Your brain's the one that's sick! Tessa so wanted to yell back.
But she's still an intern, can't afford to offend her seniors.
She forced a perfunctory smile and replied, "I like him, and I believe in him. He'll become a supermodel one day."
"Supermodel?"
Autumn Sterling laughed like a hen clucking, as if she'd heard some international joke.
Mockingly, she said to Tessa, "Do you know how many fresh faces appear in the modeling world each year? Those fresh faces start at the age of teens, and if they're going to be a hit, it's in their teens. Your husband, to marry you, must be twenty-seven or eight, right? And he's not a celebrity. Maybe, just maybe, he'll get famous by thirty. Models need to be young—past twenty-two, they're old news. Your husband, he's gonna stay ordinary for life. Plus, I hear models typically don't switch jobs later on. Once they're off the catwalk, they just find a rich woman to keep them. So, you're not disgusted that you're marrying a model and sharing a man with those rich women?"
Hearing her insult Faye like this, Tessa was instantly displeased.
But she still kept a cheerful smile.
She said, "I believe my husband is a hidden gem. Those with real skill never fear aging, unlike some people who reach forty and can't get married, and probably never will. Can't help it, women who can't marry by forty are like an outhouse stone—smelly and stubborn—practically neurotic... oops..."
As she spoke, her expression changed, and she immediately apologized weakly to Autumn Sterling.
With a pitiful look: "I'm sorry, Autumn, I didn't mean you. I was just making a casual comparison. Who knew women over forty would be like that? I really, really wasn't talking about you."
In actuality, she was referring to Autumn Sterling.
Autumn is forty this year, but due to high standards and her sharp, caustic temperament, she has never been married.
Though she has tried all kinds of cosmetics to maintain her youth, she can't hide the marks of time.
Two words: She's aged.
Tessa's words made Autumn's face turn black as coal, "Tessa, you..."
"Oh, don't be mad." Tessa was so anxious she was almost in tears.
"Autumn, I really didn't mean you. There are plenty of women who can't marry by forty. It's just that you're lacking male attention and terribly out of hormonal balance... You're not necessarily neurotic... right? Autumn, have you gotten checked out?"
Nearby came the deliberately suppressed sound of colleagues snickering.
Autumn was so furious that she was just short of spitting blood, gritting her teeth and cursing, "Tessa... you'll get your comeuppance one day!"
With that, she stormed off in a rage.
Tessa gestured defensively, "Autumn, you really misunderstood, I wasn't talking about you..."
A colleague beside her kindly reminded Tessa that she had offended Autumn; she'd better watch out because Autumn is famously petty and vindictive.
Tessa knew she acted impulsively, but she really hated how Autumn belittled Faye.
Even though Faye was just her contract husband for three months, a contract husband is still a husband.
Though Faye is a model, he's very well-behaved and never messes around. Even if she throws herself at him, he can stay composed.
What a great young man, handsome and charming, with a good demeanor. So what if he can't afford a house or car right now? That doesn't mean he should be slandered like that or accused of being kept.