Linus could feel Olivia's body turning stiff. He hastily took his hand away, saying, "Sorry, I just noticed that there were too many people gathering around you."Taking a step backward, Olivia put some distance between them. "It's okay, I understand. You should go and greet the guests, Mr. Linus. You don't have to worry about me.""Be careful, then. You can talk to me if anything comes up." Linus gave her a meaningful gaze before leaving.Lifting his hand, he rubbed his fingers as he recalled the sensation of her skin. Did all women have such smooth skin?An odd feeling rose in his heart. He felt like there was a fire in his heart.The guests all took their seats. About 30 guests had turned up today, and everyone was conversing in hushed tones. They were all quite courteous.Some of them greeted Mason before taking their seats.Taking Mason's hand, Tatiana constantly kept a gentle smile on her face. She always looked so gentle and gracious around outsiders.If it weren't for w
Ethan smiled half-heartedly. "When Vanessa was treating me back then, we spent every waking hour together. I know a thing or two about her habits."Ethan's reply was completely fine. However, Linus wondered if he was hearing things, for he felt like Ethan had emphasized the words "spent every waking hour together".After Ethan said that, he looked away as if he had never said anything.In an attempt to avoid trouble, Olivia didn't say anything more to him. She tried not to draw attention.After all, it was a banquet, not some outdoor restaurant. The dining atmosphere was very quiet, and only the sounds of the piano being played live could be heard.Olivia looked at the dishes, presented like a masterpiece. Even common vegetables were carved into the shape of flowers.After the banquet, Mason excused himself. He said that he wanted the youngsters to mingle around.It was a clear sign that he had intended for this banquet to be a blind date of sorts. Tatiana was taking the opportu
Olivia frowned as she looked at Ethan in dissatisfaction. She had no idea what he was getting at now.Ethan didn't say anything as he took a seat next to her.Krystal walked over to Ethan, looking at him hopefully. "Sova, can you be my dance partner later?""No, I've already found a dance partner." Ethan pointed at Olivia.Krystal's expression instantly shifted. "Her?""What about her?" Ethan turned to look at Olivia. "Vanessa, let's go over there to dance.""Alright."Ethan got up. With one hand behind his back, he gestured an invitation toward Olivia with his other hand. He looked very gentlemanly indeed.Olivia placed her fingertips on Ethan's palm. Ethan's large hand gently closed around hers as if it were a flower.Under the mask, Olivia's face was slightly tinted red. This seemed to be her first time dancing with Ethan.Ethan held Olivia's waist boldly whereas she leaned against his chest.They were the parents of a few children by now, but at that moment, they behaved
Watching her children dancing together, Tatiana was all fired up.The party was meant to be a blind date in disguise and yet her children didn't give her peace of mind at all. It seemed like she could only depend on her own.When the song ended, Ethan could barely let Olivia go, but he did it anyway.Tatiana approached them. "Ethan, Vanessa, thank you so much for helping my husband. Cheers.""I simply did what I had to, Mrs. Heath. It's my job to share your burdens.""You're too humble. Both of you have to drink this no matter what." Tatiana beckoned a waiter over.The waiter served them three glasses of wine. She took one of them, and the couple took the remaining."Here, Vanessa. I'm sorry for what happened between you and my daughter. It's my fault for spoiling her too much. I hope you'll look after my husband in the future.""Don't be such a stranger, Mrs. Heath." Olivia didn't think that Tatiana was being sincere with those words, but she had to keep it courteous."Let'
Ethan knew what Krystal was up to very well. He had noticed it since Tatiana offered him the glass of wine. He deemed it disdainful. Although it was a simple yet effective method, he thought that it was humiliating for someone like Krystal to do that.She had her own calculations, and he had his own plan.He stopped in his tracks after following her for a while. She looked at him. "What's wrong?""I think I left my phone on the couch. You should get back to your room. I'll go look for you later.""What if you don't come?" Obviously, Krystal wasn't willing to let that happen.Ethan questioned back, "Do you think that I won't go look for you when you have clues about Liv? She's everything to me."Even though it hurt her to hear him say that, Krystal was assured that he would come later. "I'll wait for you in the room, then."Ethan hummed in response and turned away to leave. His nether regions were slightly burning, indicating that the drug was kicking in.He had drunk the
Olivia returned to her room first.The moment she stepped through the door, she felt unwell. She felt a pulsing down there.She wondered, "Did someone drug me?"After contemplation, she reckoned that the wine from Tatiana was the only thing that was off. Olivia didn't expect someone like Tatiana to stoop to such a lowly deed!It seemed like she didn't care about her reputation as long as she could marry Krystal to Ethan.Olivia filled the bathtub with water and dipped herself in it, wanting to cool herself down.The longer she spent in the water, the hotter she felt. She wondered if it was because of the warm water.She stood up and put on a robe, figuring that she needed an injection.Olivia recalled the scene of taking the drink with Ethan.Tatiana's glass of wine was surely untainted. In order to make sure that the plan was a success, both the other glasses must have been drugged.As an afterthought, Olivia bet that Ethan was suffering as she was right now!Tatiana's
There wasn't any change in Linus' tone. "Are you sure you're alright?""I'm a doctor, Mr. Heath. I know my condition very well. Thanks for the concern. It's getting cold. You should rest up."The footsteps faded out, and Ethan buried his face in her neck. "Linus has taken a liking to you."Linus and Olivia had been getting along as friends, and he had been showing an interest in her.Although Olivia thought that it was not that likely, she could feel that he was paying a little too much attention to her.She couldn't distinguish the cause of such attention, whether it was due to love or gratitude."Don't take everything as a love matter."Ethan bent over to carry her to the bed. "You're still as naive as ever, Liv. There's no such thing as pure goodwill. When a man cares for a woman, it can't be anything else than love."Her tresses lay across the sheet. He held a strand of it to his nose to sniff it. "Unfortunately, you're mine and can only be mine."The night was meant to be
Fortunately for Tatiana, the slap didn't sting that much because Mason hadn't fully recovered.However, there was a red mark on her cheek."You slapped me! How could you slap me! Who am I doing this for? It's all for you!" she sobbed.She continued, "I know that you admire Ethan. Back then, you were afraid that it would be difficult for him to stand on his feet alone, so you pushed Yale up. You chose Yale because Linus was away from us."I know how much you approve of Ethan all these years. If we can make him our son-in-law, it can solve all of the problems. I'm not doing this for Krystal. I'm doing this for our family, for our families! I'm also thinking about our future generation!""Still … you shouldn't have resorted to such underhanded means. What will he think of you in the future?""What will he think of me? He's a divorced man, but we're marrying our daughter to him. He's not in the position to complain when even we're not saying anything."Mason took a sip of tea to cal