Chapter 23: Come Here

Crystal did not want Nathan to visit her later that night, so she agreed to visit him at his table. She sighed as she put her phone away and turned to face her companion. She smiled and said, “Ms. Ford, as chance would have it, Professor Davis is also here at the Rossini Restaurant, and he has invited us to join him.”

When Tiffany heard this, her face lit up, and she said, “Really? Let’s go.” Tiffany immediately grabbed her bag and took the lead.

In the Aries Room, no one except Nathan knew that Crystal was coming, so when Crystal and Tiffany entered the room, they were surprised, and they focused their attention on the two women that stood before them. One looked mature and intellectual, and the other looked plain and malnourished.

Nathan looked towards Crystal, whose hair was unexpectedly braided, revealing her thin neck, and when Crystal felt his eyes on her, she turned to look at him and frowned. She didn’t appreciate the manner in which he’d summoned her.

Nathan raised their eyebrows slightly and smirked lightly. His bright eyes were like glazed tiles, and his lips looked like they’d been carved with a thin gold pen, and in a room full of people, he stood out. He smiled at Crystal and said, “Come here.” Nathan’s voice sounded like the echo of a ghost, and it would not be denied.

Crystal immediately understood Nathan’s intentions. She turned to his guests and said, “Hello, everyone, my name is Crystal. I am one of Professor Davis’ students.” She put stress on the last word, so there would be no question about her relationship with Nathan.

Crystal gave Nathan a complacent glance. Nathan naturally knew what she was up to, but he did not get angry. Instead, he laughed, and the smile lines in the corners of his eyes stood out as evidence of his good humor. He didn’t say a word, but his smile caused Crystal to tremble uncontrollably - and when she heard about their marriage agreement, she felt faintly uncomfortable.

One of the men looked at Crystal and said, “Wow, she is so beautiful. I thought she was the wife of a god. Who would have guessed that she was just a student?”

A second man turned to the first and said, “Thankfully, she is just a student. That means that we still have a chance with her!”

Some of the other people turned to Tiffany, and one of them said, “So, this must be Nathan’s wife?”

Wife? - Cold sweat appeared on Crystal’ forehead. Did he already announce our marriage? - Crystal wondered - I thought he was going to keep this on the down-low...

Tiffany immediately shook her head and said, “No, I am not.”

One of the women said, “Stop staring at her, or she will be shy.” She turned to Owen. 

“Owen, you are close to Nathan. Is this other woman his wife?”

Owen only knew Crystal from Nathan’s painting, and he had only seen the canvas once, and that had been a few years ago. It seemed to him that she must be his wife, but he couldn’t confirm it. “I don’t know,” he admitted.

Crystal hadn’t been listening to the conversation. She was only thinking about how to get herself out of the private room as quickly as possible.

Crystal recognized the woman that had just spoken to Owen. Her name was Amy, and she was the one whose dress had gotten wet in the bathroom. At that moment, Amy was staring at Tiffany and giving her the Evil Eye. It was apparent to Crystal that Amy was interested in Nathan, and she saw the other woman as a rival. From the way Amy was looking at Tiffany, Crystal thought that she wanted to strangle the other woman half to death.

Crystal had not expected that bringing Tiffany over would cause such a disturbance. It didn’t bother her, though, because the most important thing to her was keeping her identity from being exposed. Furthermore, Tiffany seemed to be happy to be the center of attention, so this was a win-win situation for them both.

When Crystal saw the way that Amy was glaring at Tiffany, she raised her eyebrows and happily smiled at Nathan. After a moment, she said, “Professor Davis, I accidentally splashed some water on this lady’s dress in the bathroom, and she was unhappy about it. I want to apologize to her again and help her dry it. Her dress looks quite expensive. She had originally wanted me to compensate her, but I can’t afford to.”

Some of Nathan’s guests turned to Crystal, and they felt some sympathy and pity for her because of her innocent tone. Amy frowned when she saw the way everyone was looking at Crystal, and she said, “It’s fine. Don’t worry. It’s just water. It doesn’t matter.”

“Didn’t you say that it’s made of real silk?” Crystal asked. “You said that it would be ugly if the watermarks didn’t come out. You also said that it was imported from France, specifically for this party...”

Amy’s face turned red. She hadn’t wanted anyone to know that the dress was new or that she’d purchased it specifically for this party - and now that the cat was out of the bag, she was so embarrassed that she felt like ripping off her clothes and standing naked in front of everyone.

Nathan did not appreciate the way that Crystal had shamed Amy, and after apologizing to his guests, he turned to Owen and said, “Get on the phone with the Chanel Dress Company and order the lady a new dress!”

Owen: “Boss, the one you want is out of stock.”

Nathan: “Then have the designer brought here tonight from France so that a new one can be made!”

One woman gasped and said, “Wow! Not only is he compensating for the cost of the dress, but he is sending it to the designer from France to make her a new one. He is so charming.”

“I wish that water had spilled on my dress,” another woman said. “I would also like a new designer dress!”

Despite Nathan’s attempts to smooth out the situation, Amy was still upset that Crystal had shamed her in front of her friends, and she was determined that she would not let the matter go so easily. She turned to Crystal and said, “Crystal, you are lucky that your Professor has your back. I suggest that you raise a toast in his honor.”