The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Chapter 129

Arabella sat rigidly beneath the stage, completely at a loss as to how things had spiraled so disastrously out of control. It seemed that every time she made a move against Vivienne, things took a turn for the worst.

Elijah had suddenly been branded as a kidnapper and a fraud.

And she, as his apprentice… What would become of her?

She watched the angry crowd, trembling in fear of being swept away in their rage.

She tried to stay unnoticed, hoping to slip away in the chaos, but was confronted by a group of high school girls.

They hurled insults at her with scathing words.

“Arabella! Where do you think you’re going?! No wonder Elijah chose you as his apprentice; you’re both nothing more than scum!”

“Yeah, pretending to be all high and mighty because you’re Elijah’s apprentice, ordering us around like we’re your servants. You’re useless!”

In the blink of an eye, punches and kicks began to rain down on her. Once a brawl started, it was hard to stop it, especially when the crowd felt justified in their anger.

Each punch and kick was seen as a righteous act.

The mob’s fury was eventually subdued by the arrival of the police, who took Elijah away on charges of kidnapping and illegal confinement.

Once the chaos in the auditorium had subsided, the sound of soft sobbing could be heard from a corner.

Arabella’s long hair had been hacked off haphazardly, and her school uniform was torn to shreds, revealing her undergarments. Bruises covered her from head to toe, and her face was so swollen that it was hard to recognize her once beautiful features.

But no one paid her any attention or offered her any assistance. Once Elijah’s crimes were exposed, everyone remembered her past deeds.

in perfumery. She had claimed that Beatrice favored her

that

Vivienne lacked talent?

the renowned Master

a single perfume than the entire Hawthorn family

to be jealous or seek

had been

the apprenticeship, she and Elijah had teamed

tried to tamish her

this to me?! What have

that no one was willing to come to her aid, Arabella angrily got to her feet, accusing everyone. ‘It was all Elijah’s doing! I’ve only been his apprentice for

one paid any attention to her, their faces

this cold

stage. Although a large group of people had rushed up to beat Elijah, the stage was in chaos, where she stood, everything was clean and orderly; even the bottles. and jars on

just watched coldly as Elijah was beaten into a pulp by the angry crowd before being taken away by

she could have used her influence to rescue

own strength so quickly. Also, she wanted to use this scandal to help

and started investigating the potion issue, neglecting the siblings, which allowed Elijah to take advantage of

this incident, everyone would know that the deaf-mute girl, Riley, was Master Q’s apprentice, and all the

the siblings’

suddenly addressed the crowd still in the auditorium. “I’m here today to present

everyone was

her perfume table and quickly mixed

her, especially the perfume enthusiasts, who were

the

the chaos ensued. They hadn’t expected a simple

they had just praised from Elijah must

Chapter 129

by Riley, which made them

have the audacity to

on the new perfume that Vivienne had just finished