Bedmates Soulmates
CHAPTER 249

A confrontation seemed inevitable.

Alissa cid

the reputed sugar baby.

Her pupils constricted when she saw the red silk dress.

She recognised the haute couture Atelier Versace.

The last time she'd seen it was on the body of an A-list actress at the International Film Festival red carpet.

The actress was a friend of the brand.

She told the media the dress was hand-crafted and there were only six of them in the world.

One of them was now worn by Georgina's gold-digging half-sister.

Georgina didn't recognise the brand, but she was just as jealous.

Anyone could see that the dress was well-made and probably super expensive.

It was such a waste to put it on Kira Hewitt.

'I got in with an invitation,' Kira said calmly. "The food is for the guests. I am a guest. What's wrong with me helping myself to the food?"

Reluctant to waste time on Georgina and her friend, Kira started walking away.

Alissa, with a malicious smile, stuck out one leg and stepped on Kira's floor-length dress.

The hem ripped with a loud sound..

Kira pitched forward and almost fell.

The mixologist standing nearby shot out an arm in time to steady her.

The sound of tearing fabric caused heads to turn.

Well-dressed party attendees converged and rubbernecked.

Alissa quickly pulled back.

She gave an apologetic shrug. 'Oops, sorry. I'm such a klutz. Miss, are you all right?"

'She would have made a good actress,' Kira thought.

Kira regained her balance and thanked the kind mixologist.

She turned her head to look down at the torn hem

Then she smiled. 'I'm fine. It was an accident."

Alissa smirked.

Conducita's End Stepuidera

She found it impossible that Georgina would have let such a wuss walk all over her.

'I'm glad you are okay. I hope there are no hard feelings. Anyway, I should probably go and mingle. Excuse us.'

Alissa linked arms with Georgina.

They exchanged a smug look and a triumphant smile.

Georgina would have liked to do more than just embarrass the bitch, but people were looking at them and it was hard to do anything else.

So she decided to quit while she was ahead.

"Who said you can leave?' Kira crossed her arms.

Georgina stopped.

She turned around slowly. 'What? You've got something else to say?"

'Of course.' Kira raised her chin. 'While I forgive your clumsy friend there she probably has Parkinson's, seeing as how she can't control both her hands and her legs-you can't just walk away without paying for the damage.' Subdued laughter rippled through the crowd.

More people gathered, eager for a front-row seat to the circus.

A catfight was probably in the making.

Georgina stared at Kira, her mouth agape with incredulity.

What did her pushover of a sister just say?

Alissa blanched visibly.

She knew how much the dress cost.

She was the one who poured the drink and stepped on the hem.

If the girl demanded compensation, Alissa was on the hook for tens of thousands of dollars. while Georgina would get away scot-free.

Alissa tightened her grip on Georgina's arm.

If she was going down, she was taking Georgina with her.

prydels Have To Pay

Mean Girls Have To Pay

The crowd was now three deep.

The commotion attracted Austyn's attention.

He looked over but couldn't see Kira.

Kai appeared by his side. 'Boss, Young Madam seems to be in trouble.'

'What's going on?"

'Georgina Vaughn and another woman who appears to be her friend have waylaid Young

Madam.'

'Georgina Vaughn? What's she doing here?'

'I haven't found that out yet, but I guess she must still be holding a grudge after that encounter in the hospital.'

Austyn set down his champagne flute and marched towards the crowd.

Kai was close on his heels.

A man in the crowd whipped around when he felt a shove at his shoulders.

His mouth was open, ready with an insult, but he closed it when he saw the M Group's president.

Onlookers parted like the Red Sea, making way for Austyn who pushed through the crowd with

a face like thunder.

What was the Vaughn woman doing here?

Was she going to hurt Kira?

If she dared lay a finger on Kira...

Austyn clenched his jaw.

He should not have let Kira out of his sight.

The woman was like a magnet for trouble.

He pulled up short when he took in the scene.

Kal almost bumped into his back. 'Boss?'

They were still in the crowd.

"Are we not going out there to rescue Young Madam?"

'Seems like there's no need to.' Austyn joined the group of rubbernecks. MerryĜal Have To Pay

From his vantage point, he could see the faces of all three women.

It was one against two, but Kira seemed to have the upper hand.

She had a smile on her face and a confident air about her.

Gone was the helpless girl with scratch marks on her face and tears in her eyes back at the hospital.

Meanwhile, Georgina and whatshername looked like a couple of cats on a hot tin roof.

"The wine ruined my dress,' Kira said. 'Then your friend here stepped on it. The hem is ripped and impossible to repair. What do you plan to do about it?"

Georgina gritted her teeth.

Her face was flushed.

She was mortified to find herself thrown into the spotlight.

She craved attention, but this was the wrong

kind

'My friend already apologised. What more do you want?'

'A half-hearted "I'm sorry" is not going to cut it.' Kira sneered. 'Didn't your mom teach you that if you break it, you're gonna have to buy it? Even little kids know this. You're both adults, I presume. Do I really need to teach you what to do?" Alissa glowered at Kira. 'You'

'I what?' Kira shot back

She turned a half circle and lifted the hem of her dress, its silk fabric shimmering under the brilliant white light.

Once she made sure the audience got a good look, she said, 'I'm sure those with a discerning eye can tell this is an Atelier Versace. It's hand-made haute couture and there are only six of them in the world. If you refuse to offer compensation for such a valuable item, I'm afraid I'll have to see you in court.'

Kira hoped no one noticed the slight tremor in her voice..

She had no idea how much the dress cost.

She prayed that none of the audience members worked in the fashion industry.

All that stuff she said just now, she'd heard from one of the stylists.

'Mr McCarthy must have some powerful connections, the stylist had said. "There's only one of this dress in Stamford and five in the rest of the world. I heard rumours that Kayleigh Woods-you know, the actress with a pretty face and nothing between the ears-tried and failed to get her hands on the dress."

MearyGirl Have To Pay

The stylist had run her fingers gingerly and lovingly over the silk fabric, with the same kind of look that Kira had when she saw butterscotch ice cream.

Kira had felt uneasy.

She wanted to change into something that didn't cost more than an apartment, but the stylist

wouldn't hear of it.

At the buffet table just now, she took tiny bites of her food and stayed away from anything that was a potential splash hazard.

But the dress got ruined anyway.

Kira kept the smile on her face. 'So? Ladies, have you decided on who's going to pay? I take both cash and cheque, but not IOU slips.'

The audience burst into laughter.

"The lady's a comedian."

'She's right though. The woman in the black dress is clearly at fault."

'How much do you think the dress costs?"

'No idea, but then, I'm not the one who has to write a cheque.'

'Yeah, don't do the crime if you can't pay the dime!' Someone jeered.

"What's going on?' This came from a latecomer to the show.

"Those two ladies ganged up on the young woman in the red dress. They did some "Mean Girls" stuff and have backed themselves into a tight corner. It's great fun to watch."

Georgina was shaking.

Her face was beet red.

'Kira Hewitt! Don't push it!'

'Push what?' Kira shrugged. 'I'm just demanding my due."

She smiled again, her eyes twinkling with mischief. 'If you can't afford to pay, I have another

suggestion.'

"What?" Alissa asked, a little too eagerly.

With so many witnesses, she couldn't just run away.

But neither did she want to pay.

Her father would kill her if he knew about this.

Maybe the woman had a way to resolve this without money changing hands.

Meat Gris Have To Pay

Kira savoured the look on Georgina's face.

'I don't want your money, but neither can I let you two get off scot-free. How about this?' She paused.

'What?' Alissa took an involuntary step forward, hanging on to her every word.

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A Hich

Payback's A Bitch

'As the Good Book says, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Since you guys like to splash drinks on others so much, I can only assume you enjoy having the same done to yourselves. So, if the two of you pour a drink over each other, I'll call it even.' Kira watched Georgina's friend's face..

The woman was visibly struggling.

Kira added, 'If you do this, you can walk away from this without having to pay a cent.'

She'd taken a page out of Austyn's playbook.

The last time she ran into Georgina and Helen in the hospital, Austyn taught the two women a lesson without getting his own hands dirty.

He turned mother against daughter and drove a wedge between them that would continue to fester long after they left the hospital.

It was neat, legal-well, not illegal-and satisfying as hell to watch.

Dad had cautioned Kira to watch the company she kept.

She didn't think much of it at the time, but now she realised that Dad was right.

The more time she spent with Austyn, the more she was becoming like him-cunning, ruthless, wicked.

Georgina was trembling with both anger and humiliation.

She'd gone to great lengths to get into this party.

She spent a week shopping for the perfect dress, but Dad had frozen her credit card.

In the end, she had to opt for a rental.

Wine was going to ruin the fabric, then she couldn't return the dress.

Besides, if she did as Hewitt asked, she would become the butt of jokes in Stamford.

She looked at her bestie.

It was Alissa who suggested teaching a lesson to Hewitt.

Alissa ruined Hewitt's dress; Alissa should pay.

But Alissa refused to lock eyes with Georgina.

Her dress was a rental as well.

She'd lose her deposit if it was damaged.

Paybuck & A BELİ

But compared to forking over tens of thousands of dollars, Alissa would rather choose the

lesser evil.

'Can't you just let this go?' Georgina said through gritted teeth.

Then she lowered her voice. 'For Mom's sake.'

Kira smiled mirthlessly.

The mention of Helen only made her more determined to punish Georgina.

After the divorce, Helen and her new husband lived in Milton for a while.

She visited kira sometimes, bringing Georgina along.

She said she wanted to check on how Kira was doing, but really, she just wanted to flaunt her new lavish lifestyle and rub Kira's nose in it.

Kira was just a teenager back then.

Dad was often away at work, leaving her to fend for herself.

Thinking back, she realised what a doormat she had been, letting Helen and Georgina walk all

over her.

Today was a perfect opportunity to settle old scores.

Kira crooked a finger at Georgina.

She whispered when Georgina leaned in, 'Payback's a bitch, Sis.'

Georgina's eyes widened. 'How dare you!'

Kira stepped back, out of harm's range in case Georgina decided to get physical.

"There is a third solution.*

Kira didn't turn around.

She recognised Austyn's deep, commanding voice.

Besides, she'd glimpsed him in the crowd just now.

The crowd stirred and parted.

Georgina flinched at the sight of the man.

Memory of the humiliating experience at the hospital flashed through her mind.

The man was terrifying.

Austyn came to stand next to Kira, throwing an arm around her bare shoulders. His eyes swept over Georgina's heavily made-up face.

Payingčk's A Bach

Georgina was shaking like a leaf.

Her knees threatened to give out.

Onlookers murmured at this new twist in the plot-why was the M Group's president riding to that girl's rescue?

Did the two know each other?

The confident smirk was gone from Kira's face, replaced by mortification.

She could feel the curious glances from the crowd alternating between her and Austyn.

Their minds must be whirling with all kinds of speculation right now.

Why must Austyn do this?

She tried to move

from him but couldn't.

Austyn kept his iron grip on her shoulders. 'Kai."

"Yes, Boss."

'Get the party organiser.

'Yes, Boss.'

Two minutes later, Kai returned with a man who was sweating profusely.