A week had passed since their sinful encounter on the golf course - an event that still lingered in Emmeline's mind. She dreaded facing Yuna after what had transpired between them.Saturday arrived swiftly and by evening, Emmeline found herself at the restaurant alone. Above its entrance hung a broad sign bearing its name in French: Divin – sacred. Everything served here was divine indeed.The restaurant had an elegant charm despite its considerable size; the earthy-colored walls gave it a classic look while caramel-hued table covers added warmth. To one side stood a bar for drinks adjacent to which was a billiard table.At eight o'clock sharp, Yasmin, one of the waitresses, entered the kitchen where Emmeline was engrossed in baking cake with a white apron tied around her waist."The Kims and Blackthorns have arrived," Yasmin announced breathlessly as if delivering news that would change the course of history. "As instructed by you, I've led them to the center table."Emmeline acknowl
All eyes instantly turned toward the frowning Minnie.Yuna spoke up, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "We had agreed to arrive together as a group, but Minnie simply couldn't tear herself away from the mirror. We waited outside for over twenty minutes while she primped and preened." She rolled her eyes dramatically, clearly annoyed by the delay.A tinkling laugh escaped Emmeline's lips before she could stifle it. "Ah, so Minnie is one of those women who takes an eternity in front of the mirror and arrives fashionably late.” She meant it as a lighthearted jest, but Minnie's reaction suggested she'd struck a nerve.Minnie sighed in disapproving exasperation, her cheeks flushing slightly. "Don't you start on me too, especially not in front of my husband." She shot a glare at Taehyung, daring him to comment further.Zavian quickly asked with a vague air of nonchalance that didn't quite mask his interest, "Speaking of husbands, where is yours, Mrs. Maine? I don't see any trace of him here.
Emmeline's whole body was stiff with panic and she could barely take a step back from the towering, intimidating figure of Zavian."Mr. Blackthorn, did you hear that voice?" she asked, her voice trembling as her eyebrows furrowed with worry.Zavian’s thick brows knitted together at her question. "Which sound?"Did he find himself lost in her presence once more? Why did his sharp senses always falter around her?Emmeline aimed her wide, expressive eyes at the door and found it open ajar, but no one was visible in the hallway beyond. "You were the last to enter, did you leave the door behind you open?" Her voice was strained, the words breaking slightly as anxiety gripped her.Zavian shook his head slowly. "I closed it," he stated firmly.Emmeline gasped. Her hand flew up to cover her mouth and her eyes widened further with dawning realization. "Oh my God, someone saw us and left shocked!" Her petite frame seemed to shrink in on itself.Zavian’s handsome features exuded nonchalance desp
Emmeline’s cheeks puffed out in displeasure. He was taking advantage of her weakness for him by calling her out so brazenly.'How dare this devil!' she fumed internally."Do not throw burning matches at the fuel and then accuse it of being highly flammable. That is not your right. You know your influence on me very well," she protested, glaring at him through the heavy fringe of her lashes.With that, she grabbed Zavian’s arms and tried to separate him from her, to put some safe distance between their heated bodies. However, the devil pulled her flush against him, caging her trembling form."My assistant will be back any moment, Mr. Blackthorn. I don't want to be discredited in front of my staff. Please leave," Emmeline pleaded, tilting her face to meet his burning gaze.Zavian stroked the tip of her pert nose in an intimate caress, looking deeply into her pleading eyes with a heavy-lidded gaze. "Well, I don't want to stay in the restaurant waiting for dinner until the morning, and I
Cold sweat broke out across Emmeline’s skin.Her mind raced with dreadful scenarios of what her deadbeat husband might do if he had witnessed such an incriminating scene. Or Yuna.She quickly forced back her shock and faced Noel with an air of indifference. "You should have entered instead of wasting time eavesdropping. If the conversation was important, we wouldn't have exchanged it in the kitchen where anyone could overhear."Noel didn't ask her directly about the nature of her relationship with that man.He was not the type to pry or meddle unnecessarily in other people's private affairs. "I brought the onions. Chopping them will ruin your makeup so leave it to me," he said briskly, deftly changing the subject.Emmeline looked at the bowl of onions in his hand apprehensively. "My eyes are sensitive to onions. I will shed tears even if I am in the farthest corner of the hall from you while you're cutting them."True to her words, some traitorous tears fell from Emmeline's eyes and s
Minnie had also picked up on Yuna's unusual demeanor. "Why are you so quiet today, Yuna? Is there something wrong?" she asked bluntly, never one to mince words.Yuna snapped out of her stupor and sighed heavily in frustration. "Yesterday was a miserable day for me at work, I guess I won't get over the disappointment anytime soon."Everyone's attention turned to Yuna, who placed her spoon on the table and let out a weighted breath."I lost an important divorce case that occupied part of my thoughts and emotions recently. My client's husband physically and emotionally abused her constantly, so she finally resorted to filing for divorce to escape him. You all know divorce proceedings for the wealthy upper class are essentially just a vicious property war!"Her words about spousal abuse immediately caught Emmeline's attention. She stopped eating to listen intently."The law states spouses to divide all their combined assets and property equally in a divorce. But I pleaded with the judge t
"That's a damn monopoly!" Emmeline blurted out loudly, unable to contain her outrage. However, she instantly regained her senses when she found everyone at the table staring at her.She smiled nervously. "I mean, it's not fair or just for the abusive husband to be able to take half the wife's property, assets and wealth if her life with him was utter misery filled with torment and suffering." She tried to explain herself.Richard knocked on the table with his fist several times, his jaw clenched tightly as he tried to control his temper. "She will also get half of his property and wealth in return. If the husband is richer than the wife, he will be the one who ends up losing more in the end regardless."Emmeline didn’t respond. She decided to avoid provoking his legendary anger further."It sounds like you're not just sad for your poor client, but because you lost the trial and case itself after working so hard." Minnie addressed Yuna with her mouth full of food, redirecting the conve
One of Zavian's thick eyebrows raised confidently as if she wasn't affecting him at all. "Have you forgotten I am a judge? I'm quite accustomed to dealing with unruly people and outbursts."Emmeline deliberately put her finger in her mouth. Then she seductively bit down on the nail while gently stroking his inner thigh. "It's true the courtroom does sometimes turn into a battlefield between the opposing parties."He seemed to deliberately distract himself from her wanton display by cutting into the crepes on his plate.Emmeline tilted her head to look at Minnie, who was still yelling furiously at her husband."Admit that you no longer love me, since I see talking about your past flings is so normal for you!"Taehyung furrowed his brow in confusion. "Where on earth do you get these ridiculous ideas from?"Emmeline looked away from the bickering couple to watch the lethargy slowly cover Zavian's features, his eyelids twitching more with every stroke of her foot against his leg."Mr. Bla