[ At Jones Hotel... ]
Amid the stunned silence, as the patriarch of the Jones Family, Oscar grabbed the microphone from the host and stepped forward, his expression grave as he addressed the bewildered guests.
"Everyone, I regret to inform you that this gathering must co to an end," Oscar announced, his voice carrying authority and solemnity. "Due to unforeseen circumstances, we must bring this evening to a close."
A murmur of confusion rippled through the crowd as Oscar’s words sank in, mingling with the lingering shock of lody’s arrest.
"Again. I apologize for this. We will give our statent to the dia about the postponent of my son’s engagent party."
With a sullen look on his face, Oscar motioned for the staff to begin ushering the guests towards the exits, the once vibrant atmosphere now tinged with an air of confusion and intrigue.
Alfonso and ona already left the banquet hall to accompany their daughter to the precinct. Furthermore, They couldn’t bear to face the crowd, especially after the embarrassing ordeal with lody’s arrest. The fact that their daughter had been apprehended in front of such prominent figures from both the business and entertainnt world only added to their sense of sha.
On the other hand, Oliver and his closest family mbers convened as Oscar called for their attention. Gathered in a circle, they prepared to discuss the aftermath of this humiliating incident.
"Are we going to continue this engagent or call it off? What if lody Williams is guilty of her cri? It can affect our family’s reputation too!" Oliver’s Uncle spoke up, expressing his concern.
With furrowed brows, the other family mbers exchanged uneasy glances, each of them understood the weight of the situation.
"We should wait for an update from the Williams Family. Alfonso is my old friend. I can’t break that engagent right away because of lody’s scandal. I’m certain that the Williams will do anything to clear her na," Oscar reassured them.
But Oliver’s mother was having a second thought about this. "Honey, I can’t let our son marry a criminal. I don’t care about the Williams’ power and wealth as long as my son will marry a good woman."
"I agree. There are lots of powerful families here in York City. Not only the Williams. We can find a suitable candidate to be Oliver’s wife. Soone with a good reputation. After this incident, I am certain that lody’s reputation will suffer a big blow." Oliver’s grandmother expressed her opinion.
The air hung heavy with tension as they braced themselves for the difficult decisions that lay ahead.
In the middle of their family discussion, Oliver received a text ssage from Lanny.
[ Oliver. Now I’ll tell you our third condition that you need to fulfill. Break off your engagent with lody Williams. Don’t marry her. She is a bad influence to you. We are doing this for your own good. They just want your family’s fortune. Convince your father. ]
Oliver blinked in amusent after reading Lanny’s ssage. ’Oh. I’m touched! Miss Lanny and Miss Athena are both concerned of my well-being. Well. I have nothing to lose. I don’t specifically like lody. I don’t have feelings for her. No emotional attachnt at all.’
’She’s beautiful, yet she has a bad attitude. I just agreed to this engagent because I couldn’t defy my father. I had to obey him. But now, I found a perfect reason to say no!’
"Dad, Mom, can I speak up?" Oliver raised his hand, catching everyone’s attention.
"Yes, son. Tell us. What is your opinion about this? Do you still want to marry lody?" Oliver’s mother consulted him.
Oliver darted his gaze back and forth between his mother and father. He took a deep breath before speaking up.
"Mom, Dad... the truth is... I don’t want to marry lody. She is a warfreak and self-centered person. I don’t like her. See, she even conspired to hurt soone. Though it is not yet proven, I can assure you that she is capable of doing that. Please, break off this engagent," Oliver explained, trying to convince his parents.
Oliver’s parents and relatives fell silent when they heard his last remarks. Since his future depended on this, they had to co up with a wise decision.
After a mont of contemplation, Oscar heaved a sigh of defeat. "Alright, son. I will respect your decision. We will call off this engagent. I’ll speak with Alfonso personally. Besides, we can still continue our business partnership even without this marriage." Oscar Jones reassured his son.
"Do you have anymore objection or recomndation?" Oscar turned to their family mbers.
"None!" They answered in unison.
Oliver put on a satisfied smile when his family supported his decision. He imdiately grabbed his phone and shared this good news to Lanny.
[ "Miss Lanny! I’ve done it! My family has agreed to end my engagent with lody. My father won’t insist on marrying her anymore! I’ve fulfilled your third request!" ]
anwhile, Lanny, Athena and Enzo just stepped out of the elevator when Lanny received Oliver’s ssage. She read it aloud so that Enzo and Athena could hear Oliver’s ssage.
"Mission Accomplished! The union between the Jones Family and Williams Family will no longer happen!" Lanny exclaid to them enthusiastically.
Athena smiled joyfully. They succeeded with their plan of weakening Alfonso’s power.
"Let’s celebrate! I’ll call Gael to join us." Athena blurted out, anchoring her arms around Lanny’s waist.
Enzo, on the other hand, halted on his steps and turned around to face the two ladies.
"Athena. First of all, I would like to apologize. lody is my cousin. But she tried to hurt you. I am ashad to be part of the Williams Family. I’m so glad that nothing bad happened to you."
Then he shifted his gaze from Athena to Lanny. "Thank you for defending out there. When people started ridiculing , you were there, protecting . I owe you this, Lanny."
"No need to ntion it, Enzo. You and I are friends. It’s natural for a friend to protect her friend." Lanny patted his shoulder.
Athena could only smile watching the interaction between the two. She just hoped Enzo would be able to recover his mory soon.
’Sigh. I wonder what my brother will feel once he learns that Lanny and he already has a daughter. Please regain your mory soon, Bro. You have to make Lanny confess to you the truth about Kimmy. You have the right to know about your daughter’s existence. And Kimmy will be happy to et and see her father.’
"Shall we go? I already inford Gael to et us. Let’s visit the V Club. We should celebrate there!" Athena suggested. She also wanted to celebrate with Vladimir.
"Sure!"
The three of them were passing through the hotel lobby when soone called them.
"Miss Athena! Miss Lanny!" Ashton’s voice echoed in the lobby.
Athena froze on her spot upon eting Dominique’s penetrating gaze. He was standing next to Ashton. It looked like the two n deliberately waited for them in the lobby.
"Hello, Mr. Davis!" Lanny was the one who greeted him back.
"Long ti no see, Enzo. Are you close with Miss Lanny and Miss Athena?"
Ashton redirected his focus towards Enzo, posing a straightforward question. He was curious as to why Enzo was with Lanny and Athena.
Even Dominique joined in scrutinizing the trio, harboring suspicions about the connection between the three individuals.
anwhile, due to his amnesia, Enzo failed to recognize Ashton. Choosing not to disclose his current condition to Ashton, he simply offered a polite smile in return.
"Perhaps the ladies can shed so light on that," Enzo deflected, passing the responsibility of answering Ashton’s question to Lanny and Athena.
Since Athena was quiet, Lanny decided to answer on their behalf. "Enzo and I know each other. We are friends." Lanny chose not to elaborate her answer.
Ashton just nodded with a smile. "Heading ho?"
"Yes, Enzo offered to give us a ride," Lanny replied casually.
Casting a quick glance between Dominique and Athena, Lanny noticed their intense exchange of looks.
’What’s going on here? Does Dominique sense sothing suspicious about us?’ Lanny mused to herself.
They were still talking when Athena’s phone beeped. She checked it out only to see Dominique’s ssage. It turned out, he secretly sent her a ssage.
[ Co to my villa. We need to talk. Now. ] Dominique sounded serious in his text ssage.
Athena furrowed her brow upon reading the content of Dominique’s ssage.
’Damn! Why now? I have to celebrate tonight together with Gael, Lanny, Vladimir and my brother. I already invited Gael to et us at V Club.’
Athena simply typed her ssage to refuse Dominique’s demand tonight.
[ We can talk tomorrow. Not tonight. I have plans with my friends. ]
Just like Athena, Dominique made a face of disapproval when he saw her ssage. He couldn’t wait for tomorrow. He wanted to talk to her right now.
[ No, not tomorrow. We have an agreent. You’ll co to see when I call for you. It’s part of our arrangent. Rember?] Dominique didn’t leave any room for negotiation or objection.
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