blind spot, Dolly's tears stopped. The corners of her mouth twitched upward into a slow, victorious, mocking smile. She looked straight into Dorene's eyes, claiming her absolute victory.

In that instant, Doreen understood everything. This wasn't an accident; she had done it on purpose. And the man she loved so deeply had willingly handed the axe to Doreen.

Hotel security rushed in. Kadyn carried Dolly away toward the VIP lounge, leaving Dorene standing alone in a sea of shattered glass and hundreds of despising eyes. She was completely, utterly isolated.