Chapter 207 Awe and Admiration
_Rowena’s POV_
Before I could shift my course and walk past her, Mrs. Logan raised her head. Her eyes landed straight on me.
A smirk spread across her painted red lips, she smoothed down her gloves and took a few slow, deliberate steps toward us, her heels clicking loudly against the floor.
Olivia shrank back slightly beside me, clutching her shopping bags closer to her chest as she felt the suffocating pressure of Mrs. Logan’s aura.
"Well, well, well," She drawled, her voice dripping with condescension. "If it isn’t Marchioness Ashthorne."
The moment those words left her mouth, Olivia let out a gasp beside me. Her head snapped toward me, her eyes wide with total shock.
I kept my expression completely calm, standing tall and meeting Mrs. Logan’s hateful glare without a single flinch. I could tell she still despised me for slapping Brielle at her mansion, her eyes burning with a deep personal grudge.
"Good afternoon, Mrs. Logan," I replied smoothly, my voice totally unbothered.
She let out a small laugh, looking me up and down before glancing at Olivia’s simple appearance and our shopping bags.
"I must say, I am thoroughly surprised to find you idling your time away at a luxury shopping mall," she sighed and shook her head, her tone growing louder so the passing shoppers could hear. "Shouldn’t you be locked away in a laboratory right now? You made such a grand embarrassing scene at the hospital, claiming you could build a complex mechanical limb in three weeks. Yet here you are, wandering around buying clothes like a child."
I didn’t offer her an answer, I simply folded my arms across my chest and let her speak.
She raised her chin higher, a look of immense pride washing over her face as she boasted about her daughter. "My Brielle, on the other hand, hasn’t left her private research lab since yesterday morning, she hasn’t even eaten well. She is a world class doctor who specializes in biomechanics and tissue regeneration. She is actually putting in the hard work to save the Alpha King’s aunt, unlike you. You are nothing more than a desperate uneducated attention seeker trying to stay relevant."
She took a step closer, her voice dropping into a spiteful whisper. "You think you can compete with a woman like my daughter? You are way out of your depth, Rowena."
I waited patiently until she finished her little speech. When I was sure she had finished her ranting, I took a slow breath, offering her a sweet, polite, but utterly devastating smile.
"If Brielle is truly as brilliant as you claim, Mrs. Logan," I spoke softly, my tone completely gentle, "then I suggest you go home and remind her to focus on her research rather than her insecurity. After all, a truly confident doctor doesn’t need her mother running around the city fighting her verbal battles for her."
Her face went instantly pale before flushing into a deep furious shade of red. The polite insult hit her like a physical strike, completely shattering her refined composure.
"You insolent little brat!" she hissed, completely losing her control.
She raised her gloved hand high into the air, swinging her palm down toward my face with all the force in her body, intent on giving me a public slap in the middle of the mall.
But I wasn’t about to let her do something stupid.
Before her hand could even come close to my cheek, my arm moved like a lightning strike. I clamped my fingers around her wrist mid air, stopping her hand dead in its tracks just an inch from my face.
She gasped in shock, trying to pull her hand back, but she couldn’t budge an inch against my strength. Her guards took a step forward, but I raised my eyes to meet theirs, instantly freezing them in place.
I leaned in slightly, looking her dead in the eyes, my voice dropping in irritation. "Never try to put your hands on me again," I warned her, every word sounded harsh, which was the point. "Because next time, I won’t just catch your hand. You’ll receive the same slap your daughter received, try me."
I released her wrist, shoving her back a half step. She stumbled slightly, holding her wrist while gasping for air, her eyes filled with pure rage and a faint trace of sudden fear.
Without giving her another second of my attention, I turned on my heels. "Let us go, Olivia."
Olivia quickly scurried after me as we walked straight out of the mall’s glass doors. Once we reached the curb, I pulled out my phone and dialed Kasper’s line again. He should’ve finished his golf by now.
"Rowena," Kasper answered instantly. "Are you alright? Where are you?"
"I am at the central mall entrance," I told him calmly. "Send a car to pick me up and drop Olivia off at her new home on Maple Street. I need to get back to my lab immediately."
"Huh? Olivia? Who is that?” He asked.
“Just send a car.”
“Okay okay, the driver will be there in three minutes," Kasper replied.
I hung up the phone and turned to look at Olivia, who was standing beside me in total silence. She was staring at me with wide, trembling eyes, her hands shaking slightly as she held her shopping bags.
"Miss Rowena..." Olivia asked shyly, her voice barely above a whisper. "Are you... are you really Marchioness Ashthorne?"
I looked at her gentle face and gave a nod. "Yes, I am."
Olivia let out a gasp, stepping back and instantly bowing her head in deep respect. A bright blush covered her cheeks as the realization hit her all at once.
She must have known the stories circulating through the city. About me being Alaric’s woman.
"I... I had no idea," Olivia stammered, looking at me with pure awe and admiration. "I am so honored, My Lady."
"You don’t need to bow to me," I said gently, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder as a black sedan pulled up to the curb. "We are friends now. Now get in the car. It is time for both of us to get back to work."