Chapter 432


    Vera and Minerva had known each other for so many years, so how could she not understand


    Minerva?


    Minerva obviously had a n. If she had really asked them both to leave, she must have caught on


    to something.


    Vera had been by her side for a long time, so it was hardly difficult to guess the identity of the ''big


    shot'' upstairs, especially after giving it some thought.


    "Auntie Vera, aren''t we going to have a feast?" Beanie asked, his eyes as round as the moon.


    "Well have it another day. Your mommy has some urgent work to attend to today, so we''d have to


    go first."


    Beanie''s eyes twinkled, as if light had shed across it. He nodded his head in obedience, and


    stood still as Vera put his hat on for him. She then took his hand in hers and left.


    Naturally, Maddox''s eyes were fixed on them.


    As they stood up, Maddox noticed that there was a child in front of Minerva. He did not give it much


    thought and quickly wrote it off as the child of her colleague.


    Though he could not quite understand why, his gaze followed the child closely as he was leaving


    with Vera. Upon reaching the restaurant’s entrance, the child with the hat suddenly raised his head,


    revealing half of his face.


    With that single nce at Beanie, Maddox''s expression changed suddenly.


    That child...All content is ? N0velDrama.Org.


    At this moment, some people from down below had pushed through the doors and entered.


    The sound of the door interrupted Maddox''s train of thoughts. He rushed back to his senses and


    callously looked at the men who had just entered.


    The looks on their faces changed when they met his gaze. They took a few steps forward.


    "Young Master Yardley..."


    They looked down and noticed that her twopanions had left the restaurant. Panic set in and


    they hurriedly exined, "We didn''t force them to leave. We only invited her to join us upstairs."


    Upon hearing this, Maddox raised his eyebrows, "Did you tell her about me?"


    "Of course not," they said, waving their hands. "We only told her that there was a ''big shot''


    upstairs."


    They then narrated the whole incident to Maddox, including what Minerva had said about having


    him personally invite her over for dinner.


    As they exined the situation, their eyes attentively observed Maddox''s expression. They had


    even nned to teach Minerva a lesson if Maddox was truly mad at her.


    However, Maddox only wore a nk look on his face and remained stoically calm.


    At that moment, they could not read Maddox''s


    mind.


    One of them wanted to sound him out, so he said angrily, "This woman has crossed the line. Who


    does she think she is? How dare she ask Young Master Yardley to invite her in person? Young


    Master Yardley, don''t worry, I''ll get my men to bring her here right now."


    As soon as he finished speaking, he was about to wave a signal to his underlings.


    Maddox''s gaze instantly swept over them. "Who gave you the permission to do that?"


    "Young Master Yardley?"


    A secondter, Maddox turned over to look at Minerva through the casement window, his lips curled


    as he thought, "Should I personally invite her?"


    It seemed that she had probably figured out who he was.


    Minerva stayed right in her seat for a while. She intently watched the seconds go by, working out in


    her head that Vera and Beanie should be well away by now. She then got up to leave.


    As she was standing up, a pang of light-headedness crept into her head, almost causing her to fall


    forward. Fortunately, she had reached out and grabbed hold of a chair to support herself.


    Minerva shook the dizziness away. She had not experienced this in a long while. Perhaps the


    moment was too overwhelming for her.


    She must leave this ce quickly and grab a bite to eat somewhere else.


    With this in mind, Minerva headed out with hurried steps.


    Just as she walked out of the door, a figure stood in her way and blocked her path.


    "Where are you going?"


    A man''s cold and emotionless voice rang through her ears and she looked up at the figure in front of


    her.


    It really was him!


    Maddox!


    She had a feeling someone''s gaze had fallen on her shortly after she was seated at the restaurant.


    Who else could it have been other than Maddox? Even so, Minerva did not have the time nor mood


    to deal with him. She was starving as she had not eaten for the entire day and could feel her gastric


    pain kicking in.


    She pursed her lips and forced a smile.


    "Ah, Mr. Yardley. It''s such a coincidence to meet you here, but I have something to attend to. I''ll ask


    you out for dinner next time when I get a chance to."


    With that, she made a move to leave. However, as she walked past Maddox, he reached out quickly


    to grasp her wrist.


    "I''vee to you."


    Minerva paused and stared at him in bewilderment.


    Maddox turned around and let his eyes rest on her. "Didn''t you ask me to invite you in person?"


    Tongue-tied, Minerva could not find the words to speak.


    "Dinner upstairs?"


    The corners of Minerva''s lips twitched. She had only said and meant that casually as a means to


    distract the men, allowing Vera and Beanie time to slip out and leave. The thought of going upstairs


    to have dinner with him never actually crossed her mind.


    As she thought about this, she licked her lips to prep her exnation. "Mr. Yardley, I''m afraid there''s


    been a misunderstanding. I only asked that you invite me personally, but I didn''t say that I would


    definitely agree to it."


    Hearing this, Maddox''s eyes narrowed dangerously.


    "So, you''re messing with me?"


    "It was just a joke." Minerva broke free from his grasp and took two steps back. She staggered on


    her feet, swaying a little.


    Minerva took a few more steps back to steady herself, her face pale as she pressed on her


    stomach.


    Maddox immediately suspected something was amiss. He narrowed his eyes and looked at her


    closely.


    "What''s the matter?"


    Minerva took a deep breath and stood her ground, trying to ease the pain in her stomach. She could


    not bear it any longer.


    She looked at Maddox with a pale face, "I''m alright. I''m used to it." "What''s wrong with you?"


    Maddox stared at her, eyes pooling with concern.


    With a faint smile, Minerva said nothing and headed straight to the parking lot. Maddox stood


    motionless for a brief moment before ultimately deciding to follow behind.


    When she reached the parking lot, Minerva''s gastric pain had worsened. Her forehead was beaded


    with cold sweat.


    She had never suffered such pain in the past. Did she starve herself way too much that day, or was


    it due to her temper?


    Minerva stumbled and got hold of something. With staggering steps, Minerva stumbled and she


    found herself grabbing and catching a touch of warmth.


    She turned around to see the indifferent and handsome face of Maddox before realizing that she


    had identally ced her hand on his shoulder.


    Minerva was stunned for a second before retracting her hand. She asked feebly, "Why are you


    following me?"


    Her face was paler than before and her forehead was coated with pools of cold sweat. Something


    was wrong. Maddox frowned and did not care about anything else as he pulled her to him, furiously


    asking her, "What''s wrong?"


    Startled by his fierceness, Minerva weakly replied, "Gastric... gastric pain."


    As soon as she finished speaking, Maddox lifted her up in an embrace.