Chapter 26 Adeline Found Out Mr. Riley Is Narrow-minded


    Chapter 26 Adeline Found Out Mr. Riley Is Narrow-minded


    E rolled her eyes in disgust after seeing Victoria''s reaction. You want her to fall for your tricks, but


    you don''t want her to have a happy life. You are a truly evil person, Victoria. If Curtis the Cripple


    were evil, you''d be worse."


    E asked Curtis, "Am I right?" after she said that.


    Instead of answering her question, Curtis showed a glum expression.


    E grunted softly as she stared at him and said, "I''m trying to help you."


    Melissa thought to herself, "Mrs. Hodges, why do I get the impression that you''re putting him down?


    And you''re insulting both Victoria and Curtis at the same time!"


    Property belongs to N?vel(D)r/ama.Org.


    Victoria''s face betrayed her rage, and those women who apanied her couldn''t help butugh


    behind her back.


    The boss of Le Charme, a man in his early fifties, walked up to them at that very moment. He was


    wearing a vintage-style suit and a pocket watch made of shiny gold. He said slowly to the group of


    people, "I can only amodate one more table today. Would you like to have dinner together?"


    Victoria''s expression changed dramatically. She had heard that the restaurant''s owner, Ben Kelly,


    was a snob who catered exclusively to the wealthy and powerful.


    Being a snob was not a bad thing in Ben''s eyes. In fact, he was a little smug about it, as evidenced


    by the gold pocket watch he always wore around his neck.


    "No, we''re not dining together," Victoria replied, her eyes twinkling. She appeared to be confident


    that she would be the winner.


    Ben made an "oh" sound and gave a teasing expression. "I''m sorry, but I can only amodate


    one more room of guests before calling it a day. Why don''t you discuss who gets toe in?" he


    said.


    "That won''t be necessary! We''re going in!"


    "That won''t be necessary! We''re going in!"


    Curtis and Victoria said in unison, which was unusual for the two of them.


    "Curtis, are you serious? Are you serious aboutpeting with me?" Victoria asked,ughing


    contemptuously


    "I don''t mean topete with you," Curtis said, straightening his gold-rimmed sses on the bridge


    of his nose. He rubbed one of Adeline''s hands and said to Victoria with a smile, "But I promised my


    wife once that I wouldn''t let her lose as long as she was married to me!"


    "You''re nothing but a cripple, Curtis! Do you have anything that will help you win? Don''t forget that


    my husband now leads the Riley Group!" Victoria said as she gave Ben a meaningful wink.


    Ben, being the astute businessman he was, smiled and nodded to show he understood her


    meaning.


    "But I''d like to point out that "acting chairman" and "real chairman" are two different words for two


    different positions."


    Victoria said while giving Curtis a vicious re, "Why are you so mean to me? We''re family, aren''t


    we?"


    Curtis''s eyes behind his sses turned grim. He asked, "So what? Do you consider me a member


    of your family? Did it ever ur to you that we were a family when you hired online trolls to spread


    rumors about Adeline on the Inte today?"


    Adeline, Melissa, E, and those wealthy women were all shocked when they heard his words.


    Victoria was embarrassed after being caught red-handed, but she defended herself by saying, "I


    have no idea what you''re talking about! You made stuff up because you just wanted to pin the


    me on me!"


    Despite her protests, it was evident to everyone that she was embarrassed.


    "Hey, Victoria, you''re the one who brought us here for dinner! You promised that if we mentioned


    your husband''s name, we would dine at Le Charme without hitching. Honestly, can we have dinner


    here tonight or not?" A woman asked.


    "We can! I will most certainly bring you guys in!" Victoria replied. She turned to Ben and said, "You


    can make the call since you''re the boss. Who would you like to invite over for dinner? People all


    over town know you have high standards for your guests, so we''ll show everyone who can meet


    those standards today."


    "Well. I''d like to invite Mr. Riley to dinner at Le Charme." Ben said this while rubbing his gold pocket


    watch.


    Victoria was so shocked that she felt as if she had been struck by lightning. "What did you say?"


    she asked, surprised, in a high-pitched voice.


    "You''re the one who told me I get to make the call because I''m the boss. Plus, you''re the one who


    told me to pick my guests based on my criteria. So, I said I would like Mr. Riley toe into my


    diner. Is there a problem?"


    Ben looked at Victoria sincerely as she was fuming. He showed no sign of nervousness or concern


    that she might ask him probing questions.


    Victoria was stunned by what she had just heard. "You chose him?" she asked, pointing to Curtis.


    "He has lost both his money and power. My husband is the one who manages the Riley Group and


    all of the docks that my family owns now. Are you out of your mind, Ben Kelly? The whole town


    knows that you''re a snob! Why did you choose him when you''ve always dealt exclusively with the


    wealthiest guests?"


    Ben said with a smile, "Yes, everyone in town is right about me. We, Le Charme, only cater to the


    wealthy, and we judge our guests based on their wealth. What most people don''t realize is that the


    "money" we talk about refers to the amount of money they spend here. Mr. Riley used to spend a lot


    of money here and was always on the list of our top spenders, but you spent nothing. Mr. Riley is, of


    course, my first choice."


    "What?" Victoria was so furious that she couldn''t breathe.


    Ben bowed politely and said meaningfully, "I''ll show you your husband''s spending records here if


    you want to see them. Mr. Riley is consistently ranked first among the highest spenders and spent


    significantly more than the second-ce guest."


    Ben''s words shocked Victoria so much that she nearly passed out from rage.


    "Let''s go inside," Curtis said as he raised his hand.


    Adeline pushed him in his wheelchair toward Le Charme.


    Curtis abruptly pressed the wheels, turned to E, and asked, "Mrs. Hodges, do you need me, the


    cripple, to bring you in for dinner?"


    Adeline was at a loss for words as she became aware that her husband appeared to be very


    narrow-minded.


    "Adeline, you see, that''s exactly what he is!" E eximed, realizing her words had been


    confirmed. "He lives for the chance to retaliate against others!"


    Curtis squinted his eyes and clenched the wheelchair''s armrest tightly.


    Adeline pushed Curtis inside the yard with a smile and no furthermentary, where Melissa and


    Steffen soon joined them.


    Melissa''s eyes widened in surprise as she walked into the yard.


    Every detail of Le Charme''s vintage-style French courtyard was exquisitely designed.


    Melissa and Adeline then started to take photographs all around the courtyard.


    Curtis couldn''t pretend to be calm after Adeline left. He called Mr. Hodges andined bluntly,


    "Your wife called me a cripple."


    Mr. Hodges froze, pretended to be enraged, and eximed, "How could she do that? I''ll talk to her


    when she gets home! How can she nickname you after your ws?"


    "But, Curtis, I can''t sleep in my bedroom at night these days," Mr. Hodgesmented. "Every night, I


    could only sleep on the floor of my study! It isn''t easy to get along with women. Well, you''ll realize


    this after you get married. "


    "I''m fully aware of this."


    "You know about that? How is this possible?" Mr. Hodges asked in surprise.


    "I just got married." Curtis couldn''t help but smile and showed a smug face.


    "Well, I believe you''ll understand me better! Let me tell you, you''d better not point out your wife''s


    mistakes. Otherwise, you''ll be the one who has to beg her to forgive you. True story."


    "Exactly!" Curtis said as he was too aware of this. His eyes were almost filled with tears before he


    could say anything more.


    Curtis soon found himself fully engaged in the lessons Mr. Hodges had taught him.


    And right then, Victoria was having a hard time as she stood in front of the door of Le Charme.