Chapter 97


    "Heavens!"


    "Noah, are you okay?"


    The guests all rose to their feet to check on Noah when they saw the blood seeping through his fingers.


    At once, Emory mmed a fist against the table as he snapped at Kingsley, "What the hell? Who gave


    you the right to beat one of us up? Don''t you know we''re all trained in close-quartersbat?!"


    He rolled up his sleeves and made to lunge at Kingsley, but at that moment, Serena stood up angrily to


    shield thetter, then warned murderously, "You''ll have to go through me, Emory." She eyed the others


    icily. "Come on, then, let''s see which ones of you will walk out of here alive after I''m done!"


    The Two Muses of the dōjō were not just known for their stunning beauty back in the day; they were


    also the two strongest martial artists among everyone. While Emory was by no means weak, it had


    been years since hest practiced martial arts, and on top of the fact that his joints were stiff, he had


    more body fat than muscle.


    As things were, he wasn''t sure if he could beat Serena in a fight.


    Upon sensing his hesitation, Serena challenged in a sing-song voice, "Is somebody chicken?"


    The others in their well-pressed suits and their so-called sessful careers started to wince in


    embarrassment when they heard the taunting edge to her tone.


    Just as the tension between both parties was escting, the door to the private dining room was


    pushed open, and in strolled a woman d in a pink dress that perfectly entuated her curves, her


    stiletto heels cking against the floor to announce her arrival.


    "The other Muse is here!"


    "Well, if it isn''t the princess herself! Let''s give her a warm round of apuse!"


    Everyone behaved as though they were looking at their savior as they pped their hands to wee


    the woman.


    It was only then that Emory let out a small breath of relief and slowly resumed his seat. He would be


    lying if he said he hadn''t broken into cold sweat when he saw the mutinous gleam in Serena''s eyes


    earlier.


    "Rena!" The young woman who had just arrived immediately brightened up when she saw Serena. She


    hurried up to the table and eximed in delight, "I haven''t seen you in ages! I''ve missed you!"


    Following this, she was pleasantly surprised to see Kingsley present as well. "Hey, I know you! What


    are you doing here?"


    Kingsley chuckled as he greeted, "Hey, there, Miss Tanner." The young woman in pink was none other


    than Paige herself. He patted the empty seat next to his and said, "You can sit here with us, Miss


    Tanner."


    Confused, Paige sat down on the chair and asked curiously, "So, what are you doing here? Did you


    come as somebody''s plus-one?" She paused as astonishment colored her face. "Wait, are you here


    with Rena?"


    Kingsley nodded. "Yeah, she''s my sister." Then, he leaned close to her and whispered teasingly, "And


    for the record, you look much better in this pink dress than you do in leather."


    Paige flushed as she gave him a yful nudge. "Don''t be a rascal. I know I look good in both," she said


    with twinkling eyes.


    She had seen Kingsley in a different light ever since she learned that her grandfather had passed the


    Order of the Northern Draken to him.


    Everyone was stunned by the sight of this. They had always viewed Paige as a princess-like figure who


    sat on an untouchable throne, and the only other person she had ever been so friendly with was


    Serena.


    Emory, in particr, was in such disbelief that he couldbust. The only reason he had agreed to


    take on the spy mission ande all the way to Cleapolis from the Empire of the Setting Sun was


    because of Paige!


    Back in the day, he could never hope to impress a girl like her, who came from the powerful Tanner


    Family. He could only secretly pine after her, and he had ns to woo her only after he had made


    something of himself.


    However, right now, she was getting all chummy with Kingsley, and seeing this made Emory so angry


    that he could explode. The intimacy between them was only something he could dream of; he never


    even got to touch her hand!


    Nancy was bewildered, too. "Paige, do you actually know him?"


    In stark contrast to the way she behaved around Serena, Nancy knew it was futile to be jealous of


    Paige. After all, the girl came from the most prominent family of the Northern Circle of Qustia; the


    power and respect they had was far superior than those of the Jovovich Family.


    Presently, Paige shrugged as she said, "I guess you could say I know him. I mean, he did sleep in my


    room for a night."


    Nancy''s words died in her throat as her eyes widened to the size of saucers, and everyone else froze


    in their seats. For a moment, the whole dining room was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop, and


    the silence was punctured when Emory sputtered incredulously as anger filled him, squeezing the air


    out of his lungs.


    "W-What?" Nancy was astounded. "But isn''t he Serena''s boyfriend? Why would he have slept in your


    room?"


    Noah mbered off the floor with blood staining his chin, then spat out ferociously, "What boyfriend?


    He''s her brother from the orphanage!"


    Everyone became even more confused after they heard this. No one could have expected an orphan to


    win over someone like the youngdy of the Tanner Family. The idea of this even happening was


    unfathomable!


    Next to Nancy, all the color drained from Tyler''s face. The haughty expression that he had been


    wearing all this time now crumbled and gave way to unbridled shock. He wanted to p himself in the


    face for offering the future son-inw of the Tanner Family security work at Spearhead Group. I could


    have died!


    Meanwhile, Kingsley caught the embarrassed look onTyler''s face and drawled in amusement, "Don''t


    worry about it, Mr. Jovovich. There''s nothing special going on between me and Miss Tanner over here;


    I was merely a guest in her home that night."


    This set everyone at ease.


    "Oh, thank goodness. I thought the world went mad! I mean, an orphan and Miss Tanner getting


    together? Please!"


    "My heart stopped beating for a second there. I actually believed he married into the Tanner Family!"


    They patted their chests in relief, but only Tyler looked stormy. That was beyond humiliating! I was so


    scared of offending this nobody that I''m shaking! Granted, nobody was picking on him for that, but he


    still wished a hole would open up in the ground and swallow him.


    Unable to live down the shame, he stood up and announced grimly, "I''m afraid I have to get going now.


    Excuse me."


    Nancy was flustered as well as she clutched Tyler''s arm and whispered, "Where are you going? What


    about me?"


    "I''ll have Ernie pick you upter." He forced out a smile as he said to the others, "The meal''s on me


    today, so order anything you want and put it on my tab."


    It was only then that Nancy perked up slightly. "Well, in that case, we won''t hold you back. Be safe."


    Tyler made no response to this as he went to open the door. He was just about to leave when he


    stopped and turned, then red at Kingsley balefully, hissing, "I''ll remember this day, you punk. Don''t


    get on my nerves if you know what''s good for you!"


    With that, he left and mmed the door behind him.


    The others in the room shifted ufortably at the tension that hung in the air until someone finally


    chuckled and said awkwardly, "Nancy, do thank Mr. Jovovich for being so generous today."


    "Yeah, it''s so gracious of him to buy us a meal."


    There were over twenty of them gathered here at the Bayou today, and it would be a surprise if the bill


    was below twenty thousand.


    As such, the guests began to praise Tyler for his generous gesture, which boosted Nancy''s ego to no


    end as she beamed and said, "Well, of course, my Tyler wants only the best for me, including having a


    good time with my friends." Having said that, she shot Serena a pointed look. "It''s only too bad that


    Serena''s kid brother pissed him off, otherwise he would have brought us over to Chanteuse


    International for a karaoke st."


    Chanteuse International? What?! That''s the most exclusive karaoke bar in the city!


    Everyone turned to look at Kingsley and Serena resentfully.


    "See what you did, Serena? Youpletely ruined our chance of living the high life!"


    "Exactly! You need at least half a million in deposit just to get a room there. We won''t be able to get in


    without Mr. Jovovich footing the bill!"


    Everyone was ganging up on the siblings like they wanted to flog them alive.


    Serena and Paige merely responded to their hostility with grim, deadly looks. Both women were about


    to speak up for Kingsley when they heard the thuds of someone knocking on the door.


    The crowdshed out angrily, "Who the hell is that? We haven''t ordered anything, have we?!"


    N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.


    The next second, the door to the dining room opened slowly, and Frank from the boutique earlier stood


    there with three good-looking male assistants in tow. "Pardon the intrusion,dies and gentlemen.


    We''re here to make a delivery," he announced respectfully.