Married First, Loved Later : A Flash Marriage with My Ex’s "Uncle" - Chapter 544

Chapter 544: Winning Through Reason

Selina spoke unhurriedly, “Mrs. Perry, do you know what the consequences would be if you wore this dress?”

“You may have clawed your way up as the mistress who replaced the wife, but at the end of the day, you are still Mrs. Reid. If you humiliate yourself, that’s your own business. But people will say—shameless, isn’t she? So this is the kind of woman the Reid Family values? The chairman of Reid Group must be blind, choosing and choosing, only to end up with a nightclub girl? A woman like this might pass as a mistress, but as the wife of Reid’s chairman? What a disgrace.”

Amelia’s face darkened bit by bit. “You…”

“Why does Mrs. Perry look so upset? Could it be you also think this dress is inappropriate? Then why was it acceptable when Paula asked me to wear it?”

Selina drawled, “At the very least, I’m still your so-called ‘daughter-in-law,’ and the chairwoman of SL Group. If even I can be insulted like this by Country Y’s royals, then what if Paula had targeted an ordinary person instead? Does that mean the royals of Country Y are so lofty they can come onto Country M’s soil and slander its people at will?”

Her words instantly ignited outrage.

“What does Country Y’s royal family have to do with us? Who gave her the right to bully people?”

“If she doesn’t even respect the chairwoman of SL, imagine how little we mean to them. If they really look down on us that much, then why does Country Y still rely on so many partnerships with Country M?”

“SL is one of the most important industrial chains for Country Y. And Paula dares to imply its chairwoman is nothing but a toy, a woman who sells her smile? Ha! I’d love to know what exactly goes on in the royal family’s heads.”

Amelia’s heart sank. She blurted, “Selina, Paula was just joking around with you. You don’t need to blow this out of proportion—”

“Mrs. Perry, you’re from Country M. Stop siding with outsiders.”

Selina’s tone was cool. “Paula knew who I am, knew what I represent, and yet she smeared me as someone unworthy of the stage, fit only to be an ornament. Isn’t that the same as looking down on SL—and by extension, on Country M?”

“Since you are a daughter of Country M, when your own people are humiliated, if you cannot empathize, then at least have the decency to keep quiet instead of stabbing your compatriots in the back. Can you manage that?”

“And another thing—joking? Am I that familiar with Miss Paula? Is she so close to me that she has the right to make ‘jokes’ filled with insult? Or is this simply a tradition of your Country Y royals? If so, then I suppose I should ask the Queen herself whether this is how things are done across all of Country Y.”

Logan’s voice cut in, calm and sharp. “No need to wait until next time. I can contact the Queen right now.”

Amelia opened her mouth to argue, but a voice from the crowd sneered, “Shut up. If we put it bluntly, you’re letting a foreigner insult your own people and even silencing them when they defend themselves. If we put it simply, you’re so eager to flatter a duke’s daughter that you’d throw your own son and daughter-in-law under the bus. Disgusting.”

Amelia’s face flushed green then pale, her teeth grinding in fury.

Paula’s expression was flustered. This wasn’t what she meant—it was Selina, Selina twisting everything…

“But perhaps we can’t entirely blame Paula,” Selina suddenly spoke again, her tone deceptively slow.

No one believed she was speaking in Paula’s defense.

And sure enough—

“After all, Miss Paula did say at the start that she adored this dress. But since she’s royalty, her freedom in clothing is restricted—too many rules, too many constraints. So she couldn’t wear such a scandalous gown herself. Instead, she ‘kindly’ recommended it to me.”

The crowd was furious.

“Miss Paula knew this dress was indecent? She couldn’t wear it herself, so she decided to make someone from Country M wear it instead? What is this—do we have no human rights in your eyes, or do you just think you’re above everyone else?”

“I was just joking! You’re all being too much! Why are you treating me like this?” Paula was livid.

Even the sales assistant couldn’t hold back anymore. She didn’t want the duke’s daughter’s tip that badly.

“Calling someone a nightclub girl, saying she makes her living off men, and you think that’s a joke? Then I’ll say you’re not a duke’s daughter at all—you’re just trash someone picked up from a dumpster. That’s a joke too!”

“You—you… You people from Country M are too much! You’re all bullying me!”

Selina’s lips curved faintly. “How is that too much? She already said it’s just a joke. Surely the dignified daughter of a duke can handle a little joke, right? After all, you do love to joke around.”

“You… you…” Paula was so enraged she stomped her foot hard, then burst into tears and ran off.

Amelia was caught in an impossible position. She couldn’t advance or retreat, and with the mocking gazes all around her, her face turned deathly pale.

“If Mrs. Perry wants to chase after her, go right ahead. After all, Mrs. Perry loves her little jokes too.”

After Selina finished, she glanced at Logan. “Let’s go.”

…

Naturally, what happened in the mall spread like wildfire.

A duke’s daughter from Country Y had stood on Country M’s soil and sneered that a woman from Country M was fit only for nightclubs, fit only to sell her smile.

And that woman turned out to be the head of SL Group.

Now put yourself in her place—if she dared to mock the CEO of SL like that, what would she say to an ordinary person?

In an instant, the uproar grew like waves in a storm. SL quickly issued a statement: if the royal family of Country Y failed to apologize for Paula’s behavior, SL would permanently cut ties with them.

For SL, which already had vast business interests, losing Country Y wasn’t much of a loss. But for Country Y, losing SL was unthinkable.

That very evening, the Queen of Country Y ordered Paula to apologize. When Paula gave her interview, she looked bitter and resentful, but at least she managed to say, “I’m sorry.”

Once the interview was over, Paula smashed everything in her room—vases, teacups, nothing was spared.

She had been forced to apologize to Selina in front of both nations, her disgrace splashed all over the news. Even in Country Y, many people were furious with her: why had she provoked the CEO of SL?

Their favorite tea? SL produced it. Their most popular social app? SL’s product too.

Without SL, Country Y would struggle for a long time.

And besides, anyone could see Paula had started the whole mess. Did the SL CEO even know her? And yet Paula dared to sneer at her, calling her a woman who lived off her looks. If someone had to apologize, of course it had to be Paula!

The Queen even issued a harsh warning to Duke William, telling him to control his daughter.

Paula was absolutely fuming.

Beep-beep-beep—her phone rang.

Her eyes lit up. “Cousin Ella!”

Ella, the princess of Country Y, asked gently, “Are you all right? I saw the news. That Miss Clark went too far. She knew you were only joking, yet she still made you apologize in front of people from both countries.”

At last, Paula found someone she could vent to. She burst into tears. “That bitch! I want her dead! Cousin, will you help me?”

Ella smiled sweetly. “Paula, how can you have such vicious thoughts? Isn’t it enough just to make Miss Clark lose face? I heard she’s competing in the perfume contest too. I’ll make sure she loses.”