Scott’s gaze turned icy as he looked directly at Carmen. “Miss, as adult, you should be ountable for your words. If byou /bcontinue to insult and nder my friend, I won’t hesitate to pursue legal action.”

“Ooh, I’m so scared,” Carmen sneered, rolling her eyes dramatically. Her tone dripped with sarcasm. “Go ahead then. Sue me. What are you waiting for?”

Carmen felt emboldened today because several of her friends were also on this cruise. They were all from the upper circles of Sterling City, the kind of people who looked down on women like Charlotte–poor, vain, and always carrying knockoff designer bags.

Besides, Charlotte had crossed Thomas before. The first thing bhe /bsaid after getting out of detention was that he would ruin her.

Carmen had also noticed that the woman with the impressive fighting skills wasn’t around, which gave her the confidence to provoke her now.

A small crowd had already gathered to watch the drama unfold.

Carmen raised her voice even louder, determined to stir the pot. “Everyone, look over here! This shamelessb, /bbroke wannabe actually dared to show her face on this cruise after offending Thomas Turner. She’s got a death wish!”

Among the onlookers were Megan’s ssmates and several of her wealthy acquaintances from overseas. Megan’s mother was originally from Sterling City, so Megan had plenty of connections there too.

Charlotte, however, didn’t know a single person from that circle.

Thomas was notoriously vile–a spoiled, arrogant yboy from Sterling City who spent his days drinking, partying, and abusing his power. Carmen had wormed her way into the elite circle by clinging to himb, /bunting her surgically enhanced looks. Now she acted like she was better than everyoneb, /bconstantly putting others down and throwing her weight around.

Quite a few people in the crowd were also from Sterling City. When they heard Carmen mention Thomas, many of them looked at Charlotte with a mix of pity and dread.

People started whispering.

“What a shame. She’s gorgeous, but she messed with the wrong guy. Her life’s basically over.”

“Yeah, Thomas is notorious. No one who’s crossed him has evere out unscathed.”

“Remember that influencer Thomas was chasing? She rejected him, and the next thing you know, her nudes were all over the inte. Poor girl ended up with depression and took her own life.

“I heard about that too. It was all over the news until the Turner family silenced it. Her agency told the public she was just stressed out from work. Her fans were ming thepany when the real monster was Thomas.”

“Judging by how Carmen’s acting, Thomas must really hate this girl. And knowing himb, /bhe won’t let it go.”

“Such a pity. She’s stunning, but she’s going to end up ruined.”

*

Just then, Thomas swaggered over in a loud floral shirt and sunsses, with two women wrapped around his arms.

The moment Carmen saw them clinging to him, her smile froze and her expression turned icy.

When Thomas spotted Charlotte, his carefree smirk disappeared on the spot. His face went cold.

He slowly took off bhis /bsunsses, eyes narrowing with a venomous glint.

Gone was the cocky, mboyant yboy. In his ce stood a man radiating pure malice.

He locked eyes with Charlotte, his voice low and seething.

b“/bbYou /bmust really have a death wish.”