Chapter 397
Overwhelmed by the soup''s strange taste, Nicole''s taste buds went into shock.
In that instant, she felt an amalgamation of sourness, bitterness, spiciness, and saltiness burn through
her nostrils. The sensation was simr to having a sharp needle pierce through her nose, causing
sweat to bead incessantly all over it.
Meanwhile, the irritation deep in her throat gave her the sudden urge to cough and subsequently retch.
Nheless, in front of the elders of the Moore family and the two children who were looking on with
anticipation, Nicole had no choice but to maintain her poise so as to not embarrass herself. As she
couldn''t retch freely, the smile on her face turned awkward in her attempt to get a grip on herself.
“Ms. Lambert, is the soup I served you not delicious? But Zach says that it is. The chef has added a lot
of expensive herbs into it and says that it''s good for health. On top of that, it has beauty benefits too. I
feel that drinking the soup will make your pretty self look even more beautiful!”
With her hands holding her princess-style dress, the smiling Rory looked exceedingly adorable.
Meanwhile, when Allie saw the children being nice to Nicole on their own ord, she couldn''t feel any
happier.
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No one was looking forward to the harmonious scene more than she was.
With her smile stretching from ear to ear, she remarked, “That''s really thoughtful of you. Nickie, since
the soup carries Rory''s sincerity, you should go ahead and finish it.”
Even though Nicole was Allie''s favorite candidate for daughter-inw, the grandchildren were still very
important to her.
As the twins had resented Nicole all this while, Allie wasn''t keen on seeing both parties at odds once
thetter was married into the Moore family.
Now that Allie had made her wishes known, Nicole—bowl in hand—was trapped between a rock and a
hard ce. The stress she felt from the dilemma caused her face to cycle through a myriad of
expressions.
Enduring the nauseating feeling in her stomach, Nicole wiped off the cold sweat over her nose and
said, “Rory, can I drink thister instead?”
“Ms. Lambert, do you not like the soup I served you? I only did so because I thought you would enjoy it.
Did I do something wrong?” Rory widened her unbelievably beautiful eyes while pouting pitifully at the
same time.
Her tearful expression elicited Jeffrey''s sympathy at once.
Gesturing for her to go over to him, Jeffrey pulled her into his arms andforted her in a gentle voice,
“There, there, Rory. Don''t cry. Let me serve you some food.”
As Jeffrey put Rory''s favorite fruit sd on her te, he shot Nicole a piercing re that sent a chill
down her spine.
What''s wrong with Nicole? Despite her warm and gentle demeanor, she doesn''t know how to
appreciate the bowl of soup served by my great-granddaughter. Even I didn''t get the honor of having
her serve me a bowl!
Consequently, the incident negatively affected Jeffrey''s impression of Nicole.
When she caught a glimpse of the sudden change in Jeffrey''s eyes, Nicole''s heart dropped. D*mn it, I
neglected Old Mr. Moore, who''s the decision-maker of the family. Usually, he''s the one who pampers
the children the most. I must have angered him with my actions just now.
Flooded byplicated emotions, Nicole gritted her teeth to steel herself as she downed the entire
bowl of soup in one go.
Once she was done, her stomach churned immediately. It was so unbearable that her tears and snot
were on the brink of gushing out.
Desperately enduring it, she forced a smile that looked terrifying instead. “The soup''s pretty good. I like
it. Rory, thank you for being so attentive.”
Meanwhile, Zachary discreetly shed a victory sign at his sister. As they watched Nicole speak
sycophantically amid her difort, the children covered their mouths to hold back theirughter.
It was then that Cayden came down the staircase with Avery in his arms.
His arrival caused Nicole to forget the pain in her stomach as she stared adoringly at him.
With his extraordinary poise and features that seemed to have been carved by God himself, Cayden
looked as if he had stepped out of a painting. He exuded a manly aura where even his casual clothing
couldn''t diminish his air of nobility.
A single nce at him was enough to intoxicate anyone.
As for Avery, her hair was loosely draped around her shoulders whereas the white full-length dress she
was wearing entuated the fairness of herplexion. Lyingnguidly in his arms, she looked like a
cat that had just awoken.
The loving sight triggered a sense of difort in Nicole, which was quickly followed by a sudden bout
of nausea.
After greeting Jeffrey and Allie, Cayden and Avery took their seats at the dining table.
Jeffrey, throwing Avery a nce, didn''t show any emotion as he continued to y with the children.
Never one to wee Avery, Allie greeted thetter''s arrival with a scowl, followed by a loud snort.
Nheless, Avery ignored Allie''s cold shoulder as she continued with her meal.
After all, it was Cayden whom she was going to be spending her life with in the future. As long as both
of them persisted in their rtionship, whatever objections Allie had were futile.
When Avery looked in Nicole''s direction and saw thetter obsequiously serving Allie food, she couldn''t
help but haveplicated thoughts about it.
Up till then, Nicole still failed to grasp reality and continued to assume that she could marry into the
Moore family as long as Cayden''s mother approved of her.
If Cayden was a mother''s boy who obeyed Allie unconditionally, that would have been the right
strategy.
Unfortunately, he was headstrong and domineering to the point that even Jeffrey''s pressure meant
nothing, let alone Allie''s objections.
As a result, Nicole''s efforts were nothing but an exercise in futility.
All this while, the Moore family practiced the principle of no talking at the dining table. Thus, the meal
carried on without incident even though the atmosphere wasn''t particrly jovial.
Regardless, the restless Nicole—desperate for Cayden''s attention—racked her brains on how to make
herself stand out.
When she noticed the ssical Epean oil paintings on the wall, she remarked in an excited tone, “Old
Mr. Moore, are these paintings by the famous Ustranasion painter M? As one of the foremost
painters in the Modernist era, his works are exceptionally valuable. It''s amazing that you have genuine
Ms at home...”
When Avery heard Nicole trying desperately to impress her hosts, she choked on her food and almost
spewed it out of her mouth.
After all, thetter hadmitted two fundamental errors in herments. Firstly, instead of being
Ustranasion, M was Ferropenian. Secondly, he was an Impressionist instead of a Modernist.