"Let's go," she said, stepping down from the stairs.
Calvert reached out to help her.
He meant to let go once she was off the steps, but as he looked down, he caught sight of the slap mark on her face.
"What happened?"
His usually gentle expression darkened.
He reached out to touch Luana's slightly swollen cheek, and a flicker of concern crossed his eyes.
Luana was taken aback. Calvert looked upset.
He asked again, more sternly, "Who did this?"
She hesitated.
[$]
She didn't think Calvert would really go after his friend's sister just for her.
She kept quiet, and Prunella let out a sigh of relief.
Calvert was good at reading people. He saw Prunella's relief and immediately got it.
No wonder she had been clinging to him when he went to find Luana. She had taken advantage of his absence to hit his date!
His cold eyes turned on Prunella. "Miss Adams, you're a guest in your own home, and you just slapped my date. I need an explanation."
Prunella's heart skipped a beat when she realized Calvert knew it was her. But her anger quickly took over.
How dare he side with Luana without even asking what happened?
"Calvert, you're blaming me without even asking who did it. How can you do this?" she burst out.
Calvert's expression turned colder. "So you're saying you didn't do it?"
Prunella felt a bit guilty under his gaze but quickly changed her tune. "Well, even if I did, you didn't ask why. You're being unfair."
Calvert snorted. "I know exactly what Miss Hammond is like. There's no need to ask for details."
Prunella couldn't believe he was defending Luana like this. Prunella felt her face turn red with anger. "Calvert, how can you treat me like this..."
Calvert didn't bother with her show. He said, "Apologize to Miss Hammond."
He wasn't close to Prunella. He had only met her a few times and had no reason to give her any leeway.
Prunella, seeing that Calvert was serious about the apology, felt tears streaming down her face. "Calvert, how could you?"
Her crying quickly drew a crowd. Everyone held their wine glasses and watched the drama unfold, but no one stepped in to help Prunella.
Realizing she was losing the upper hand, Prunella pointed at Luana. "She insulted me first with terrible words. I lost my temper and slapped her. If she hadn't started it, I wouldn't have done it. I'm not wrong here!"
Luana was still stunned that Calvert had stood up for her, but hearing Prunella's false accusations made her angry.
[$]
She was about to ask Prunella what she had said when a cold voice came from behind.
"Miss Adams, is this what you've learned in college these years? How to twist the truth?"
The man in the black suit standing in the light looked dazzling.
Luana recognized the voice and was grateful he had spoken up for her, but she didn't dare turn around.
Cline's gaze flicked over Calvert's hand holding Luana's, his expression inscrutable.
He walked down the stairs and stood in front of Prunella.
"I happened to pass by when Miss Adams was humiliating Miss Hammond," he said, not giving her any room to maneuver.
Prunella's face turned pale.
She tried to argue, but one look from Cline's cold eyes made her freeze.
She had never seen such a terrifying look in someone's eyes. Even though his eyes were attractive, the coldness in them was chilling.
She shut her mouth and stood there, too scared to move.
It was then that Herbert noticed Prunella was in trouble. He pushed through the crowd and rushed over.
Before he could ask what had happened, Cline gave him a cool look.
"The Adams family really knows how to raise their girl," he said, and then walked out with his group of bodyguards.
[$]
Gehrmann, who had been watching the whole thing, looked thoughtfully at Cline's retreating back.
It was unusual for Cline to stick up for someone.
[$]
He glanced at Luana, who was standing close to Calvert, and his expression darkened.
It was because of her, wasn't it?
She had managed to get both Calvert and Cline on her side.
Gehrmann wanted to teach her a lesson but decided against it.
It wasn't his place to discipline her.