Joseph clenched his wine glass so tightly that his knuckles turned white. He shot Otto with a fierce glare. "Shut up."Otto smiled fearlessly. "This is the first time I’m seeing such a vivid expression on that poker face of yours. You're jealous. How interesting!"Joseph’s deep possessiveness over Chloe made him yearn to ruin all the men who even laid their eyes on her.Otto tried to keep his wild thoughts at bay. His father had picked the wrong person. It would have been great if he had sought out Chloe instead. Xavia was simply no comparison.Joseph calmed down and a scorn spread across his face. "I think you should worry about yourself instead. After all, you might just drop dead one day." Otto became unruffled. "It's a slow-acting drug. I won't die. Vanya had managed to survive all these years, right?""Let’s hope you're as lucky as her," Joseph commented lightly before entering the hall.Otto froze, then scanned the party attendees. Unfortunately, he did not see Zoelle any
Kenneth frowned. He found Otto frivolous and unsuitable for his sister.Ophelia was not bothered with chatting with him though. "Come on, Otto, let’s go inside. The party's about to start.""Yeah, let’s go inside. You can speak to Leah in private about these matters. She's not a child anymore, and you should show her some courtesy." Xavia stepped in just in time to mediate the situation, putting up a gentle and considerate facade.Kenneth pursed his lips and, although unhappy, agreed to let it go.Unknown if Carolina was doing it on purpose, she brought Chloe around with her and introduced her to the other members of the royal family. And Chloe did not embarrass Carolina, greeting everyone amiably."Mdm. Carolina, you're too kind to the girl. Her mother is just a commoner. What's more, she hasn’t been given a noble title. You don't have to care so much about her." A grandly-dressed woman looked at Chloe in disdain.Carolina frowned and whispered, "Stop this nonsense at once.""I
“Whatever. After all, I'll be part of the royal family while you'll always be a shameful bastard child.""Good luck."Chloe could not be bothered with Xavia and turned around to look for Noah. Her indifference filled Xavia with annoyance.Just then, Chloe locked eyes with Joseph. She tucked away a few strands of her hair behind her ear and looked away calmly as if he was just a stranger. Joseph clenched his fists tightly and texted her. She glanced at the text, the few words he typed out clearly showing his unhappiness.[Come to the backyard.]Chloe put away her phone and snorted. 'Dream on.'Before long, Callum appeared. And as Frieda had anticipated, he led Chloe to the center of the hall and solemnly and formally introduced Chloe as his daughter. He also said that he had yet to get to know Carolina at the time so, as his legal wife, she had nothing to be ashamed of. Everyone had surmised as much, so they were not very surprised. "From this day forth, Chloe has my full suppor
The conversation made Chloe agitated. ‘My God! She actually dares to drug Joseph?’ Clara was unscrupulous when it came to gaining wealth, which made her even bolder than Xavia. At least, Xavia advanced orderly and tried to use a baby to bind Joseph to her. Clara was on a different level. She was trying to manipulate her body.But did Joseph look like a man who could be seduced through bodily charms? How naive!This was going to be a good show.Chloe wanted to watch the whole thing play out and enthusiastically texted Joseph to ask him where he was."I'm right behind you." Feeling his cold breath on the back of her neck, she was stunned. She whipped around and found him standing within inches of her. They were so close that she could feel his breath and smell his unique scent.A little startled, Chloe took a step back and almost slipped and fell. Fortunately, Joseph managed to catch her by the waist and held on to her."Coward." His cold voice was filled with a strange note of
Chloe suppressed the urge to roll her eyes, wondering how she had never noticed his shamelessness. "Shut up. Clara will be heading this way soon.""Even better if she does." Joseph adjusted his clothes, showing a trace of cold indifference.Chloe blinked and pointed to the side. She said with a touch of mischief in her tone, "I'll be right over there enjoying the show."A faint smile played on Joseph's lips. "Good girl."Chloe tiptoed to the side and crouched down."Oh, you’re here, Mr. Joseph!" Clara's surprised voice soon rang out."Yes? You’re looking for me?""No, we just happened to bump into each other. Fate must’ve brought us together." Despite Joseph's silence and refusal to acknowledge her, Clara feigned care and continued, "There can be many mosquitoes around here at night. Here, let me spray some mosquito repellent on you."Joseph glanced at Clara indifferently and did not stop her. Chloe could tell he was holding his breath to avoid inhaling the spray."I'll spray
Chloe was fairly certain that a man who just recently had his reproductive organs removed would not readily expose himself to the public and subject himself to critical stares from strangers."It wasn't me. It was Callum."Investigating the royal family could lead to interception. While he had ways to avoid being intercepted, time was a constraint.Chloe fell into contemplative silence, nodding without further comment. She chose not to excessively dissect Callum's intentions toward her at this point. Whether his kindness was genuine, feigned, or a mere facade, time would eventually unveil the truth.*Before returning to the hall, Chloe made a detour to the bathroom to touch up her makeup. Her lipstick, in particular, was an absolute mess.When she got back, Noah and Otto were still engrossed in their conversation. As she approached them, Otto's words tapered off. Noah's demeanor remained unchanged as he placed a piece of fish before her. "You were gone for a while.""I got lost
Zoelle followed the indicated direction, assessing Xavia from head to toe. "So, she's his first love but not his ex-wife?"The mention of Joseph’s ex-wife made Chloe nervously adjust her hair. "Aren’t you curious about the woman who managed to conquer Joseph? He was entangled with his first love for over five years, longer than his ex-wife.""That makes sense," Zoelle agreed, not harboring any suspicion."By the way, how did you manage to get in without an invitation?"“Otto gave me an invite.”"Otto?" Chloe's eyes widened. "Why would he give you an invitation?" Royal invitations were not easy to come by, and these two had only met once.Zoelle retrieved her lipstick and applied it with great allure. “You’re not the only one who needs me. I'm in quite high demand, don’t you know?”“What does he want from you? Did he ask you to treat someone?”“I'm not telling you.”Chloe let out a sigh, looking somewhat forlorn. “I thought we were close. I just wasn’t expecting you to be so cl
At that moment, all eyes were fixed on the butler.Callum's brows knitted in irritation. "Why do you look so shocked? Speak clearly.""There are people inside..." The butler struggled to regain composure, his face turning beet red. "Clara and Mr. Chad are inside...""Nonsense! Why would they enter the guest rooms? Get them out here at once." Callum did not realize the seriousness of the situation, thinking that the two were merely slacking off.The butler quivered, his complexion shifting from red to purple. He stammered, "I-I dare not enter... It’s better if you see it for yourself, sir."Before anyone could step into the guest room, sporadic moans and a man's pained screams reached their ears from a distance. The sounds were suggestive of something indecent, yet they felt something oddly amiss. Why would a man experience such agony during sexual intercourse?Callum commanded the butler to unlock the door. As it swung open, the assembled spectators were left dumbfounded and a st