Chapter 188
Chapter 188
Oneida took a closer look, and it was a global–limited edition black card.
The amount of money in it was beyond measure.
“Grandpa?” Oneida’s eyes widened, and she looked over at Lionel with a complex expression.
How could Lionel give Oneida so much money on a first meeting? Wasn’t that inappropriate?
“What, not happy about it?” Lionel asked with a smile.
“No,” Oneida replied and shook her head.
“Then accept it gladly. This is a gift from me,” Lionel said kindly.
Oneida didn’t say anything more and put the black card into her pocket.
This black card also surprised everyone else present.
Especially Claude, whose eyes widened slightly, his gaze fixed on the black card.
His eyes even reddened a bit.
“Grandpa, why give her such a lavish gift on the first meeting? Bella didn’t have such a gift!” Claude frowned, looking a little upset.
When Lionel met Bella for the first time, he wasn’t so generous.
This made Claude feel dissatisfied.
Usually, Claude was quite afraid of Lionel, but now he didn’t care about it.
Claude just wanted to stand up for Bella.
After Claude said those words, the atmosphere suddenly became tenser.
Unable to help herself, Bella tugged at Claude’s sleeve and shook her head with a frown, saying, “Why did you say such things now?”
Hearing Claude’s words, Lionel turned to look at Claude and Bella.
Lionel’s eyes suddenly turned cold, and his tone was quite chilly, “Bella hasn’t married into the family yet. Once she does, I’ll give her a better welcome gift.”
Claude and Bella both pulled a long face upon hearing this.
They pursed their lips, suddenly at a loss for words.
Lionel was right.
Bella was just Claude’s girlfriend, and they hadn’t been married yet.
It was not that Claude didn’t want to marry Bella. He’d love to tie the knot sooner rather than later.
The problem was with Bella.
She had never agreed to marry Claude.
Latterly, at Claude’s insistent request, Bella moved into the Bane manor for a trial marriage.
Then so–called trial marriage was actually just living together before getting married.
The couple lived together to get to know each other more and see if they could get along.
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So even though Bella was living in the Bane manor, she was not yet considered the wife of Claude.
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“Alright, everyone, please sit down before the food gets cold,” urged a cheerful voice suddenly–it was coming from Ka, who had remained
“Yeah, Karen is right,” Lionel said, the indifference in his eyes slowly melting into a smile.
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Chapter 188
Lionel hurriedly invited Oneida and Yvonne to take their seats.
Jackson sat next to Lionel
And Oneida took her place beside Jackson.
The birthday party finally kicked off officially.
Before dinner, everyone began to unveil their carefully selected gift.
The gifts were all specially prepared. Someone gave Lionel antiques, health care products, and his favorite books.
Jackson also prepared a special gift for Lionel
It was an exquisitely crafted calligraphy brush.
Lionel loved calligraphy, which was a fact well–known throughout the family.
So, Jackson giving Lionel a calligraphy brush was really hitting the mark.
“I really love this brush,” Lionel said, beaming with joy as soon as he saw the gift from Jackson.
Ever since he was a child, Jackson had always known exactly what was in Lionel’s heart.
However…
Thinking this, Lionel felt sad. His eyes momentarily dimmed.
However, the sad feeling was fleeting. Lionel still smiled warmly, looking at Jackson with even more affection.
“Grandpa, as long as you like it.”
Jackson looked at Lionel calmly, his demeanor unusually serene.
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Watching Jackson, Lionel felt as if his heart was broken.
Jackson.
Lionel felt sorry for Jackson.
He fought back the pain in his heart and continued unwrapping his gifts.
Eventually, only Bella and Oneida hadn’t given their gifts yet.
Bella glanced at Oneida instinctively, noticing she was about to present her gift.
So, Bella quickly stood up, handed over the well–prepared gift to Lionel, and said with a beaming smile, “Grandpa, this is my gift to you. I wish you good health and all the best.”
Bella purposely hurried to give her gift to him more quickly than Oneida.
Bella had put a lot of effort into this gift.
It would surely impress Lionel.
With her gift presented first, whatever Oneida gave would seem less amazing in comparison.
Bella intended to steal the show and leave Oneida helpless.
She did this for a reason.
Bella really couldn’t stand Oneida, even to the point of hostility.
Why should Oneida get to marry Jackson? Why should Bella enjoy his protection?
Indeed, it was jealousy.
Seeing Oneida by Jackson’s side drove Bella almost to insanity with envy.
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Though Bella hid it well, her heart was brimming with jealousy.
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Chapter 188
Bella despised Oneida.
The disdain came swiftly and strongly
Although today was the first time Bella mer Oneida, her animosity towards Oneida was already uncontrollable.
“Grandpa, hurry and open in Bella’s face was decorated with a gentle smile as the looked at Lionel, appearing incredibly sweet
Lionel smiled back at Bella and took the gift from her, saying “Alright, I’ll open it right now?
With that, he started unwrapping Bella’s gift.
After the wrapping was removed, everyone saw the gift inside.
It turned out to be a painting.
“This…” Lionel was momentarily stunned upon seeing the painting, his eyes flickering with surprise, joy, and amazement.
“Grandpa, do you like it?” Bella asked Lionel, smiling while secretly feeling complacent.
Her gaze secretly swept over Oneida’s face, curious to see her expression.
However, Oneida looked very composed, and her expression was unusually calm.
Bella pinched her fingers instinctively.
Had Oneida not realized the severity of the situation?
After Bella presented such a stunning gift, wasn’t Oneida afraid that if her gift couldn’t match up to Bella’s, she would definitely be outshone?
The thought alone made Bella feel embarrassed for Oneida.
At that moment, everyone’s attention was focused on the painting Bella had presented
“Where did you get this painting? Lionel looked up at Bella with a gentle expression and asked her.
This was the first time Lionel had looked at Bella so tenderly.
Bella smiled sweetly and responded, “Grandpa, I painted it myself.”
“What? Did you paint it yourself?” Lionel was surprised, and even his usually impassive face showed a hint of astonishment.
“Yes, I know you like Spencer Dawson, so I specifically learned his painting style to paint this for you,” Bella said softly. “Although my painting skills are not bad, capturing the essence of Spencer’s style was quite challenging. It took many drafts before I finally got this one.”
Listening to Bella’s words, Lionel was very touched.
He bowed his head to look at the painting with great emotion.
Spencer Dawson was a late foreign painter.
He was exceptionally talented with superb painting skills, developed his own style, and was very famous.
Lionel admired Spencer’s style and loved his paintings.
This time, Bella specifically painted one in Spencer’s style for Lionel, and the painting was exceptionally vivid and skilled.
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