Chapter 95


    Kingsley scratched the back of his head, prevaricating, “Uh, well, he’s a brother of myrade’s, and


    he was just going along with my act.”His sisters knew that he had been a soldier in the army before


    this, and in times like these when lying was a necessity, he credited his imaginaryrades for his


    behavior.“A brother of yourrade’s?” Serena frowned as she eyed him skeptically. “And what about


    the thirty belts you just splurged on? Pretty sure you just racked up a two-million-something credit card


    bill back there.”He blinked and stammered, “Oh, um, he… he might be a luxury boutique manager, but


    he secretly sells counterfeit goods on the side. The belts I bought are all fake, and they’re not worth


    more than eight hundred.”“Fake?!” Serena’s eyes widened. “Are you seriously asking me to hand out


    these counterfeits to my friends from the dōjō? These are people who have been all over the world,


    and believe me when I say they can spot a counterfeit from a mile away!”“Don’t worry about it, Serena.


    We’re talking about high-quality counterfeits here, and I promise you, they won’t be able to tell it apart


    from the real stuff!” He changed the topic before she could argue with him any further on this. “Anyway,


    would you have killed Noah if I hadn’t held you back just now?”A cheeky smile tugged on her lips.


    “Nah, I don’t go around killing people for free, you know.” She had let the matter drop after Kingsley


    interjected.It wasn’t so much that she let the matter drop as it was that she chose to believe Kingsley


    like how Reene had. She was sure that he would never lie, and that even if he did, it was with good


    intentions.“Hey, Kingsley, why don’t youe as my plus-one to the reunion? I figured you haven’t


    eaten yet,” Serena offered.He hummed in response as he considered the fact that he truly hadn’t eaten


    and that he didn’t want Noah to stir up trouble for his sister, then nodded and he said, “Okay.”The


    Paradise Mall was close by the Bayou, which was merely a ten-minute walk away.Presently, in Carolina


    Court, about twenty young men and women were gathered around a long banquet table as they


    chattered among themselves.“My, my, Nancy, aren’t you just gorgeous?” Emory said to a woman who


    looked ordinary at best. “I haven’t seen you in years and you show up looking even more stunning than


    the Two Muses had ever looked!”Nancy Stewart pped her hand over her mouth and giggled


    abashedly as she said, “It’s all thanks to the expensive beauty treatments I get every now and then.


    Looking young surees with a price, right?”Emory chuckled awkwardly at this and his eyes swiveled


    to the man next to her, then asked, “And this handsome gentleman over here must be your fiancé, am I


    right?”“Why, yes.” Nancy leaned into the man’s embrace and announced happily, “Tyler and I are


    getting married next month!”Upon hearing this, those around the couple did not waste time in offering


    their blessings.“Congrattions!”“The both of you are a match made in heaven!”Everyone was well


    aware of the fact that Tyler was the heir to Spearhead Group and that he had a worth of more than


    ten million. If they could be so lucky as to get acquainted with him, then they were set for the high


    life.Emory’s eyes practically twinkled as he attempted to curry favor with the man. “So, Mr. Jovovich,


    the economy has taken quite the downturn these days, and I just don’t think my current job is paying


    well enough. Do you think you could—”He broke off when the door to the private dining room swung


    open, and in walked Serena and Kingsley. “One of the Two Muses has made it here! Everyone, please


    give a warm round of apuse!” someone cheered, and the guests in the room pped their hands in


    good spirit.Serena had always been beautiful, and though she had no pedigree like the others here,


    she was still treated like a star back at the dōjō. Now that she was here at the reunion, the men who


    had not seen for years were looking at her with interest.However, malice shed in Emory’s eyes. He


    had been so close to making Tyler’s acquaintance, which would be of great help to his intelligence-


    gathering endeavors, but Serena just had toe in and ruin things for him. The golden opportunity


    had slipped right through his fingers!Serena led Kingsley to their seats and smiled as she greeted,


    “Hey, guys. Gosh, I haven’t seen all of you in ages.”She had be the center of attention the


    moment she walked in. Even Tyler was staring at her with his mouth slightly open, dazed by her


    beauty.Next to him, Nancy was seething with rage. She snorted and drawled sarcastically, “Last I


    heard, you went into some nondescriptpany after you left the dōjō. Are you even getting paid


    well?” She couldn’t hope topete with Serena when it came to beauty and charm, so her wealth


    was the only thing she could lord over thetter’s head right now.Serena merely smirked as she


    answered, “We work onmission at Orion Tech; there’s no fixed remuneration there.”There was


    nothing wrong with the way she said it, at least not on the surface, but Kingsley understood what she


    was implying. Orion Tech was probably just a cover for the Mercenary Commission she worked for, andContent is ? by N?velDrama.Org.


    the mission’ she was talking about was the bounty that came with every assassination she carried


    out.Nancy scoffed and rolled her eyes, then pointed out disdainfully, “I don’t know whatpany that


    is, but it sounds downright crappy.”She had never liked Serena, not since their childhood days. She


    hated how Serena had managed to win over every boy just because of her pretty face even though she


    was just a lowly orphan. Whenever Serena was around, Nancy would always be invisible and cast


    away to the sidelines.She was insanely jealous of Serena, and she wanted to crush the girl by walking


    all over her. She wanted to tell everyone that she was better.When Emory saw how stormy Nancy


    looked, Emory quickly interjected, “Yeah, Serena, what kind of a crappany doesn’t even have an


    established portfolio of its own? I can’t believe you’d bring it up without dying of embarrassment!”Much


    like Nancy, the other women at the table were rather hostile toward Serena and her pretty face, either.


    When they heard the taunts and mockery thrown her way, they couldn’t help snickering, too.Meanwhile,


    the men, though enamored with Serena’s beauty, were so afraid of getting on Nancy and Tyler’s bad


    side that they decided to join in the mocking as well.“You know, maybe Serena is just a pretty face. She


    certainly isn’t as capable as Nancy.”“Tell me about it. It’s bad enough that she has a flimsy background,


    but she just has to ride around on her high horse, too. At this rate, she’ll be stuck as a bottom-


    feeder.”Nancy was ecstatic to hear everyone standing on her side. She narrowed her eyes at Serena


    imperiously, as though she was looking at some pest, and pointed out venomously, “You might as well


    be a call girl or something if you’re going to spend your life making pittance at some run-down


    company. Why waste that pretty face of yours when you can get paid well for it, right? At least you’ll get


    to go home and put dinner on the table for your family.” Then, she pretended to be apologetic as she


    gasped and put a hand over her mouth. “Oh, I’m sorry. I forgot that you’re an orphan and that you have


    no family to feed. Guess there’s no need for you to moonlight as a prostitute, then!” Triumphant giggles


    followed this scathing insult.