SWNOVELS Chapter 461-470
Chapter 461
Before Serena could even express her anger, Alma was already apologizing. “My bad, I accidentally got your dress dirty, which made you have to go to the bathroom, and then you tripped over the hem. After the dinner party, you can come to my place and pick out a new dress as compensation. Now, don’t stay on the ground; it’s cold. Let me help you up!”
As Alma pretended to help Serena, she deliberately stepped on her dress. Before Serena could stand up, she fell again. The sound of her dress tearing was clearly audible.
Seeing this, Alma quickly said, “Chill, sis, I’ll cover you!”
She pretended to use the torn dress to cover Serena, but in reality, she was deliberately messing with her, making her reveal even more. “Back off!” Serena angrily pushed her away, instinctively covering her exposed leg, and then stood up with the help of Martha.
Alma immediately apologized, saying, “I’m sorry, it was not on purpose. I was just trying to toast you, but my hand slipped. It’s all because I applied hand cream before I left, so my hands were a bit slippery. I’m really sorry! I was only trying to help Serena up; I didn’t expect her to fall again. I’m really sorry, Serena!”
Her apology seemed very sincere; she even handed her own shawl to Serena and said, “Serena, put this on first!”
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Serena, furious, walked to the bathroom with her torn dress without giving Alma a second glance.
Alma bit her lip in a wronged manner, holding the shawl in her hands, and said dejectedly, “Is Serena mad at me?”
“Apologize to her properly when she comes out!” After saying this, Beverly turned to Kenneth and Louisa with a smile and said, “I’m really sorry; this kid can be a bit of a klutz. I’ll apologize for her. But after Serena comes out, whatever you want to do is fine.”
“Alma didn’t do it on purpose; let’s just forget it.” Although Louisa felt sorry for Serena, the mother and daughter had already apologized, so she couldn’t pursue it further. She could only say, “Martha, go get a spare dress from the car for Serena to change into, see if she’s hurt, and if so, bring the first aid kit.”
“Okay.” As Martha passed Alma, she deliberately stepped on her dress; only Alma herself could feel it. Alma looked at Martha’s retreating figure and thought, This old woman, Serena, was no longer part of the Collins family, yet she’s still so loyal.
Arabella could clearly see Alma’s true colors, but it wasn’t her problem. She casually enjoyed the food on her plate while chatting.
In the dining hall.
The waiter noticed that many guests were moving around different tables, eating food, causing the entire floor to become very chaotic. He went up to remind them, “I’m sorry, gentlemen, this table is not available.”
After saying this, he turned to the ladies next to him and said, “I’m sorry, ladies, this area is not in service.”
What surprised him even more was that he saw an old lady about to let her two–year–old grandson pee on the soil of the indoor plants. He immediately stepped forward to stop her. “I’m sorry, ma’am, the bathroom is down the hall and to the left, about two hundred meters away.”
“Can’t my grandson pee under this tree? He can’t hold it anymore! Two hundred meters? That’s too far!” The old lady said, and the child had already peed, dirtying the soil and the carpet.
“My nephew rented the entire hall, and we can’t even sit? Are you overstepping?” A middle–aged man with a cigarette in his hand glared at the waiter discontentedly, slamming the table and demanding, “Call your manager over; I want to complain about you!”
“Mr. Murphy only booked eleven tables, a total of eighty–eight seats, excluding other areas. Even if you get the manager, the situation won’t change. Unless Mr. Murphy pays more, you can only consume in that area.”
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“What on earth are you blabbering about?” Attlee’s uncle clearly didn’t buy this story, with the relatives and friends around him adding fuel to the fire. “You’re a low–ranked nobody, so I don’t blame you for not knowing about booking the entire restaurant. But if you don’t call your manager over today, don’t blame us for not being polite!”
“That’s right, call your manager! He needs to apologize to us personally!”
“What kind of attitude is that? You’re just a waiter, yet you act so high and mighty. Who do you think you are, bossing us around?”
One of them even blew smoke in the waiter’s face, giving him a contemptuous look.
“I’m sorry, sir, smoking is not permitted here, the waiter maintained his composure, “Mr. Murphy did not book the entire restaurant. If you don’t believe me, you can ask him. We have important guests today, and the manager is personally serving them in the private room and can’t come over. We hope you can understand.”
“What do you mean by that? Are you looking down on us?”
“So only the guests in the private room are important? We booked the entire restaurant; are we worth less than an onion? Your attitude is terrible!” “Attlee must have booked the entire restaurant; why else would the hall be empty?”
“Call your manager!”
“Yes, call him over!”
At this point, Olga noticed the commotion and hurried over to inquire, “What happened?”
Zachary was still here; wouldn’t he have a negative impression of Yoli if he saw the Murphy family’s relatives being so rude?
The relatives explained the situation to her, and the waiter added, “Ma’am, if it weren’t for you and Mr. Murphy insisting that our manager serve you, he wouldn’t be attending to other guests today. Now this area is a mess.”
The tables were littered with leftovers; melon seed shells and cigarette butts were everywhere on the floor, and someone even extinguished a cigarette on the carpet, making a few holes!
This was the first time Dawn Restaurant had dealt with such ill–mannered customers.
“If you insist on dining in this area, then an additional 20% will be added to the service charge.”
After all, the carpet was stained and torn, and the cleaning and maintenance would take a lot of time and money.
“Olga, you tell him, did Attlee book the entire restaurant?”
“The entire place is the Murphy family’s now; I can do whatever I want!”
“When booking the entire restaurant, the service charge must have been included. Are you trying to squeeze more money out of us? Isn’t this the Dawn Restaurant under the McMillan Corporation? Is the McMillan Corporation’s behavior this despicable?”
Other waiters hurried over to help resolve the issue.
“Sir, you’ve torn our carpet, and we haven’t said anything. It’s just that this carpet was imported from Italy. We originally didn’t plan to charge you for damages, just a little more for the service fee.”
“Just now, someone urinated on one of our plants. That plant is very precious; it’s watered only every five days; it’s a special variety imported from Dawnstar, worth two hundred thousand dollars.”
“Madam, these are all your guests; we hope you can say a few words.”
The waiters were very polite, but the group of relatives just kept on talking.
“Two hundred thousand dollars, are you trying to rob us? You dare ask for two hundred grand just like that? My kid peeing on the plant is fertilizing it; you should be thankful, and you’re asking for money?”
“We’re a group of eighty–eight people spending money here; you’ve already made a lot. Aren’t you satisfied? Do you want more money? Have you never seen money in your life? Is money all you care about?”
“This is too much! I demand to see your manager today!”
“So I’ve made a mess, so what?”
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Then, someone picked up a plate of leftovers and dumped it right on the carpet.
“Uncle, wait!” Olga was shocked, but it was too late to stop it.
The other relatives followed suit, some stubbing out their cigarettes on the carpet, some pouring soup on the plants.
Olga felt dizzy.
Suddenly, someone accidentally knocked over an antique while wreaking havoc.
Ironically, the antique fell where there was no carpet, and with a loud crash, it shattered into pieces.
The entire hall went quiet.
“This antique is worth three million dollars.”
Hearing the waiter’s words, Olga felt weak in the knees and dizzy.
Zachary, seeing the outrageous behavior of his family, was immediately disgruntled with their manners, but Yoli had gone to the restroom and hadn’t returned yet.
Olga summoned Attlee, and the waiter called the supervisor.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Murphy, but you really have to pay for this,” the supervisor, after hearing what happened, noted. “The antique is three million dollars, the plant is two hundred thousand dollars, and the carpet is fifty thousand dollars. We can provide the original purchase receipts. If you don’t pay, we’ll have to call the police.”
“Kris, it’s all a misunderstanding.” Attlee tried to make nice with the supervisor, but it didn’t work.
“Our CEO is also dining here today. If he gets wind of this, you know the consequences.”
Upon hearing this, Attlee felt a sense of impending doom.
They said the CEO, Romeo, was ruthless. If anyone caused trouble on his turf, their days were numbered!
“Attlee, didn’t you book the whole restaurant? What are you afraid of?”
“Besides, we know Attlee is loaded. A few million is nothing to him! Who are you underestimating?”
Attlee wiped the sweat from his forehead and spotted Zachary not far away. He quickly said, “Hold on a moment.” Then he went to seek help from Zachary.
“Son–in–law, I really need your help with this! You know, I don’t have that much cash on hand right now.”
But Zachary looked a bit uncomfortable. “To be honest, I don’t have much money left in my bank account either.”
“Could you maybe help cover some of it? Some of the relatives have lived in the countryside all their lives; they’re not used to this kind of place, and they didn’t mean to cause trouble.”
Zachary glanced in the direction of the restroom. Yolanda still hadn’t returned. He really didn’t want to take on this responsibility, but Attlee kept calling him son–in–law, almost begging.
Attlee even said, “Yoli’s grandma said that when she gets better, she’ll give all her shares to Yoli as a dowry. Marrying Yoli will make you proud.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“So what are you hesitating for?” Attlee continued to press.
But Zachary was just a college freshman, easily swayed by Attlee. Finally, he spoke his mind: “I can only provide thirty thousand dollars; that’s all I have left in my bank account.”
“Alright, then transfer the thirty thousand dollars to my account, and I’ll send it to them.“.
Although Zachary was reluctant, he eventually transferred the thirty thousand dollars.
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After Attlee had paid the compensation, those relatives still wanted to argue with a few waiters about who was right or wrong. Attlee hurriedly pulled them away
“Attlee, you’re really too kind, letting these unfriendly folks step all over your
“Even though we, the Murphy family, are loaded, we can’t let them act so recklessly!”
“If you can’t confront them because of your status as a tycoon, let me handle it! I can totally deal with these people!”
Attlee was extremely embarrassed. He put his hands together and pleaded in a soft voice, “I invited you all for dinner today, firstly to celebrate Yoli’s good grades and secondly to introduce her fiance to you in advance. He’s still here. Could you give me a break and stop causing a scene?”
Everyone suddenly remembered Zachary’s existence and instinctively looked at him.
Zachary was sitting alone at the table, drinking red wine. Thinking about how expensive tonight’s dinner was made him feel upset.
Meanwhile,
Yolanda was captivated by two handsome men. Even though she didn’t know their names, one glance at them filled her mind with images of them. One looked like the celebrity David, and the other was also breathtakingly handsome; she couldn’t help but want to get to know them.
She pretended to go to the restroom and found that there were people guarding all the elevators and even the fire stairwell.
With no other options, she had to move toward the spiral staircase on the other side.
There was no one guarding this staircase, and just as she was about to step on the first step, a waiter appeared and stopped her.
“Sorry, miss, you can’t go up there.”
Yolanda retracted her foot, maintaining a decent smile, and calmly said, “I’m looking for the restroom.”
“The restroom is 100 meters to the left.”
Yolanda kept her elegant smile and gently asked, “Can I ask, is David having dinner here today?”
“Sorry, we can’t reveal the privacy of the guests.”
“Can you answer another question for me? A handsome man went upstairs just now; he looks a lot like my friend. Can you tell me his name? If it’s my friend, I’ll go up and say hi.”
The waiter looked at her, thinking to himself, He’s heard this excuse many times.
What? She failed to get close to David, so now she’s trying to get close to their boss? This girl was too much!
Thinking this, the waiter still calmly said, “Sorry, miss, I can’t accommodate your request.”
Yolanda glanced in the direction of the upper floor, not knowing when that handsome man would come down. If she could know his identity, that would be great.
If not, if she could attract David’s attention, whether it was by becoming David’s girlfriend or entering the entertainment industry in the future, it would be all good and no harm!
After grabbing a bite, Alma noticed Serena was still missing. She put on a concerned face and said, “Serena hasn’t come back; I’ll go check on her.”
She got up and headed towards the restroom, which was about fifty yards from the dining area.
Reaching the restroom door, she knocked and sweetly called out, “Silly sis, are you okay in there?”
The restroom door was flung open angrily, and Serena splashed all the water from her hands onto Alma’s face.
Although Alma managed to block some of it with her hand, some water still got onto her makeup.
“You meanie!” Serena, after splashing the water, was ready to slap Alma hard!
But Alma effortlessly caught her wrist and said, “You really think you’re some kind of princess?”
She gave a cold laugh and arrogantly said, “If it wasn’t for Auntie’s pity, you’d be on the streets like a homeless person by now! You can’t even afford tonight’s dinner, let alone bossing me around!”
“You!” Serena was so angry that she was grinding her teeth but couldn’t find the words to retort. Her face turned red with anger!
“Do you really think the Collins family would side with you, an outsider, over one of their own?” Alma looked at her with a gleeful smile, as if mocking her lowly status.
Martha, who came out of the restroom with Serena’s dress, couldn’t help but say, “Ms. Alma, please let go; you’re hurting Serena!”
Before Alma could reply, Martha added with a stern face, “Otherwise, I’ll have to record this and show it to the master and mistress.”
“You’re really loyal to her!” Alma let go disdainfully, brushing off her hands as if touching Serena was a dirty act.
Serena saw all this and was furious.
“Serena, I’ll settle our scores slowly. Don’t leave this house too soon, or it won’t be fun!” As Alma was about to enter the restroom, she deliberately bumped into Martha’s shoulder and glared at her. “And you!”
Old grudges and new hatred–it’s all going to be settled!
“Serena, let’s go eat first.” Martha, holding the dress, followed Serena and calmly reminded her, “Tonight’s dinner is about Ms. Bella, so let’s not cause any more trouble. It would leave a bad impression on the master and mistress, who would think you’re deliberately ruining Ms. Bella’s party. There will be plenty of chances to get back at her later.”
“Even she dares to bully me now!” Serena was very angry. “Not to mention the others in the Collins family! I can tell she has a grudge against Arabella, but she wouldn’t dare bully Arabella in front of so many people! Why only bully me?”
“Serena, you should know the difference between you and Ms. Bella. Of course people will pick on the weaker one!”
Martha’s words made Serena even more upset. Arabella, that woman, always had all the advantages. If she hadn’t suddenly returned, Alma wouldn’t have the courage to be so arrogant!
After a while, she returned to her seat. Kenneth, Louisa, and David all immediately showed concern. Considering the bigger picture, she just said, “I’m fine,” and then sneakily glanced at Romeo.
Romeo was whispering something to Arabella with his head down.
Arabella glared at him, a fake annoyance on her face. Romeo just gave a small smile, a doting expression that was envy–inducing.
That’s Romeo, and Arabella actually dared to glare at him like that!
More importantly, he actually smiled, as if he were indulging Arabella’s arrogance!
Why? Why would such a great guy be charmed by Arabella?
Just then, Alma came back.
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She hustled over to Beverly, grabbed her arm tightly, buried her face in her chest, and whimpered, “Mom!”
She looked like she’d been done wrong big time.
Seeing her, Serena couldn’t help but feel pissed. If she didn’t know the full story, they’d think she was the bad guy!
“What’s up?” Beverly looked down to see a handprint on her daughter’s right cheek. If they didn’t look closely, they’d think it was just makeup.
Beverly had a hunch her daughter was up to something, so she went along with the act, raising her voice with concern, “What happened to your face?” All eyes were suddenly on them.
“Mom, don’t ask!” Alma kept her head down, her voice tainted with reproach, as if she didn’t want anyone else to know.
“What happened?” When Alma wouldn’t spill, Beverly turned to Serena, asking gently, “Alma went to see you just now; how did she come back like this? Do you know what happened?”
Serena was at a loss. How was she supposed to know what Alma was up to?
“Mom, it’s not Serena’s fault; don’t question her!” Alma immediately stopped her, saying,”I did this makeup myself; I thought it was fun.”
“Who in their right mind would paint a handprint on their face?” Beverly said, reaching out to touch her face.
“Ouch, it hurts. Don’t touch!” Alma teared up from the pain.
At this point, everyone was looking at Serena in disbelief.
Did Serena hit her?
Beverly turned to Serena, saying tenderly, “Serena, it’s all because Alma was careless and dirtied your dress tonight. I’ll apologize on her behalf, and later I’ll take you shopping for a new dress. I wouldn’t feel right otherwise.”
“I didn’t hit her!” Serena felt wronged. Beverly sounded like she hit Alma because Alma dirtied her dress! But that wasn’t the case at all!
“I didn’t say you hit her; don’t jump to conclusions!” Beverly feigned a scolding smile, speaking softly, “Don’t rush; it’s Alma’s fault tonight.”
“No, I really didn’t hit her! I don’t know what’s with the handprint on her face!” Serena said, turning to Kenneth and Louisa, “Dad, Mom, I really didn’t hit her!” Louisa was also confused. Alma had gone to the restroom to check on Serena out of concern, and when she came back, she had a red handprint on her face that looked real, even wincing when Beverly touched it.
“Serena, what’s going on?” Louisa wouldn’t condemn her own daughter, but she wouldn’t cover for her if she made a mistake either.
“When Alma came to find me in the restroom, as soon as I opened the door.” Serena suddenly remembered splashing water on her, smudging her makeup a bit.
Did Alma mess up her own makeup? Did she really draw a handprint on herself while retouching her makeup? Was this to frame her? That little rascal!
“So what happened then?” Louisa saw that she stopped without continuing, wondering if something serious and unspeakable had happened.
“Whatever Serena did to me, as long as she’s not mad, it’s okay! Mom, don’t ask anymore! It will damage the harmony between us sisters and our family! Tonight’s dinner is centered around Ms. Bella, and Romeo is also present. Let’s drop it!”
Before anyone else could speak, Alma continued, “I’m really okay! Mom, don’t ask anymore! The atmosphere was so good; now it’s all changed!”
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After she finished speaking, she casually tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
There’s no way Beverly wouldn’t notice the ulterior motive behind her daughter’s move, and she asked, “Why is your hair wet too?”
“It’s ‘cause it’s so hot out; I’m just sweating! Anyway, it’s got nothing to do with Serena; let’s just eat!” Alma tried to divert the topic and added in a low voice, “Let’s not embarrass Bella.”
Serena was ticked off. Wasn’t Alma’s comment a sneaky way of implying that her wet hair and the mark on her face were Serena’s doing? And she had the nerve to pretend to be considerate. What a joke!
Serena couldn’t hold back and blurted out, “Mom, I swear I didn’t hit her. That mark must be something she drew on herself. Martha can back me up!! didn’t lay a finger on her!”
On one side, Serena was adamantly denying it, and on the other side, Alma was seemingly covering up for her.
Everyone’s sympathies were leaning towards Alma!
Though Louisa doubted Serena would do such a thing, the evidence was right there. Surely they couldn’t just accuse Alma of making a scene out of nothing?
“Can we please stop staring at me? Let’s just eat.” Alma couldn’t handle the attention. “If there’s anything you want to say, let’s talk about it after dinner!” Arabella smirked, seeing right through Alma’s act. The whole thing could be solved with a simple bottle of makeup remover to see who was lying. But Serena, in her anger, wasn’t thinking straight.
However, Arabella decided not to interfere with their sisterly spat and merely commented, “This foie gras is pretty good.”
Upon hearing this, everyone quickly shifted their attention.
David was puzzled. He believed Serena wouldn’t hit anyone, but he also thought Alma was usually sweet and wouldn’t be capable of such deception. He shook his head, not knowing what to think, and decided to plate food for them instead. “Let’s eat first; we can talk about this later.”
“I swear I didn’t hit her!” Serena had never felt so wronged!
“Serena, nobody’s saying you hit me. Let’s drop it!” Alma continued to whisper as she ate, serving food to Serena in an attempt to make peace. Serena was fuming!
“Serena, Bella just said the foie gras is tasty; what do you think?” Alma asked with a smile, “If you like it, I can get you some more.” Serena was about to lose it!
Meanwhile, Yolanda couldn’t find any other way upstairs and had to return to the main hall.
The hall was bustling, but she didn’t notice; her mind was preoccupied with how to cozy up to the two handsome guys.
“Yoli, why did it take you so long? Are you feeling sick?” Zachary was relieved to see her return and asked softly.
“The dining room is so huge, I got a bit lost. Sorry for making you wait.” Yolanda looked up at Zachary’s average face and felt a bit disappointed. Compared to those two guys, he fell short.
“Yoli, there’s something I wanted to ask you; I’d like to hear your thoughts.” Zachary brought up something he had been thinking about: “For our upcoming engagement party, would it be possible to hold it separately at our respective families‘ places?”
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Zachary added, probably worrying that she might misunderstand, “This is all me, it has nothing to do with my parents.”
As for the engagement party, his parents had long since let him take the reins.
Yolanda seemed to have a hunch but still asked subconsciously, “What do you mean?”
“That is, on the day of the engagement party, we will invite all our family and friends over, and any close relatives and friends from your side can come too. But as for those distant relatives,
Zachary hesitated for a moment, but finally decided to just say, “Would it be possible for your parents to invite those distant relatives at another time? Would that be okay?”
“Zachary, are you saying our relatives aren’t good enough, worried they’ll embarrass your family?” Yolanda immediately got a bit miffed.
“Yoli.” Zachary wanted to explain but didn’t know how to begin.
She didn’t see how uncouth her rural relatives had been just now. He didn’t even want to remember it a second time!
If his family saw it, not only would he be the laughingstock, but everyone would oppose the marriage!
He just didn’t want things to get too awkward.
“If you look down on us Murphys, Zachary, then you don’t have to worry about my future.” Yolanda retorted angrily.
“Yoli, that’s not what I meant!” Zachary tried to explain quietly, “It’s because just now.”
Everything that had happened was hard to put into words. He didn’t want to embarrass Yoli.
“What happened just now? Did you feel ignored because I took too long in the restroom? Did you think I was deliberately ignoring you? Making you uncomfortable?“,
“Of course not!” Zachary got a bit flustered and said, “You should ask your parents!”
Yolanda didn’t understand what had happened, but she had a bad feeling. Did something major happen while she was gone?
After a while, Zachary poured himself a drink and said, “I promised you before, after the engagement party, I would buy you a Porsche. That might have to be put on
hold.”
What did he mean?
Was he not going to marry her anymore?
Was he not willing to spend the money?
Did he think he was superior?
Did he look down on her?
Those two guys were really good–looking, but she didn’t say it to provoke him or protect his ego.
He didn’t really think he was that great, did he?
Zachary watched her expression turn sour and patiently explained, “I just transferred all my personal savings to your father.”
Yolanda was taken aback. What did he mean?
Why did he transfer money to her father?
And so much at once?
Seeing that Zachary didn’t plan to say more, she went to her father, Attlee. After learning the truth, she realized how inappropriate her relatives‘ behavior had been.
Meanwhile, David was serving food to Arabella when his phone vibrated. It was his manager, saying he needed him to come over.
“Bella, I have some things to take care of. You just stay here and eat.” David gently patted Arabella’s head, then turned to Romeo and said, “Take good care of Bella. If she’s not happy,”
He waved his fist, seemingly threatening him: “Watch out, I’ll punch you.”
Romeo’s lips curled up slightly, seemingly interested in this threat. He asked, “You think you can beat me?”
David instantly felt insulted. “Don’t underestimate me. Fights aren’t just about the size of your fist, but the strength behind it.”
“Oh.” Romeo’s grin grew wider.
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“I feel like I’m totally being underestimated here!” David grumbled to himself.
“Let me give you a lift home, David.” This proposal lit up David’s eyes, and he looked at Arabella excitedly. “But you haven’t finished your meal.”
“I’m already full.”
While David was thrilled, he didn’t forget to warn Romeo, “Don’t you dare follow us!”
Finally, he had a chance to spend some alone time with his sister!
Even if it was just for a little while.
David walked out shoulder to shoulder with Arabella, looking as pumped as if he’d just won the lottery.
“Bella, is there anything you want to know about the entertainment industry? I can tell you everything I know.” David said it indulgently. “Not interested? That’s cool; I can tell you something else.”
He chatted with Arabella about all kinds of celebrity gossip from the moment they stepped into the elevator until they reached the lobby.
Yolanda was about to thank Zachary when she spotted David out of the corner of her eye.
There he was, not wearing sunglasses, with his cap on backwards, dressed in trendy clothes, chatting joyfully with a girl. And that girl was Arabella!
Yolanda’s eyes widened in disbelief. She rubbed her eyes and looked–again. It was indeed Arabella!
“Do you find this funny, hahaha?” David was laughing heartily.
Arabella was amused by his silliness and nodded, “Yeah, it’s funny.”
“Right? I have another funny story to tell you.” David began to spill more industry gossip.
Yolanda couldn’t believe it. International superstar David was chatting and laughing with Arabella so intimately.
Were they dating?
The thought shocked her. She covered her mouth, unable to believe this was real.
Could it be that Arabella was invited to the dinner because of David?
He was a superstar, and it was common for him to book a whole restaurant.
But what made Arabella worthy of being with such a perfect man?
Even if she was the founder of QY, she wasn’t qualified!
Yolanda clenched her fists, her eyes reddening with jealousy. Only after they had left did she approach Zachary.
Although Zachary had given $300,000, Yolanda had no interest in his ordinary face. She regretted that she had made her move too soon.
“Zachary, my dad told me what happened. I’m really sorry that my relatives have caused you trouble!” She bit her lip and said, “I’ll find a way to pay you back those $300,000.”
Even though she said this, Yolanda had no intention of repaying the money. She just wanted to leave a good impression on Zachary.
“I can’t possibly take your money. I hope you’re not mad about my earlier proposal. I just wanted to make my relatives like you more.”
“I know; I’ve talked to my dad about it. We’ll have separate engagement parties, and those distant relatives will be invited by my dad at another time.”
Seeing her say this, Zachary finally smiled.
On the other side, Arabella had just dropped off David and returned to the private room. Everyone asked her if she wanted to eat anything, but she said she was full and couldn’t eat another bite. Kenneth and Lucas then started arguing about who should pick up the tab.
“I organized this dinner, so I should be the one to pay!”
“I’m Bella’s uncle; can’t you let me show some generosity? I want Bella to have a good impression of me too!”
“You’ve already given Bella gifts and a bank card; there’s no way we’re letting you pay for this meal.”
“Are you being polite to me again? I’m telling you, I must pay for this meal tonight; otherwise, my wife will punish me when I get home!”
Seeing the two brothers bickering endlessly, Louisa smiled at Arabella and said, “Bella, why don’t you see Romeo out first? We’ll wait for you at the door.”
“Alright.”
As Romeo walked through the lobby with his arm around Arabella’s shoulders, Yolanda’s mouth hung open wide énough to fit two eggs.
Wasn’t that the man she’d been pining for?
He was actually walking arm in arm with Arabella, whispering something to her.
And Arabella was smiling brightly, her eyes were flirting with him!
Hadn’t she just been hugging David?
That was way out of line!
She was dating two guys at the same time!
How shameless!
The real question was, How did she manage it? She had two amazing guys attracted to her, and they didn’t even notice each other. They were dining in the same restaurant but didn’t realize each other’s presence!
That was simply mind–blowing.
Seeing them leave the restaurant, Yolanda immediately stood up and said, “Zachary, I need to use the restroom“.
Again??
Zachary wanted to ask if she was feeling unwell, but he noticed that she was headed in the opposite direction of the restroom. Where was she going? Was she stepping out for some fresh air? Was something bothering her tonight?
Yolanda hurried outside the restaurant, and from a distance, she saw Romeo, under the dim light, holding Arabella’s face in his hands and kissing her passionately. She covered her mouth, unable to believe what she was seeing!
Their affection, it seemed, was deeper than she had imagined.
Roméo was greedily enjoying the sweet taste of the girl’s lips; after a while, he reluctantly let go, saying, “I wish I could take you home.”
But Arabella seemed more indifferent than him: “I’ll take our dar home later; you can leave first.”
“Leaving me alone again.”
His tone sounded a bit melancholic.
Arabella sighed and said, “Behave.”
“Then give me some compensation.”
Arabella couldn’t help but laugh at his constant requests for ‘compensation. She smiled, tiptoed, and landed a kiss on his lips. “Is that enough for you?”
Romeo held her tighter, as if he hadn’t had enough. “It’s too little; can I have more?”
Arabella tiptoed again and gave him another kiss.
Romeo’s passion was ignited by her; he held her head and gave her a long, deep kiss.
Yolanda, hiding nearby, watched their deep kisses and cursed in her mind!
Her teasing and rejecting tactics were clear as day!
Suddenly, an idea popped into Yolanda’s head. She took out her phone and snapped a picture.
She would definitely show this to Romeo, or maybe David, when the opportunity presented itself. To show them just how cunning and manipulative this woman
was!