###Chapter 3
551 Words
After Ramona walked away, the group continued their jeer. One of them snickered,"What's with the attitude? When Mr. Bauer doesn't get engaged with her later, she'll be scrambling to pick up the rings anyway."
"Exactly. Everyone knows Ms. Alvarado is the one Mr. Bauer truly loves. What is Ramona? Just some desperate hanger-on. If it weren't for Mrs. Bauer's pressure, Mr. Bauer wouldn't even glance her way."
The whispers continued as Ramona returned to the banquet hall, her clothes soaked.
Her stepmother, Celeste Oneal, rushed over."Ramona! Where have you been? Look at you! This is your engagement party. Do you have any idea how important this is? Go find somewhere to dry off.
"This dress is too modest. A little exposure goes a long way with men."
Celeste tugged sharply at Ramona's collar until a glimpse of cleavage was revealed, nodding in satisfaction.
Ramona ignored her, scanning the room.
The banquet hall was dimly lit, filled with guests clustered around one man.
Jermaine stood among them in a tailored black suit, his sculpted features cold and flawless. His piercing eyes held no warmth, his entire demeanor radiating detachment. From the sharp line of his nose to the stern set of his lips, he looked like a perfect masterpiece.
"All men think with their lower bodies," Celeste said, growing more excited."After today, you'll be Mr. Bauer's fiancée. Your job is to please him and get pregnant quickly so you can marry with a child. Once you become Mrs. Bauer, you'll live a charming life!"
Celeste spoke with such enthusiasm, as if she were the one getting engaged to Jermaine today.
Ramona responded with a cold laugh.
In her previous life, she'd given Jermaine three years of complete devotion.
What did it earn her? She was kidn*pped by thugs on her wedding day and tortured for three days.
On the first day, she begged for Jermaine to rescue her. Instead, he drove the wedding car to the airport to welcome Tamera home.
That same day, Jermaine and Tamera exchanged rings at what should have been Ramona's wedding, pledging their eternal love.
She had waited for years in vain. In the end, the wedding was just a gift from Jermaine to Tamera.
On the second day, Jermaine ignored her plight entirely, publicly claiming she'd fled the wedding. While knowing she was kidn*pped, he spent the day canoodling with Tamera.
By the third day, Jermaine refused to pay the ransom, hastily marrying Tamera instead, hoping to sever ties with her.
Those three days transformed Ramona from a hopeful bride to a broken woman.
Today was supposed to be her engagement party with Jermaine.
Yet from her dress to her styling, Ramona looked exactly like Tamera.
Everyone in Denver knew Tamera was Jermaine's true love. Ramona was just a cheap replacement.
She remembered clearly from her previous life how Jermaine had openly sneered at this same outfit."Pathetic imitation," he'd said."Tammy would never dress so shamelessly."
Tamera, the orphaned daughter of the Alvarado family, had grown up with Jermaine.
If not for the growing tensions between their families—making the Alvarados useless to the Bauers—and Elaine's dislike of Tamera, Jermaine would have married her long ago.
Jermaine preferred gentle and pure women, like Tamera.
And Ramona happened to share a faint resemblance with her.
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