Don't provoke me!

When the dinner party was finally over, Vanessa was still rooted in her place and let the hall turn empty. In a couple of minutes, only Vanessa and Caroline were present in the enormous hall, and she sighed. Inhaling a deep breath, Vanessa stood up and turned around to go to the restroom, and Caroline caught up with her from behind as she was worried for Vanessa. When Vanessa walked out, Austin eyed her leaving silhouette and his gaze turned cold, but his face was detached of any emotion, and he too strode out in his long steps. Theo, who stood silently behind Austin, followed the gloomy man out, but didn't utter a word, too scared to say anything that would trigger Austin's anger! But he was bewildered would be an understatement when he saw Vanessa standing in front of them all safe and sound, because he had scoured for her like crazy all these months, personally checking all the places they thought she could be present at, yet, he couldn't get a single clue of her whereabouts. However, she abruptly appeared in front of them tonight, but her persona seemed totally different! How she had managed to become the manager of the Grant Corporation was still a question to him, but nonetheless, he wouldn't poke his nose into his boss's ex-wife's business unless he was ordered to! The most surprising thing to him was that Vanessa, who was once head over heels for Austin, didn't even spare another glance at Austin and behaved as if they were total strangers who had met for the first time! "Wow! What a twist in character?" He couldn't help but mutter under his breath because, in these three years of their married life, he had never felt Vanessa had the audacity to challenge Austin! But seeing her today, he presumed, things might be going to change now! Caroline eyed Vanessa coming out, and a troublesome expression was settled on her face and mumbled softly, "Ms. Grant, are you all right?" Caroline was personally hired by Daphne Grant to take care of Vanessa and protect her in all situations. Naturally, she was aware of the relationship between Vanessa and Austin, but she didn't expect they would face each other the first night Vanessa stepped foot into New York City. And she couldn't help but be concerned for Vanessa when she recalled how cold Austin was to Vanessa and didn't even bother to give her some face! "That arrogant bastard!" Caroline cursed in her heart for the heartless man, and she even wondered why didn't he see how beautiful Vanessa was and how did he have the heart to divorce her after all these years? But she got to only one conclusion, that Austin must be blind to not notice Vanessa's true love for him! She shook her head since Vanessa and Austin didn't have any future together, but she was indeed worried for Vanessa! When Vanessa heard Caroline's words, she lazily turned off the faucet, grabbed the tissue, and wiped her hands clean. Eyed herself in the mirror and brushed the few loose hair strands, and a pleased smirk was settled on her beautiful face. Turned to Caroline, she queried with raised brows, "did you really think seeing Austin would upset me?" Without waiting to get a response from her, Vanessa continued while a soft smile was dancing on her lips, "not going to happen." With a slight pause, Vanessa added, "because he isn't worthy!" Vanessa knew Austin well, and there was no way in hell that she would be foolish enough to shed tears for that cold man again! Well, it's none other than her ex-husband! Listening to her words, Caroline was flabbergasted and was rooted in her tracks for a second, but soon, she was relieved as understanding dawned on her! And she couldn't help but praise Vanessa in her heart. By the time they had reached the exit and gotten down from the lift, Vanessa thought they would be the only ones left, but alas, luck wasn't on her side, as she again came face to face with the far away Austin in the lobby. "Damn!" She wanted to curse herself for the situation she was in but put on a cold facade and strode forward in elegant steps. Her eyelashes slightly fluttered when she passed Austin and Theo but soon, relief washed over her insides when none of them had initiated a conversation. She was grateful for that since she was in no mood to entertain Austin Jones! With that, she kept her head high, her face was proud, hiding the slight changes she was feeling in her heart. Her steps were steady as the sound of her clicking heel could be heard, and she didn't even spare them a glance as she moved further and further away like she owned the place. When she saw the exit door, she finally thought she successfully escaped, but a shrill voice stopped her in her tracks, "what are you doing here?" Hearing the once accustomed voice, she identified the person as Mia without needing to turn around because she remembered the struggles she faced all these years in the Jones family, and Mia Jones was partly responsible for it! When Vanessa hadn't responded to her yet, Mia leaped to her in a swift move and yelled, "you still had the guts to come back, Vanessa?" These past months, the Jones family was on a bumpy road, all thanks to Vanessa and the released audio and video files. If the Jones family weren't powerful enough and had their roots deeply engraved in the city, the Jones family would be nothing but a joke! Although the people hadn't said anything on their faces because of their power, they had become a laughing stock in the city, and that was a well known fact. To top it off, Mia, who was always proud and put on airs, had suffered terribly as well, because she was still studying in a school where all the kids were from elite families, and no one bothered about anyone's background in particular. However, Mia always belittled Vanessa in front of her friends and sprouted all the nonsense she could think of about Vanessa. But when the scandal erupted suddenly on the internet with solid proofs, she was laughed at by her friends on her face and was humiliated! And the reason behind her demise was Vanessa! If Vanessa hadn't given the green signal to release the files on the internet, the Jones family wouldn't have seen such a terrible day in their family history, and their image in public wouldn't have deteriorated. But the things that happened couldn't be undone! So, when she finally caught a glimpse of Vanessa, Mia's anger, which had been suppressed all these months, suddenly burst into flames, ready to burn Vanessa into ashes. Mia stormed onto Vanessa in a flash and raised her hand to hit her, who didn't faze even in the slightest with her furious appearance. But before a slap was landed on Vanessa's face, Mia's hand was grasped strongly by Vanessa, and she almost crushed it with the pressure she had put on Mia's wrist while a yelp escaped Mia's pale lips. Startled, Austin tilted his head and peeped at Vanessa's menacingly cold face, her appearance had suddenly shifted from a demure lady to a fearless warrior and he couldn't help but stare at her. Eyeing the shrieking Mia, Vanessa sneered, her voice was so cold that sent shivers down Mia's spine, "want to hit me?" With a slight pause, Vanessa called, "Mia." That single name made Vanessa remember all the awful things she had faced in the Jones family, and she added when her hazel pools sent daggers onto the trembling Mia, "you aren't even worthy to touch my little finger, let alone beat me!" After Vanessa finished saying, a loud and crisp slap landed on Mia's face, and five-finger marks were imprinted on her fair cheek when Vanessa added calmly, "this slap is what you owe me." Eyeing Mia's swollen face, one could say at a glance that Vanessa was really merciless when she hit her! Hearing the commotion, Theo, who was not far from them was shocked and took a sneaking glance at Austin, whose fists were clenched. Austin, who was on the phone, abruptly cut it off and strode to Vanessa and Mia expeditiously, his aura was cold, and his facial features screamed danger. Mia stood there dumbfounded, too lost in the change of situation to even react! When Mia saw Austin's figure approaching them, she immediately covered her cheek with her palm and cried with the grievance, "Brother. That bitch Vanessa slapped me!" Hearing that, Vanessa, who stood aside, raised her head and snorted as if she had heard a joke and muttered, "yes, I hit her. Would Mr.Jones hit me back to avenge her?" "Damn!" Austin was never the type to get provoked, but Vanessa successfully did that, and his blood boiled when he eyed the woman in front of him who looked so different that he couldn't find any resemblance with the Vanessa he knew! He couldn't help but muse in wonder, "how dare she to shout at me?" But his mind was struggling with an even more pressing question, "How did she change so much in just five months?" As he didn't know the answer to any of them, his face turned livid while his lips were pressed into a thin line. When he was about to retort her, Vanessa added in her haughty tone, "Don't try to provoke me when I didn't take the initiative to stir any trouble with you." Without giving him any chance to say, she continued, her eyes shot daggers at him and Mia, "If I become angry because of your stimulations, don't blame me for being heartless to the Jones family." She sneered, "after all, I have a lot more gossip that could throw mud on the Jones family." When Vanessa was done, she gazed at Austin with freezing coldness and muttered, "you were an ex-husband to me. So, behave like one and don't poke your dirty nose in my business." "Also, consider it as my first and last warning to the Jones family." Vanessa gave the final blow and walked away while brushing her hair, leaving the infuriated Austin and Mia behind. ...