Ariana Grant followed the arm that blocked her path upward, her eyes landing on a dashingly handso face.
Silas Jacobs had strong features, with bright eyes and pearly white teeth. When he smiled, revealing two sharp canines, he’d tilt his head with a wild, unrestrained air.
He wasn’t bad looking—better than many celebrities, even—but he had the classic look of a "player."
Silas Jacobs effortlessly picked up a glass of champagne from nearby and offered it to her. "We should get to know each other. I’m Silas Jacobs. And I don’t believe I caught the lady’s na?"
Ariana Grant’s lips curved as she accepted the drink from Silas Jacobs. Her presence was far more commanding than her five-foot-three fra would suggest.
"That depends on your intentions, President Jacobs. If you’re looking to make a friend, you can call Ariana Grant. If you’re here to talk business, then it’s President Grant. Which would you prefer?"
Silas Jacobs raised an eyebrow. ’Now this girl,’ he thought, ’is just my type.’
"You’re friends with our beautiful painter, Miss Ariana? That was so impressive wine-throwing earlier."
’Miss Ariana?’
’Give him an inch and he’ll take a mile.’
Ariana Grant smiled. "Would you like a taste as well, President Jacobs?"
Silas Jacobs smiled back. "Throwing wine is such a waste. How about we have a drink together later instead?"
The two, eting for the first ti, were locked in an evenly matched volley of wits. anwhile, the actual married couple standing to the side said nothing.
Owen Rhodes wasn’t wearing a tie today, the top two buttons of his shirt undone. It gave him a more leisurely and casual air, a departure from his usual ticulous appearance.
Stella stood quietly beside Ariana as Owen, ever the gentleman, handed her a drink. "It’s water."
Stella reached out and took it. "Thank you."
Their matching wedding rings were separated only by the glass of water, yet almost no one in the banquet hall knew of their relationship.
Not far away, Kiana, who was toasting guests, noticed that Ethan Rhodes had suddenly stopped and was looking in a certain direction.
She followed his gaze and saw Stella over there.
A flicker of annoyance crossed her eyes as she linked her arm through Ethan Rhodes’s. "Ethan, what are you looking at?"
Ethan Rhodes ca back to his senses and took Kiana’s hand. "Kiana, I saw my uncle. Let’s go over and toast him first."
At tonight’s engagent party, at least half of the guests were there for Owen Rhodes.
After the ceremony, Owen Rhodes had been constantly occupied. Even when Ethan Rhodes wanted to go and toast him, Owen hadn’t had a free mont.
Seeing that he wasn’t surrounded by other guests at the mont, Ethan Rhodes led Kiana over to offer a toast.
But as they all ca to a stop, their positioning was rather... peculiar.
Originally, Ariana and Stella were standing opposite Silas and Owen. With the sudden arrival of Ethan and Kiana, Ethan unexpectedly ended up standing right next to Stella.
Ethan’s gaze couldn’t help but drift to Stella’s hand.
For a mont, he forgot to speak to Owen. Instead, it was Stella who spoke first, raising her glass with a smile. "Congratulations."
Ethan raised his glass, but before it could touch Stella’s, she had already lifted her own glass and taken a drink.
Ethan’s hand was left hanging awkwardly in mid-air.
It was Silas who "kindly" clinked his glass against Ethan’s, smoothing things over. "Congratulations, Ethan, on landing such a beauty."
Kiana and Ethan then thanked him together.
After toasting Owen and Ariana, Kiana finally turned to look at Stella.
"Stella, I’m so happy you could co today. I believe that you’re truly happy for and Ethan, right?"
Stella’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. "Of course. Did you think it wasn’t genuine?"
Kiana was clearly flustered and rushed to explain. "Stella, that’s not what I ant." She paused, then gave a gentle smile. "Stella, I hope you’ve truly moved on. I wish for you to find your own happiness soon. Ethan and I will always be your family; that will never change."
It was then that Silas saw Ariana, who was standing opposite him, roll her eyes dramatically.
’Heavens, he’d never seen an eye-roll that showed so much white.’
After her eyes settled, Ariana looked up and asked him, "President Jacobs, do you sll sothing... odd?"
Silas played along. "And what might that be, Miss Ariana?"
"A very strong scent of tea. Can you sll it? The green tea kind."
Silas played along, sniffing the air theatrically. "I do sll it. Where’s it coming from?"
Kiana: "..."
Hearing this, Stella lowered her head and smiled, but when she looked up, her face was a mask of confusion.
"I don’t quite understand what you an, sister. ’Moved on’ from what?"
Kiana glanced at Owen, then spoke gently. "Stella, in life, we all et people we’re not destined to be with. That’s just how it is. I hope you’ve truly moved on from Ethan—"
"Oof!"
Just then, Stella was suddenly shoved by soone.
The shove was quite forceful. Unsteady in her high heels, she lost her balance and stumbled to the side.
Unfortunately, she was stumbling right toward Ethan.
Stella reacted in a split second, instinctively reaching for Owen.
’She wanted absolutely nothing to do with Ethan right now.’
After a mont of chaos, the scene settled: Ethan had his arm protectively around Stella, but the person holding her arm was, in fact, Owen.
Stella hurriedly pulled out of Ethan’s arms and thanked him, "Thank you, brother-in-law."
The contact had lasted re seconds, but after a mont of stunned silence, tears began to stream down Kiana’s face.
"Stella, I knew you still..."
Her words were left unfinished, inviting speculation.
Kiana was about to launch into a tearful tirade, but when she looked up, she saw Stella’s face was a mask of utter aggrievent.
"Sister, why are you crying? You... you can’t still be misunderstanding things between and my brother-in-law, can you?" Stella enunciated every word clearly. "There is absolutely nothing between him and . It’s really not what you think..."
As she spoke, her eyes reddened, as if she could burst into tears at any second.
Ariana: "..." ’Wow, what a quick study. She’s putting her new skills to use already?’
Silas: "...???" ’Why do I feel like I’m slling that green tea scent again?’
Owen: "..." ’Whatever. Let her have her fun.’
The main players of the evening were now gathered together, and the gazes of the guests in the room silently converged on that one spot.
Looking utterly pitiful, Stella stepped forward and took Kiana’s hand. "I’m sorry, sister. That was my fault just now, but I truly didn’t an to fall into my brother-in-law. Please, don’t overthink it. You’re always misunderstanding things between us... I... I’ll move further away, then. Please don’t be angry, okay?"
And so, Stella really did walk away.
She walked over and stood behind Owen.
She peeked out from behind Owen, her eyes brimming with tears as she looked at Kiana’s strained expression.
"Sister, I truly have no intention of fighting you for my brother-in-law. Besides, look," she held out her left hand, "I’m already married. If you keep saying things like that, my husband might misunderstand... Why can’t you ever trust ...?"
As she spoke, a tear rolled down her cheek.
Kiana was so shocked her jaw dropped.
’Had she and Stella swapped scripts or sothing?’
’Wasn’t she supposed to be the one crying her heart out?’
But after Stella’s little performance, Kiana found herself completely backed into a corner.
By this point, many people were looking in their direction.
Kiana had no choice but to force herself to say, "Stella, that’s not what I ant..."
"But you just told to stop pestering my brother-in-law, and I wasn’t! I was pushed into him! If you don’t believe , sister, we can check the security caras." Stella said urgently. "My reputation is important too, sister."
She glanced around. "So many people saw what happened. If we don’t clear this up now, what am I going to do if people start saying I tried to seduce my future brother-in-law?"
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