My Pretty Sweetheart (Arianna)

As soon as we entered the villa, I noticed a middle-aged woman dressed in fine and fashionable clothes as she stood by the entrance, welcoming us. With a smile on her face, she looked at Hendrix and greeted, "Mr. Roberts, long time no see."

Seeing that I was next to Hendrix, the woman smiled faintly before her gaze returned to Hendrix. "This must be Mrs. Roberts, right?"

Hendrix nodded as he shook her hands and greeted her, "Hello, Madam Lawson. Sorry to keep you waiting."

Madam Lawson? Taking another look at this woman, a realization suddenly struck my mind. Wasn't she Sawyer's mother, Valerie Lawson?

Why did Hendrix bring me here for dinner out of the blue?

After a brief introduction, Valerie led Hendrix and me into the villa. We followed her into the dining room on the first floor. There were already a few people seated at the table, and they seemed to be middle- aged men with their wives.

After asking everyone to settle down, Valerie ordered the butlers to serve the dishes. Then, she uttered with a smile, "Thank you very much for coming tonight, everyone. I know all of you are usually busy and seldom have the time to gather together. It's a rare occasion today, so don't be shy, make yourselves at home."

"Valerie, don't be in a hurry to make a statement. You haven't introduced the young man who has just entered." A middle-aged man chuckled as he piped up. He was slightly plump and looked dignified when he laughed.

Hearing this, Valerie smiled and said, "Why are you in such a hurry, Arnold? This is Mr. Roberts, whom I've always mentioned to you. He's young and promising. The one next to him is his wife, Mrs. Roberts." After that was an introduction session, where I listened attentively and then realized that the people present were either some chairmen or directors. Basically, they were all prominent figures in business and politics.

Halfway through the meal, Valerie suddenly brought up some interesting events that had happened recently in Ucrebury. Whether it was intentional, she mentioned the case regarding the methamphetamine, saying that it had been decades since it last appeared in the market and that she couldn't find any of it for medicinal purposes.

At this moment, Arnold Clark, the police station's director, spoke, "It just so happens I looked into a case yesterday and found that someone had recently smuggled that drug. One or two grams of it should be enough to use as medicine."

Valerie quickly shook her head and replied, "That won't do. Arnold, you might not know this but I have inquired Mrs. Roberts about it two days ago. She was so concerned about this that she went to her friend for help in search of it. Who knew that things would turn out so badly. Her friend is even still detained at the police station as of now!"

I was dazed for about two seconds before I realized that Valerie was referring to me.

For a moment, I was confused as I wondered to myself, "When have I ever met Valerie? Have I ever been so close to her before?"

I took a quick glance at Hendrix and saw that he was looking at Arnold indifferently.

They were all elites who had been through hell, and Arnold instantly understood what Valerie meant behind her words. His experienced eyes landed on me and he replied, "I didn't know that you and Madam Lawson were so closely acquainted. What's your friend's name? I'll go back and check. If there really was a misunderstanding, then it's like a friendly fire. There shouldn't be such a dispute with one of our own."

I didn't fumble. I stood up, lifted the glass of orange juice in front of me, and said while smiling sweetly, "Thank you, Mr. Clark. Her name is Monique Caulfield and she is the same age as me. As I am pregnant, I will drink a glass of orange juice to replace wine as a toast to you. Thank you so much, Mr. Clark."

A grin formed on Arnold's face. He gazed at both Valerie and Hendrix gleefully and commented, "What a lovely girl. Come, I'll have a toast with you."

And so, the issue regarding Monique was pretty much solved.

After drinking and chatting, they became familiar with each other.

Arnold and Valerie seemed to have drunk a little too much, and they started to talk about the events of the past.