Chapter 380


    Diana sat stiffly, sticking close to Connor and positioning herself as far from ire as possible. Her heart raced with anxiety, but having Uncle Connor nearby made her feel a tad safer.


    Meanwhile, Chloe found herself next to ire. Her face was a mask of calm, but her eyes showed a flicker of caution. She felt like she was walking into a trap.


    Chloe had her worries too, but she knew she had to brace herself and adapt to whatever happened next. The seat beside ire stayed empty for a bit until Ruben showed up. He immediately started showering ire withpliments. Once Ruben took his seat, there were still two people missing: Barrett and Pax.


    ire asked casually, "Ruben, where''s Barrett?"


    Ruben hadn''t expected that question. Given the pre-arranged guest list, it was possible Barrett and ire knew each other. Ruben shot a nce at Connor, who was expressionless, pouring himself some water, and decided to lie, "Barrett wasn''t feeling well and left early. We sent him home to rest yesterday."


    ire replied, "Oh? Is that so?" in a tone that betrayed nothing.


    Chloe''s heart skipped a beat. She knew Barrett was ire''s secret lover. Was ire here because Barrett had gone missing? Chloe had no idea where Barrett was or how Connor nned to handle him. All she could do was watch the siblings battle it out.


    Connor then chimed in, "ire, since when do you care about some minor celebrity?"


    ire shrugged it off, "He''s a protégé of an old friend. Just curious."


    No one else seemed to give it much thought. Faith could hardly wait to start eating. But ire hadn''t given the go-akead yet. If ire didn''t pick up her fork, no one else dared to either Impatient, Faith asked, "Where''s Pax? Why isn''t he here yet?"


    Chloe answered, "Pax fell off his horse and ripped his clothes. He''s changing."


    Just then, Pax strolled into the dining room, totally rxed, and pulled out the chair next to ire, casually asking, "Why haven''t you started eating?"


    Kalh watched with a mix of


    amusement and curiosity. She had wanted to sit next to ire but was stopped by the butler, who informed her that ire didn''t like anyone sitting beside her. Yet, Chloe had been seated on ire''s left, leaving the right side open until Pax boldly took the seat. Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g


    Kalh waited for the butler to kick Pax out but instead, ire announced, "Now that everyone''s here, let''s eat."


    Feeling frustrated, Kalh forced a smile, "Pax, you must be important. The director waited for you before starting the meal."


    She intended to embarrass Pax,


    implying he was receiving special treatment from ire. She was waiting for Pax to be put in his ce, a payback for making her eat snake sashimi. But then ire did something astonishing. She picked up the first piece of beef with her


    own fork and ced it in Pax''s te.


    "You''ve lost weight. Haven''t you been eating well?" she asked, her voice full of concern.


    Everyone at the table was left utterly stunned.