Chapter 97


    “Heavens!”“Noah, are you okay?”The guests all rose to their feet to check on Noah when they saw the


    blood seeping through his fingers.At once, Emory mmed a fist against the table as he snapped at


    Kingsley, “What the hell? Who gave you the right to beat one of us up? Don’t you know we’re all trained


    in close-quartersbat?!”He rolled up his sleeves and made to lunge at Kingsley, but at that moment,


    Serena stood up angrily to shield thetter, then warned murderously, “You’ll have to go through me,


    Emory.” She eyed the others icily. “Come on, then, let’s see which ones of you will walk out of here


    alive after I’m done!”The Two Muses of the dōjō were not just known for their stunning beauty back in


    the day; they were also the two strongest martial artists among everyone. While Emory was by no


    means weak, it had been years since hest practiced martial arts, and on top of the fact that his joints


    were stiff, he had more body fat than muscle.As things were, he wasn’t sure if he could beat Serena in


    a fight.Upon sensing his hesitation, Serena challenged in a sing-song voice, “Is somebody


    chicken?”The others in their well-pressed suits and their so-called sessful careers started to wince


    in embarrassment when they heard the taunting edge to her tone.Just as the tension between both


    parties was escting, the door to the private dining room was pushed open, and in strolled a woman


    d in a pink dress that perfectly entuated her curves, her stiletto heels cking against the floor to


    announce her arrival.“The other Muse is here!”“Well, if it isn’t the princess herself! Let’s give her a


    warm round of apuse!”Everyone behaved as though they were looking at their savior as they


    pped their hands to wee the woman.It was only then that Emory let out a small breath of relief


    and slowly resumed his seat. He would be lying if he said he hadn’t broken into cold sweat when he


    saw the mutinous gleam in Serena’s eyes earlier.“Rena!” The young woman who had just arrived


    immediately brightened up when she saw Serena. She hurried up to the table and eximed in delight,


    “I haven’t seen you in ages! I’ve missed you!”Following this, she was pleasantly surprised to see


    Kingsley present as well. “Hey, I know you! What are you doing here?”Kingsley chuckled as he


    greeted, “Hey, there, Miss Tanner.” The young woman in pink was none other than Paige herself. He


    patted the empty seat next to his and said, “You can sit here with us, Miss Tanner.”Confused, Paige sat


    down on the chair and asked curiously, “So, what are you doing here? Did youe as somebody’s


    plus-one?” She paused as astonishment colored her face. “Wait, are you here with Rena?”Kingsley


    nodded. “Yeah, she’s my sister.” Then, he leaned close to her and whispered teasingly, “And for the


    record, you look much better in this pink dress than you do in leather.”Paige flushed as she gave him a


    yful nudge. “Don’t be a rascal. I know I look good in both,” she said with twinkling eyes.She had


    seen Kingsley in a different light ever since she learned that her grandfather had passed the Order of


    the Northern Draken to him.Everyone was stunned by the sight of this. They had always viewed Paige


    as a princess-like figure who sat on an untouchable throne, and the only other person she had ever


    been so friendly with was Serena.Emory, in particr, was in such disbelief that he couldbust. The


    only reason he had agreed to take on the spy mission ande all the way to Cleapolis from the


    Empire of the Setting Sun was because of Paige!Back in the day, he could never hope to impress a girl


    like her, who came from the powerful Tanner Family. He could only secretly pine after her, and he had


    ns to woo her only after he had made something of himself.However, right now, she was getting all


    chummy with Kingsley, and seeing this made Emory so angry that he could explode. The intimacy


    between them was only something he could dream of; he never even got to touch her hand!Nancy was


    bewildered, too. “Paige, do you actually know him?”In stark contrast to the way she behaved around


    Serena, Nancy knew it was futile to be jealous of Paige. After all, the girl came from the most prominent


    family of the Northern Circle of Qustia; the power and respect they had was far superior than those of


    the Jovovich Family.Presently, Paige shrugged as she said, “I guess you could say I know him. I mean,


    he did sleep in my room for a night.” Nancy’s words died in her throat as her eyes widened to the size


    of saucers, and everyone else froze in their seats. For a moment, the whole dining room was so quiet


    that one could hear a pin drop, and the silence was punctured when Emory sputtered incredulously as


    anger filled him, squeezing the air out of his lungs.“W-What?” Nancy was astounded. “But isn’t he


    Serena’s boyfriend? Why would he have slept in your room?”Noah mbered off the floor with blood


    staining his chin, then spat out ferociously, “What boyfriend? He’s her brother from the


    orphanage!”Everyone became even more confused after they heard this. No one could have expected


    an orphan to win over someone like the youngdy of the Tanner Family. The idea of this even


    happening was unfathomable!Next to Nancy, all the color drained from Tyler’s face. The haughty


    expression that he had been wearing all this time now crumbled and gave way to unbridled shock. He


    wanted to p himself in the face for offering the future son-inw of the Tanner Family security work


    at Spearhead Group. I could have died!Meanwhile, Kingsley caught the embarrassed look onTyler’s


    face and drawled in amusement, “Don’t worry about it, Mr. Jovovich. There’s nothing special going on


    between me and Miss Tanner over here; I was merely a guest in her home that night.”This set


    everyone at ease.“Oh, thank goodness. I thought the world went mad! I mean, an orphan and Miss


    Tanner getting together? Please!”“My heart stopped beating for a second there. I actually believed he


    married into the Tanner Family!”They patted their chests in relief, but only Tyler looked stormy. That


    was beyond humiliating! I was so scared of offending this nobody that I’m shaking! Granted, nobody


    was picking on him for that, but he still wished a hole would open up in the ground and swallow


    him.Unable to live down the shame, he stood up and announced grimly, “I’m afraid I have to get going


    now. Excuse me.”Nancy was flustered as well as she clutched Tyler’s arm and whispered, “Where are


    you going? What about me?”“I’ll have Ernie pick you upter.” He forced out a smile as he said to the


    others, “The meal’s on me today, so order anything you want and put it on my tab.”It was only then that


    Nancy perked up slightly. “Well, in that case, we won’t hold you back. Be safe.”Tyler made no response


    to this as he went to open the door. He was just about to leave when he stopped and turned, then


    red at Kingsley balefully, hissing, “I’ll remember this day, you punk. Don’t get on my nerves if you


    know what’s good for you!”With that, he left and mmed the door behind him.The others in the room


    shifted ufortably at the tension that hung in the air until someone finally chuckled and said


    awkwardly, “Nancy, do thank Mr. Jovovich for being so generous today.”“Yeah, it’s so gracious of him to


    buy us a meal.”There were over twenty of them gathered here at the Bayou today, and it would be a


    surprise if the bill was below twenty thousand.As such, the guests began to praise Tyler for his


    generous gesture, which boosted Nancy’s ego to no end as she beamed and said, “Well, of course, my


    Tyler wants only the best for me, including having a good time with my friends.” Having said that, she


    shot Serena a pointed look. “It’s only too bad that Serena’s kid brother pissed him off, otherwise he


    would have brought us over to Chanteuse International for a karaoke st.”Chanteuse International?Property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    What?! That’s the most exclusive karaoke bar in the city!Everyone turned to look at Kingsley and


    Serena resentfully.“See what you did, Serena? Youpletely ruined our chance of living the high


    life!”“Exactly! You need at least half a million in deposit just to get a room there. We won’t be able to get


    in without Mr. Jovovich footing the bill!”Everyone was ganging up on the siblings like they wanted to


    flog them alive.Serena and Paige merely responded to their hostility with grim, deadly looks. Both


    women were about to speak up for Kingsley when they heard the thuds of someone knocking on the


    door.The crowdshed out angrily, “Who the hell is that? We haven’t ordered anything, have we?!”The


    next second, the door to the dining room opened slowly, and Frank from the boutique earlier stood


    there with three good-looking male assistants in tow. “Pardon the intrusion,dies and gentlemen.


    We’re here to make a delivery,” he announced respectfully.