Chapter 15
Philip was happy to see Adrian and Alyssa getting along so well. After dinner, he and Adrian went to the study.
Adrian emerged half an hour later. Then, he bid Alyssa goodbye before leaving for his home.
She hurriedly got up to see him off. They’d only met for the first time that day, but she was already reluctant to be apart from him. She didn’t know how to express that, though. She was afraid he would think she was being too forward.
Adrian saw the reluctance and turmoil in her eyes. He chuckled before pulling her into his arms and holding her hand. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Her eyes lit up, and she looked up at him in surprise.
His smile widened. He hugged her again before getting into the car.
Alyssa only returned inside when she saw the iron gates swing shut behind Adrian’s car. Once outside the manor, Adrian saw the Maybach parked in the distance.
He couldn’t see the look on the face of the person in the car because of the tinted windows, but it didn’t matter to him either way. He played with the rosary beads around his wrist and said, “People really shouldn’t have too much free time on their hands.”
Over the next month, Adrian and Alyssa’s relationship quickly blossomed. Meanwhile, Enzo was busy after being summoned home by dozens of phone calls.
Though Nadine had already been jailed, some people from the Quill family continued to harass the Slater family. Marie was used to living a life of comfort, so she’d never experienced anything like this. The Quills‘ behavior angered her so much that she’d ended up in the hospital.
As for Nelson, he got into a car crash orchestrated by vengeful Quills while on his way to work. He ended up in the ICU.
Thanks to one disaster after another, Slater Group’s stock price plummeted. Enzo drowned in crisis after crisis. By the time he settled everything and returned to Angleria, he was left reeling from a shocking piece of news.
Alyssa was getting engaged!
He gripped an exquisitely decorated invitation tightly, crumpling the material. The small crystal embellishment on the invitation fell off, and the sharp edges sliced his palm. His blood dyed the pure white invitation crimson.
However, Enzo didn’t seem to feel the pain. He crumpled the invitation into a ball.
How was this possible? Alyssa had loved him so deeply and even announced that she wouldn’t marry anyone but him. How could she be getting engaged to someone else? He felt like a treasure he’d kept for ages had been stolen. There was agony amid his anger.
Enzo shut his eyes. After a long while, he told his driver to turn the car around so he could head to where the engagement party was being held–a massive castle.
It had been segregated into two levels. The upper level was reserved for the Camden and Forrest families‘ close friends and relatives. Meanwhile, the lower level was where the families‘ business partners mingled.
Funnily enough, Enzo wasn’t even allowed to enter the lower level. The server standing in his way trembled from the frostiness he exuded but still carried out his duty to stop Enzo. “I’m sorry, Mr. Slater. The Camdens and Forrests have made it clear that you’re not allowed to enter.”
Enzo eyed him for a long time before letting out a self–deprecating laugh. He stood in the snow in a thin coat as he looked upstairs through the gigantic floor–to–ceiling windows. Alyssa wore a pure white gown. She seemed to glow under the lights as she danced gracefully with Adrian, who had his arm around her waist. Enzo could tell from her light footsteps that she was happy.
When the dance ended, the happy couple shared a kiss under the fireworks that exploded in the sky. It was a scene that stabbed Enzo deeply.
Although Alyssa had already told him countless times that she no longer loved him, he refused to believe it. She’d never had eyes for anyone else since he’d brought her back to the Slater residence when she was six.
He knew that, but Nadine had been the only one in his heart at the time. That was why he’d dismissed Alyssa’s feelings for him.
Ultimately, his dismissal of her feelings had made her give up on him. She was now engaged to someone else, but there he was, belatedly realizing his love for her.
