Meanwhile, Julius shifted his gaze and noticed that Zayn had not spoken all this while. Moreover, he was glancing left and right with a guilty conscience. Julius smiled cunningly and diverted the topic of conversation to Zayn. He said smilingly, “Mr. Larson, you claim that you’re the chairman of Violet Vision Media Corp, so we can consider you to be working in the entertainment industry. I’m certain that you know who Annabelle’s lover is, don’t you?”Zayn’s heart was racing instantly while the expression on his face became frozen. He looked guilty while the rest of the people shifted their gaze to him. They saw his remorse similarly and began to sneer as they waited for him to make a fool of himself. Little did they know that they had misunderstood Zayn’s guilt. He was not feeling guilty for lying about his identity as Violet Vision’s chairman. Instead, he was quite certain that the lover insinuated in Annabelle’s performance earlier was him!He regretted it now. He should not ha
Zayn’s humorless chuckle grew drier when he saw that Julius had actually gone to invite Annabelle over. Stealing a glance at Faye, he saw that the latter’s gaze was filled with anticipation, thus he could only swallow his words and pray that Julius was incapable of inviting Annabelle over, or that Annabelle would not expose anything when she came around.As for Julius, he marched over to Annabelle with his chin tipped and his chest puffed in ambition. His stride was cool and brimming with confidence. After all, he had met her before this. In addition to his status, he was sure he would successfully invite the celebrity over.There were already a few people around Annabelle who invited her for a meal, but she had not agreed to anyone, refusing them with a smile and some excuses. As Julius approached her, he could not conceal the amazement coloring his eyes. His heart palpitated while his breathing hastened. He wanted to act cool and composed but realized that it was too much to ask of
Annabelle hesitated again and asked, “Where’s your table?”Seeing that she was finally budging, Julius quickly pointed toward his table ecstatically. “There, it’s not too far away—just a couple of steps.”As Annabelle followed his finger, she caught a familiar figure and her eyes flew wide! A jolt shook her body and her breathing paused. For a moment, all the noises in the restaurant disappeared. Her world went mute as the sounds and the people vanished in that split second, leaving only the man in her eyes—Zayn Larson!It was Mr. Larson!Annabelle’s eyes went round in disbelief as she went rigid.Julius froze as well at her reaction, confused about her expression. Was there some sort of issue? While he was caught in uncertainty and was about to ask her about it, Annabelle snapped out of her surprise and retracted her gaze from Zayn. A bright smile bloomed on her face, instantly pulling radiance from the venue as all the women seemed lackluster in comparison to her blossoming gr
In contrast to Zayn’s bitter and anxious state, the other four occupants of the table were incredibly excited that it showed on their faces. Faye was no exception. The closer they saw Annabelle advancing towards them, the more thrilled and delighted they grew.Finally, glimmering in gems and her own radiance, Annabelle made her way over with Julius. The man cleared his throat and introduced with pride, “Miss Laking, these are my friends. All of them are your loyal fans and have come to Alice’s Table this evening because of you!”Gwen and the others stood up hastily, a little panicky and all over the place. “Miss Laking, nice to meet you. I’m Gwen Gonzalez, your ardent fangirl! I’m a Bella!”Annabelle’s fans had a name—they were called Bellas. Annabelle smiled when she heard it. She reeled her gaze in from Zayn and beamed at Gwen. “Miss Gonzalez, nice to meet you too. Thank you for your support.”Gwen pinked and grew more flustered. “No, no, Miss Laking, you’re so gorgeous. You look
Upon hearing what he said, the other three wore a strange expression, knowing that Julius was going to get a taste of his medicine. On the other hand, Faye frowned as she did not know that Annabelle and Zayn knew each other.Zayn coughed, feeling rather helpless about the situation.Annabelle was a smart girl. As she judged the scene, she was fast to figure out the cause and effect and wore a sly smile when she answered, “I sure do. Why?”Julius did not know what Annabelle’s smile meant. He replied with a chortle, “Haha, it’s fantastic that you know him, Miss Laking. I have someone here who claims that he’s the chairman of Violet Vision!”“Oh, who’s that?”“Lo and behold, he’s none other than Mr. Zayn Larson who has cancer here. I wonder if you know him,” Julius said with a grin that was filled with derision. He was just waiting to see Zayn become the joke of the century and be slapped in the face by his own words!No longer able to continue with his act, Zayn coughed again and t
Julius now realized that Zayn was really Violet Vision Media Corp’s chairman and not some average Tom, Dick, or Harry!He… he had actually threatened him like that just now and snubbed him. Once he thought about it, blood drained from his face instantly as his legs shook in trepidation.If it were just about the status of Violet Vision Media Corp’s chairman, it would not have terrified Julius so badly. What he was truly fearful of was Zayn’s other identity—a master fighter who was said to be the best in Guineve as the man who had killed the Northmob Council’s Xander Griffin and the she-devil Mia Walker single-handedly!An acquired fighter like him was a mere ant in front of Zayn. He was practically worth nothing.Julius was extremely petrified. He was panicking with the urge to cry. “Mr. Larson—I… I was blind just now to have offended you…I should be damned! Please be the bigger person here and look past my mistakes…”Julius’ reaction stupefied Gwen and others. They widened their
Everyone’s gaze was on Zayn. The others were fine as Zayn did not care much about them, but Annabelle and Faye were putting him on pins and needles! Faye’s meaningful expression, especially, ran chills down his back.Just as he was about to explain, Faye smiled. “Darling, why haven’t you told me that you know Miss Laking? That’s not very nice of you.”As Annabelle registered the term of endearment, it pricked her heart.“Uh…” Zayn felt cold sweat dotting his forehead. His heart was beating at a rate that was practically over the roof. Even when he faced Diego and was on the brink of death, he had not been this nervous. His mind worked in a frenzy to come up with an explanation.“Hmm?” Faye’s hand traveled, her right hand stroking Zayn’s lap, as threat dripped from her smile. It made Zayn’s heart shudder as goosebumps wreaked havoc all over him.Hold on!Zayn was suddenly struck with enlightenment. This was not right. Why was he nursing a guilty conscience? There was nothing betwe
Her hurt and pitiful expression when she said that made one’s heart ache for her involuntarily. There was only one person whose heart did not ache—and that was Zayn. On the contrary, forget an aching heart, he felt his hair stand on end while his head went numb. He quickly burrowed into his meal at the table, anxious and not daring to lift his head up.All Zayn could wish for right now was to become invisible so that Faye would not notice him—not that it was a practical thought as Faye’s gaze snapped to him at once as she placed a hand on his shoulder. “Zayn, you’re friends with Miss Laking. I’m sure you know who she likes. As a friend, why don’t you matchmake them?”Zayn felt goosebumps rise across his skin all the more. He sensed a huge threat. It was obvious that Faye had seen through them! Zayn was extremely bitter. If he had known, he would not have come tonight. Faye must have misunderstood him now, and nothing would clear his name! Sigh… He could only brace himself and mutte