STIGMA

A myriad of luxurious cars weaved in through the hotel gates as seamlessly as a shuffled deck of cards. A dazzling array of celebrities, socialites and those among the most powerful and influential people of A City had gathered here today to celebrate and honor the prestigious 30th anniversary of Soaring Group.

Soon after, a Volkswagen Phaeton, with a sleek metallic paint finish, stopped at the hotel driveway and the bellhop stepped forward to open the door.

Melinda Mo sprang out of the car, clearly in a hurry to go somewhere. In fact, Melinda Mo was rushing to get to a banquet that she almost missed, not because it was her own fault but because she didn't receive the invitation until much later.

"Where is Jonas?" she asked anxiously.

"Mr. Gu is already here. He is in the banquet hall right now."

Gently lifting the hemline of her red dress, Melinda Mo sped to the banquet hall. She was already very late. The banquet hall was a grand space, to say the least. The walls were covered with a shimmering gold paper and in the middle of the ceiling above the carved oak table was a candelabra. The polished silver cutlery was heavy to the hand and shone brightly in the early evening light. At each place stood a tall empty wine glass and there were beautifully folded napkins to match the runner. The room was invaded by beautiful women, showing off their spectacular jewelries and dashing young men, laughing and chatting about business and politics.

Melinda Mo caught sight of the man in the crowd at first glance. He looked so cold, and yet there was something very appealing about the impassiveness on his handsome face. Although he was surrounded by a crowd, he didn't seem perturbed at all.

Melinda Mo smiled faintly, not looking to attract any unnecessary attention to her presence. All she wanted to do was slide through the crowd unnoticed and take her side next to Jonas Gu, but soon the smile on her face froze.

Wrapped around Jonas Gu' arm, was a voluptuous, dark-haired bombshell who intimately whispering words into his ears every now and then. No one could tell what she said to him but it seemed to soften his cold, hard expression.

As if stuck underwater, everything around Melinda Mo slowed down and warbled, her heart falling silent almost immediately. In a quick and nervous motion, she gathered herself and hid in a corner. As if things weren't bad enough, the slippery snake that was grinding her body up against Jonas Gu was wearing the same red dress as hers.

She stomped the floor in anger, realizing that the members of the Gu family wouldn't pass on such a good opportunity to humiliate her in public. Of all the people in the world, why did Jonas Gu have to pick Holley Huang, a woman whose greatest achievement in life was to become one of the most famous socialite divas of A City? And most of all, why did they have to wear the same dress today? It wouldn't surprise Melinda Mo if tomorrow she were to become the laughingstock of the entire city for having the same taste in fashion as a slutty model.

She ran into the ladies' room at first chance and locked the door behind her. As she stared at her own reflection on the mirror, the desperation on her face, she felt frustrating and heartbreaking at the same time. She tore off the shoulder strap of her dress and a bit of her skirt at the bottom that mopped the floor everywhere she went. Luckily, the interior linings of the dress were so delicate and minuscule that the changes would go unnoticed to the naked eye.

After a while, Melinda Mo walked out of the ladies' room, in a long, strapless dress and a pair of black silk gloves. Her lustrous black hair was loosely tied up and the combination of red and black colors added to the fine elegance that oozed out of her.

"Melinda? What are you doing here? Why aren't you with Jonas?"

Melinda Mo immediately recognized the voice without even facing the speaker as it had just the right amount of upper class timbre to belong to the one and only Yulia Gu, Jonas Gu's young sister.

Melinda Mo forced a smile on her lips as she gave Yulia Gu a gentle nod. She noticed Jonas Gu looking closely at them before he walked away as if she was a stranger.

Yulia Gu approached Melinda Mo, raising her chin in an arrogant manner.

"Jonas, aren't you going to say hello to Melinda?"

The female partner of Jonas Gu who was a married man was a small model, so outsiders knew it clearly that Melinda Mo had no status at all. Looking at Melinda Mo's face, they were full of sympathy.

Nevertheless, Melinda Mo didn't allow any of it to sadden her. Even the sight of her husband and his lover together did not manage to bring her down. However, no one could tell what she was plotting behind that unwavering smile on her face.

"Never mind. Besides, it's better for someone like him to be seen with someone like Miss Huang on these occasions." With just a few words Melinda Mo reduced Holley Huang's entire character and personality into something that befitted trash.