Finally, the wine-tasting session ended, and it was time for the formal dinner and dance. Shirley
breathed a sigh of relief; she hoped to finish quickly and return to the hotel. This kind of ce wasn’t
quite suitable for her.
As romantic music filled the air, many guests approached Zacharias during the dinner to greet him. At
that moment, a man of simr age smiled and approached. “Zach, you’ve changed so much… for the
better, of course!”
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The man was dressed in a handsome white suit, a typical foreign hottie.
“William, it’s been a while.” Zacharias smiled and embraced him. Watching their brotherly embrace,
Shirley wondered if Zacharias had friends here too.
After a hug, Zacharias turned to Shirley. “Shir, this is my schoolmate, William. His father is the prince of
Flor.”
“Nice to meet you,” Shirley greeted with a smile. A hint of a knowing smileced William’s eyes as he
said to his good friend, “Zach, you lucky man. Yourpanion is a beauty.”
Zacharias smiled silently, giving no remark, and then William said to him, “I’ll have to greet other
guests. I hope you two can have a wonderful time tonight.”
Zacharias noticed that Shirley seemed ufortable with her feet. He took her hand and said, “Let me
take you to rest.”
A VIP lounge had been set up, and Zacharias led Shirley into one of them. After the waiter brought in
drinks, Zacharias closed the door.
After finally getting some private time, Shirley breathed a sigh of relief. She lifted her evening gown and
took her left foot out of the shoe, revealing a red and swollen area around her small toe.
At that sight, Zacharias crouched down, reaching out to hold her ankle and inspect. Shirley, feeling a bit
shy, tried to withdraw her foot. “I’ll be fine after some rest.”
“It’s swollen. I’ll have someone bring you a new pair of shoes,” Zacharias said with concern. Shirley
shook her head. “No need, I can endure it. It happens whenever I wear heels.”
“Don’t wear them anymore then. Just put on what’sfortable,” Zacharias suggested, nning to call
someone to bring a pair of shoes.
“Don’t bother, really” Shirley quickly stopped him. “I have adhesive bandages; I’ll just use them.”
With that, Shirley opened her bag and took out a thin piece of adhesive bandage. She felt better after
applying it when she put her shoes back on
Zacharias looked at her with a touch of distress. He didn’t expect her to go this far just to match his
status.
“We’ll leave earlier, then,” Zacharias suggested, and Shirley nodded. As Zacharias stood up, he
cupped her face and kissed her on the lips as ifforting her. Shirley was slightly startled, and a
sweet feeling surged from her chest.
They couldn’t stay in the room all the time, and soon, it was time for the dance. Zacharias took Shirley
out, and just then, a beautiful Western girl boldly approached and invited Zacharias, “Mr. Flintstone,
may I invite you for a dance?”
Shirley knew the girl. She was the daughter of Flor’s vice president. Obviously, she was very polite in
inviting Zacharias.
Shirley considerately let go of Zacharias’ hand and smiled. “I’ll be waiting over there.”
Zacharias couldn’t refuse the girl either because the two countries were establishing friendly rtions.
He smiled and nodded. “It would be my honor.” As Zacharias and the girl walked toward the dance
floor, Shirley watched their figures. Suddenly, she felt a sense of tightness in her chest, as if a hand
had gripped her beating heart, making even her breathing a bit uneasy.
Shirley knew that the girl’s invitation to Zacharias was just a polite gesture, but she still felt an
ufortable sensation in her heart. Perhaps it was jealousy.
Zacharias and the girl entered the dance floor, and Shirley saw a waiter bring a ss of red wine. She
could have declined, but she reached out and took the ss.