Her Precious Baby

Chapter 29

Nevertheless, she endured it and stood her ground. “I have no reason to do such a thing, Mr. Golding, as I’m only here for work. Could it be your supreme confidence in your own qualities that had you convinced that every woman out there must desperately want to get in your good books?”

Those utterances seemed to weigh heavily in the atmosphere around them.

The look on the pair’s faces told Delano Halls that something was not quite right. “Do you and Ms. Sorelle know each other, Mr. Golding?” he asked in concern.

“No, I don’t know her.” Speaking in his deep and low inflection, Evander sought to distance himself from her.

Unable to stomach that sight, Angeline managed a stiff smile. “Of course, he doesn’t. Not everyone can hope to be acquainted with someone as illustrious as Mr. Golding himself.”

Is she suggesting that I’m unapproachable?

Evander’s expression turned increasingly sullen. It was as though a terrible storm was brewing within him.

A secretary-like woman skirted around to Delano from behind. After she whispered something into his ear, the latter’s face turned constipated. It would seem that he just had found himself caught between a rock and a hard place.

So, Evander and Angeline actually can’t get along with each other? This is all because of my previous work trip. It’s no wonder I had no idea about what was going on despite how long the news has been out there!

“About that, Mr. Golding. I invited Ms. Sorelle to help me with the promotional work for the property a long time ago.” He only concluded that he might have misspoken after those words had escaped his

lips, but alas, it was too late for him to retract them.

“Oh? Is that so?” Evander’s unblinking eyes remained fixated upon Angeline’s face when he asked that question.

Does that mean that it is a sheer coincidence that we have found ourselves in the same place here today? Was I wrong about her?

“Look, Mr. Golding…” Delano wiped a palmful of nervous sweat from his own face as he was unable to figure out what Evander actually meant to say.

Is he trying to tell me that he’s not going to step on that stage, or he wants me to kick Angeline out?

Should that be the case, he feared that his company would make the headline news the next day, except that it would be for all the wrong reasons.

An extended silence ensued.

“It’s time. Let’s go cut that ribbon.” Evander finally peeled his eyes off Angeline. Though he offered that reminder in an icy tone, he had provided a way for all of them to ease out of that impasse.

With that, Delano was able to breathe a sigh of relief. He then quickly instructed the female compere to hand out the scissors.

Before the commencement of the ceremony, Evander and Delano positioned themselves right smack in the center of the pack. Delano even called out for Angeline to stand directly on the other side of Evander. On Angeline’s part, she was a little too self-conscious to refuse.

Her entire body was unnerved by the wintriness that radiated off Evander, so much so that the scissors trembled in her grasp. It took her two solid tries to actually nail the cutting motion.

Upon the completion of the ribbon-cutting segment, Evander was ushered into the banquet hall by others.

In the absence of that imposing presence, Angeline was finally able to let her hair down. When she felt the back of her clothing, it was surprisingly slick with sweat.

All the guests for the evening’s event were mostly convened.

Angeline’s belly started rumbling the moment she was able to rest. In order to maintain her figure ahead of the promotional shoot, she only had one packet of meal replacement cookies very early in the day. By this time, the hunger pangs were really starting to gnaw at her.

Seeing that there was no one around, Angeline made her way over to the banquet hall’s dining area, taking care to avoid the crowd. Coupled with the fact that everyone else was busy mingling amongst themselves, no one really paid any attention to her.

The silvery trays that lined the length of the long table were stacked with a wide assortment of food options. Grabbing a plate, she then went on to pick out a few small pieces of cake for herself.

Word had it that all the food served that night was prepared by a Ferropenian pastry chef and that their taste was truly something to behold. Leaning back against the table, Angeline worked her dessert fork away at the cakes that were as savory as reputed.

She herself found the cakes to be quite irresistible, even as someone who did not have that much of a sweet tooth to begin with.

“Your husband’s business has been developing quite splendidly, Mrs. Halls. Such a lucky woman you are.” At that moment, a familiar voice rang out.

Angeline’s gaze grew frigid when she glanced to the side—it was Joseline. The latter had her hands around a wealthy woman’s arm, and the duo was steadily making their way over.

Joseline picked up a glass of red wine from the table in view of offering a toast to Colleen. Her smile, however, unraveled as soon as she made eye contact with Angeline.

I’ll be d*mned!

Angeline was not expecting to run into Joseline there either. Not wanting to get into an argument in that sort of setting, she pretended not to know Joseline. Thus, she swiftly placed her cake down and turned to make a quick exit.

Joseline, on the other hand, was still bearing a grudge from their last unpleasant encounter at the cafe. As such, there was no way she was going to miss out on that opportunity to embarrass Angeline. An insidious look flashed across Joseline’s eyes as she tightened her grip around the wine glass and intentionally flung its contents in Angeline’s direction.

Fortunately for Angeline, her quick reflexes saved her in the nick of time. Nevertheless, a couple of splotches of wine stains still managed to catch themselves onto her dress.

“Oh, my dear sister, how careless of you!” Purposefully feigning surprise, Joseline hurried to grab a napkin to help wipe at the dress, only to make it even filthier.

Her motivations did not elude Angeline, who straight up shook her off. Angeline then gave her a stern reminder, “If it’s not bad enough that you’ve terrible eyesight, Ms. Sorelle, do you now have a poor constitution to go along with it? How else could you have failed to hold on to your glass and splashed wine all over somebody else?”

Joseline’s face fell, and her sharp nails dug deep into her own palms.

Colleen, who was observing from the side, reacted in astonishment. “Is this your younger sister, Ms. Sorelle?” she discreetly asked.

“Yes.” Joseline appeared apologetic. “I’m sorry that you had to see this.”

“It’s okay.” As an understanding person, Colleen scrutinized Angeline before she regarded her with some skepticism. “But why would a young lady from the Sorelle family be taking on a job like this?”

“That’s a long story. My sister made many mistakes previously because of her own immaturity, so she isn’t quite on reasonable terms with the rest of the family.” Exhaling, Joseline portrayed herself as though she was a concerned older sister.

When Angeline heard that, she stopped trying to clean her dress. “Have you forgotten, Ms. Sorelle? I’ve already severed ties with the Sorelle family eons ago,” she scoffed.

“Oh, Angeline.” Joseline strutted over to her younger sister on her three-inch stilettos and placed a hand on the latter’s shoulder. “You should know that I’ll continue to do my best to convince Grandpa to allow you to go home. While I understand that you’re still very upset, we are in a public space and, as such, should try to be more mindful of our conduct.”

Angeline could have really been touched by Joseline had she not been privy to the truth. It was a pity then that her sense of clarity allowed her to seize upon the wickedness within the eyes of her own “good sister.”

“I think your kindness might be a little too much for me, Ms. Sorelle,” Angeline replied with a smirk. She suppressed the contempt in her heart while she tossed that crumbled piece of napkin in her hand into the bin.

From the perspective of the outsider, she came across as being quite aloof.

Having untethered herself from the opinions of others for a while now, however, she elected to quietly turn and depart.

“You will attend Hanson and my wedding next month, won’t you, Angeline?” Joseline called out after her once more.

Wedding?

Angeline froze in her tracks. It felt as though she had just been doused with cold water that soaked her to the skin. © 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

When she about-faced, there was an added element of astoundment in her eyes. “Are you two getting married?”

“Yeah. Seeing that I’m conceiving Hanson’s child, we couldn’t delay things any longer. Grandpa has already settled upon a suitable date on our behalf.”

While Joseline spoke, she rubbed her own abdomen and let out a blissful smile. “I know that you’ve disowned the Sorelle family, but considering that we’ve grown up together, won’t you come and give us your well-wishes?”

Angeline’s eyes fell upon Joseline’s tiny baby bump. As she regarded it with mixed feelings, her fingers involuntarily closed tightly against themselves.

Joseline can finally realize her lifelong dream. I bet that the Yiurks and the Sorelles must be feeling over the moon right now!

“My congratulations, then. I’ll be sure to have my assistant prepare and send a gift to you at your wedding venue when I return.” Angeline’s lips curled up slightly to mask the pain she felt inside.

That was exactly the sort of reaction that Joseline sought.

Though she felt indescribably gleeful inside, she nonetheless acted as though she was regretful and aggrieved. “I know that you’ve been very busy with your work, but surely you must be able to set aside one day for this? I’m still hoping that you’d be able to be my bridesmaid.”

Being the bridesmaid to my ex-boyfriend at his wedding? How ridiculous is that?

“I’m rather concerned that I may end up making you uncomfortable by being there.” Angeline hooked her own hair behind her ear and curled up her red lips in a mocking manner. “After all, Hanson had courted me for so many years back then. What if…”

Her words hit Joseline right in the gut, so much so that it got the latter silently stewing.

“But of course, that was all in the past. Thinking back on it now, it probably doesn’t even warrant mention. You may rest assured, though, Joseline, that I’ll never reuse anything that I have discarded.”