Chapter 97 - Scenes at the Dining Hall

The other members of the Millicent family have been waiting in the dining hall for quite a while now.

That five-star hotel houses quite a lavish seafood restaurant. The whole setting is almost palatial, has a grandiose interior design, and provides a very classy ambiance. 

Since Gertrude invited a few guests, she was forced to start their dinner even without a certain couple around. It would be embarrassing to keep them waiting, after all. But even when they already began, the exasperation she was feeling didn't lessen at all. 

Once more, Cassidy is proving how much of a bad influence she is to Adrian. Her son is never late, so this is obviously her fault. What they did back at Damien's birthday party was happening before her eyes all over again.

"That damn brat... How much does she want to aggravate me until she is satisfied?" Gertrude hissed underneath her breath as she took a sip of her wine, cursing just loud enough for the person beside her to hear. 

"Well, at least she is finally meeting us, Mother..." Irish trailed off with a scheming smirk.

"Don't worry. Just focus on your guests. I'll deal with Cassidy."

"Irish, what are you planning this time?" Olivia asked her discreetly, glancing at her from the side.

"Many things. I'm still in the middle of choosing one - the worst one, that is." 

"Are you still angry at what happened to your date this morning?"

As her twin sister asked her that, she stilled for a second and narrowed her eyes. That's when the memory from earlier that day replays in her mind, making her clench her fists in anger.

"Hey, I'm talking, you know. Just what was it you're looking at the whole time?" was what Irish asked the man she was presently dating when she found him practically drooling and goggling at his phone.

The two of them were inside a local milktea shop at that time. She was talking about all the famous directors and actors that she worked together with when she caught her boyfriend not paying attention.

Getting ignored is definitely one of the things she hates the most. He should know that already even if they only started dating a couple of days ago. Rather, everyone who knows her should know that.

What made Irish flare up even more was the impression that he was ogling another woman right in front of her. 

"O-Oh, Irish... It's just that... There's this viral photo that is spreading like wildfire since the other day. I believe you know her. It's kinda mentioned in the comments that she looks like one of the Millicent's, after all. They also said that this picture was captured by a world-renowned photographer," was what her boyfriend told her as he showed her the image on his phone.

That's when Irish feels her fury raging in like a storm. 

The picture shows a perfect s.e.xy shot of Cassidy in her black leather jacket while taking off her helmet. 

She immediately realized that the picture was taken during her nephew's birthday party the other night. Out of all the people in the world, though, it really had to be this revolting sister-in-law of hers who would make a man ignore her. As if that wasn't enough, her boyfriend even went on and praised her like she's some modern-day goddess. 

With that, Iris snapped and broke up with him immediately, which eventually ruined her date.

"Oh, she's so gonna get it, Olivia..." Irish sneered contemptuously before looking at one of their guests and furrowing her brows for a bit.

"Just why would Sir Levi take a photo of that ugly wench, anyway? What did he see in her? And he even posted that picture without permission."

Levi is the photographer who spread that photo of Cassidy online for reasons that they are yet to discuss.

He is the same age as Edward, has platinum blonde hair and a pair of hazel brown eyes. The way he presents himself is casual and airy despite being a prominent professional who owns a modeling agency as well as a manufacturing company that specializes in imaging and optical products such as lenses and cameras.

Since he's a prestigious personality and a business partner, Irish can't just walk up to him and lash out her vex for making Cassidy the center of attention on social media. For her, that woman doesn't deserve the recognition since all she keeps doing nowadays is mess around.

"Now, I know what I wanna do with her," Irish then thought out loud, finally coming up with an evil plot. 

"I know you're confident and all, but that Cassidy is different from the one we used to know before. She will probably react differently this time," her twin sister commented with her trademark aloof expression.

"I'm not falling for that tough facade of hers. All she keeps doing lately is running away, anyway. The truth is, she's only hiding the fact that she's the same scaredy-cat like before."

'Well, if it's true that she's only running away, why will she attend this dinner and meet us this time around? She knows we're all here. It's like entering a den full of lions,' was what Olivia wanted to ask but just chose to keep it to herself.

For some time now, she's sensing something unsettling. There's a reason why she didn't try to involve herself with her sister's schemes the other day. It's a feeling that made her think that she should watch for the meantime - that there's something about Cassidy that could make anyone wary and on guard.

On the other hand, there's Sophie who's enjoying what she's hearing and seeing at the moment.

'How wonderful. The in-laws are obviously up to something. Most probably, another public humiliation. Oh, how I miss those days~ Been a while since I saw that woman looking extremely mortified...' the blonde mused silently, smirking while she drank her wine. 

'Was the last one during the annual family reunion...? Well then, I'll just do the same thing I did back then. While the in-laws are busy harassing her, I'll go get Adrian and have him all to myself.' 

Sophie took pleasure in recalling Cassidy's reaction as soon as she caught her making out with Adrian inside a room that time.

She loved how her whole frame went extremely pale. Her lips quivered uncontrollably as her tears rolled down the sides of her face. More than her devastated expression, though, what she enjoyed the most was how she could not even get inside there and stop the two of them. 

Cassidy appeared so powerless, weak, useless, and small - right then, Sophie knew that this woman already admitted long before that she could never make her husband kiss her the same way. 

'Oh, how pathetic, indeed~ And I'm sure that doesn't change. Despite his odd actions these days, Adrian hasn't changed the way he sees her. Of course, he won't. She's still nothing but a parasite. Let's show her that again once I get my hands on him,' she continued to muse with a knowing look in her eyes.

While Sophie is busy having these thoughts, she doesn't realize that Edward has noticed the conniving air that's seeping through her.

He was occupied with minding Joshua and Hugo's table manners when he caught her smirking all by herself. For certain, it's a weird sight to see, but other than being weirded out, he also finds it disturbing. Right then, he suddenly realized that she looked just as strange as she was back when he received a message from Adrian hours before Damien's party started. 

'Ms. Sophie, huh... She's really getting on my nerves these days. It's as if she always has something in mind,' Edward pondered quietly. 

"Daddy..." Hugo called out sadly, making him turn to look back at him and his brothers.

"I still don't see Aunty and Uncle Bossman anywhere. They said they're coming."

"Of course, they are. Your uncle already sent me a message. He said that they're only going to be late."

"I wanna see Aunty already. I wanna go get ice cream now."

"Get what?"

"Oh, you see, Daddy-"

"Hugo...!" Joshua suddenly exclaimed in panic before covering his brother's mouth and whispering in his ears.

"I thought we're gonna keep that a secret. Don't you even know what 'escape' means? And do you think Dad will let us go if he finds out? Especially Grandmother!"

"O-Oh, right. Sorry, big brother," the toddler apologized and shut his lips closed at once.

"You guys are acting suspiciously again, I see..." their father sighed, deciding to just let them off the hook.

"Don't make a ruckus now, alright? We're with some guests."

That's when Edward takes a look at his eldest son. As always, Damien is talking with the other a.d.u.l.ts and entertaining their curiosity. If he's not acting like a good host, he's eating his food silently while wearing a solemn look on. 

Sometimes, he wishes that at least he can be messy with his table manners like his two brothers. For his age, he is too perfect and too behaved for his own good - almost like a certain younger brother of his when he was still sharing the same age as his son. 

"Seriously, though, where are Adrian and Cassidy?" Edward then wondered out loud as he looked at the entrance.