Chapter 110

Sonia tremblingly pulled out her phone and opened TuBaci’s authentication page. But when she pointed the code at her camera, a red warning message appeared on screen: “Authentication code not found. Please verify this is a genuine TuBaci product.”

The crowd immediately erupted in shock, everyone staring at Sonia in disbelief as murmurs spread through the room.

“Holy shit, Sonia’s dress is a knockoff!”

“I can’t believe it—she’s a celebrity! How could she be wearing a fake?”

“This is absolutely humiliating…”

Sonia’s face went deathly pale as she stared at her phone screen, overwhelmed with shame. She never imagined she’d be exposed for wearing a counterfeit at such a high-profile event. How could she ever show her face in public again?

“No, I paid serious money for this. It can’t be fake,” Sonia said frantically, trying to explain. She put on her best innocent, teary-eyed expression, hoping to gain sympathy from the crowd. But everyone despised counterfeit fashion—there was no sympathy to be found.

Joanne was stunned too. She never expected things to turn out this way. She opened her mouth but couldn’t find words. What the hell was happening? Anastasia was wearing the real thing? How did she have that kind of pull?

Anastasia looked at Sonia with mild concern. “You were probably scammed, Sonia. You should report it to the police—maybe you can get your money back.”

Sonia’s face flushed red with humiliation. She felt like crawling into a hole and disappearing. She shot Anastasia a venomous glare, then turned and stormed out of the venue.

That drama was finally over, and the crowd dispersed as the main event was about to begin. Anastasia went to find her colleagues. Who would have thought attending a simple gala would lead to such crazy drama? Fortunately, the rest of the evening went smoothly, and Anastasia made several new connections.

Valeria had also arrived, accompanied by Jasper. Jasper had connections in the fashion world through his jewelry business and knew many industry insiders. He’d received an invitation immediately and decided to bring Valeria along as his date. Valeria was thrilled—this was her first time attending an event as Jasper’s official girlfriend. Now everyone would know she was his real partner.

So after entering the venue, Valeria kept her arm linked possessively through Jasper’s. They’d been chatting with a fashion industry veteran and had missed the earlier drama. By the time they moved toward the crowd, everyone had already dispersed. Valeria asked Joanne what had happened and immediately became furious when she heard the story, disappointed she’d missed watching Anastasia get humiliated.

Joanne pulled her aside to try some of the catered food—apparently prepared by celebrity chefs. Valeria wanted all the gossip details, so she followed Joanne. Having missed the live action, she needed the full play-by-play. The two grabbed some desserts and found a corner to eat and chat.

Meanwhile, as Jasper walked in their direction, the first person he spotted was Anastasia.