The crowd of women continued their gossip. Melanie and Xenia could catch a few of their words from time to time.The two of them appeared calm, but their heart was pounding relentlessly.They suddenly came to a realization of why Finneas had paired Grayson and Belle together.Finneas and Grayson's relationship seemed perfect on the surface, but the gossip they heard also made quite a lot of sense!Finneas was a shrewd man. It might just be possible that his plan of pairing Grayson with someone like Belle was to keep Grayson from accumulating power beyond his own.Melanie began to realize the possible alternative where she could become the matriarch of the Page family with the help of Dawson as the successor.Xenia also began to visualize the future, where she maintained her position as Dawson's wife while she seduced Grayson. If she could maintain a relationship with both men at the same time, she could have both brothers of the Page family wrapped around her fingers. And that
Grayson and Belle's appearance instantly attracted the entire venue's attention.Belle appeared with Yolanda's custom-made dress, paired with the expensive set of ruby jewelry. She held onto Grayson's arm as the couple walked into the lobby. She put on a natural smile for the crowd. At this very moment, she seemed nothing like the rumored description of a country girl. She seemed more like a genuine princess descending from her palace to meet with the common folk.The crowd was completely stunned."So that's Mr. Page's girlfriend? She's absolutely beautiful!""That's right! And the rumors claimed that she had come from the countryside. She seems more like an angel on Earth!!""She's like a painting, holding onto Mr. Page's arm! They're a match made in heaven!""I really thought Ms. Xenia was the most beautiful woman of our generation. I was wrong!"The women surrounding Yolanda were flabbergasted. "Madam Quigley, is that Mr. Page's girlfriend?"Yolanda's smile radiated with
"You've met? How could you have met her when you're always in the squad?" asked Scott curiously. "Maybe I recognized the wrong person," said Robert."Let's put this aside for now. Do you like her or not?"Robert looked at Scott with displeasure.Scott said, "I'll be your wingman if you like her, but if you don't, then I'll be my own wingman."Robert frowned and warned him, saying, "Stay away from her.""Why should I if you don't like her? Why are you gatekeeping her if you don't like her?"Robert said, "Settle your beef with Grayson yourself. Don't drag others into it."Scott narrowed his eyes and said, "Something's not right about you. I'm sure you have feelings for her! Although she's Grayson's wife, they don't love each other. Go for her if you really like her!"Robert looked at him helplessly and said, "Know your place. Help your dad with the company now that you're back. Don't just sit around like you did last time and only focus on causing trouble for Grayson. Your fath
A look came into Finneas' eyes, but he kept a smile on his face. "What's the matter, Phil?" Xenia's grandfather, Phil Sanchez, stared at Belle and burst out, "Is … Is she an Aspen?"Everyone in the booth lost their calm at the mention of the name "Aspen". The old folks frowned and stared at Belle. Finneas narrowed his eyes, but his expression gave nothing away. "You must be mistaken. Her surname is Walters, not Aspen."Phil said sternly, "I was there back then. I saw that woman's face even though I was standing at the back. The two of them look similar. Besides, that woman's child would be around Belle's age if it had survived."Finneas knew that Phil was referring to that incident. He said calmly, "It's not surprising for someone to have doppelgangers. Besides, Belle's age does not fit the picture. She's already 20 years old. If that child were still alive, she would only be 19."Someone else immediately agreed. "Exactly! Belle must just resemble her a lot. The baby couldn
Tom smiled at Finneas and said, "Me? I've never thought about it. Haha."Everyone fell silent, and the atmosphere grew awkward. After all, nobody dared to relax at the mention of the Aspen name.After a while, Tom chuckled and said, "We should leave it to fate. If they really are still alive, someone else will take action. It's not up to us to be concerned. We've gotten old now anyway. Don't you guys think so?"How could they not be concerned? Havoc would break out if they were still alive! If Maltford went into chaos, every one of them would be involved. Nevertheless, nobody dared to rebuke Tom because he held the highest position among them. He almost ruled Maltford! The three most powerful families in Maltford were the Page family, the Strauss family, and the Quinn family. The Page family was wealthy, and the Strauss family was influential. The Quinn family was also very wealthy because they did business internationally. Other families like the Sanchez family were nothing c
Xenia, Dawson, and other couples got their turn to dance on stage after the opening dance. However, nobody paid much attention to them because they liked watching Belle and Grayson more.Nobody admired Xenia even though she danced with all her soul. When she got off the stage, she received no compliments. She only heard other people praising Belle and Grayson."They're such a perfect match!""They're a match made in heaven! Grayson has such good taste.""It's no surprise that Grayson fell for Belle. She's so mesmerizing. They're made for each other.""I thought it was a pity that Xenia married Dawson. I thought she and Grayson made a better match, but it seems like Belle suits Grayson even more.""Did you guys see Grayson smiling at Belle during the dance? I think he loves her very much."Xenia's expression darkened when she heard what the women were saying. She felt even more jealous when she saw them striking up a conversation with Belle.She had the urge to drag Grayson onst
"Belle even told me that she likes Robert, but he's indifferent and doesn't like her. Thank goodness he doesn't, or he and Grayson will dislike each other even more."A thought struck Melanie. Wouldn't it be good for her if Robert and Grayson had a further misunderstanding?The enemy of an enemy was a friend! Melanie narrowed her eyes and said, "Let's give her a hand if she likes Robert."Melanie whispered something into Xenia's ear. Xenia understood that Melanie was trying to use her to set Belle up.Nevertheless, Xenia pretended to be shocked. "Huh? I don't think we should do that. You'll get into trouble if Finneas or Grayson find out.""You silly girl. Of course we'll do it secretly so that they won't find out.""But …""You're too naive. You don't know the dark side of rich people. Don't try to be friends with Belle. You two are never meant to be friends, just like how Grayson and Dawson can never get along!" said Melanie.Xenia frowned and put on an innocent expression.
Robert didn't answer. He sipped his red wine and gave Xenia a long look before shifting his gaze to Belle.He had noticed Melanie and Xenia whispering among themselves. The way they had looked at Belle was unfriendly, and Robert couldn't guess what they were up to.The Strauss and Stevens family weren't close, so he didn't know Melanie well. However, Melanie was sort of like an elder to him because of the connection between the Strauss and Page family. Although he didn't know much about Melanie, he was aware that she had a problematic character. Yolanda was so much better than her.Robert didn't like poking his nose into other people's business, but Belle was special to him. He only paid attention to her because she resembled someone he cared about.He wouldn't just look away if Melanie and Xenia did something to hurt Belle! Meanwhile, Melanie returned to Xenia and signaled for her to approach Belle.Xenia nodded and walked to Belle with a smile. "Hey, Belle," she said.Belle w