Penelope nodded sweetly. “You’re absolutely right, Mrs. Bishop. I must be careful not to learn from your daughter.”
Mrs. Bishop’s anger flared again, but faced with Penelope’s brazen defiance, she could only grit her teeth and walk away.
Inside the lounge, Yvonne was still fuming. After a long tirade, she stormed out, determined to find Penelope, only to be met with a sharp slap from her own mother.
“Mother, you hit me too!” Yvonne cried, her voice filled with disbelief.
Mrs. Bishop took a deep, steadying breath. “Look at yourself. What have you become?”
“I can’t stand it!”
“So you resort to screaming matches? Do you know who she is? The daughter of a bankrupt family. And who are you? You are a Bishop! Where is your composure? Your pride? The moment you’re near her, you lose it all!”
“I…”
“You were never like this before!”
“She stole Theodore! She stole my Theodore!” Yvonne broke down, sobbing uncontrollably. “Mother, you know how much I love him. I’ve chased him since we were children. The moment I understood what love was, I knew it was him. I’ve never been with another man. My heart has only ever been his!”
“Before that incident, he was so good to me! He even promised he would marry me! But then that happened, and he pushed me away. He refused to speak to me. He went abroad just to get away from me!”
Word of the altercation had, of course, reached the main ballroom. When Penelope returned, Mrs. Stapleton greeted her with a stern frown. “I’m warning you, do not disgrace the Stapleton family!”
Penelope tilted her head with a small smile. “Someone was bullying Mrs. Stapleton Jr. If I didn’t fight back, wouldn’t they think the entire Stapleton family was an easy target?”
“No one would dare bully our family, as long as you don’t go looking for trouble!”
“Is that so?” Penelope said, her eyes drifting to the black gown Mrs. Stapleton was wearing. “Ms. Bishop picked out that dress for you, didn’t she?”
...

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