Soon, the mirror was returned to Evie.
The first thing she said when she sat down was,
“You’re pretty familiar with Mr. Sterling, aren’t you?”
“No, I’m not. He just helped me pick up my things earlier. We only met him tonight, remember?” Evie looked up and replied.
“Oh, I thought you two were close. You looked so chummy just now!” Charlie still sounded a bit regretful.
“Chummy? Don’t ruin my reputation!” Evie shot back.
She was a married woman now.
She couldn’t afford to be joked about like that.
Charlie suddenly grinned.
“Why are you so nervous? If you really did have something going on with Mr. Sterling, you’d be set for life. You’d go from nouveau riche to actual old money!”
Evie was speechless for a long moment.
She was already married into a wealthy family.
But her husband was gay.
Should she tell Charlie that or not?
In the end, Evie dropped the idea. With Charlie’s big mouth, within twenty-four hours, everyone she knew—and even people she didn’t know—would find out she was married to a man who only liked men.
She decided to focus on her food instead.
“Evie, the fried steak looks good. Want some?”
“Give me a piece!”
“I’ll get it!” Charlie said, getting up.
When she came back, her plate was loaded with steak and prawns, and a waiter followed behind with a bottle of champagne.
After setting down the plate, Charlie took two freshly mixed cocktails. She thanked the waiter and handed one to Evie.
Evie took a sip. The taste was surprisingly unique.
“What’s this?”
“Hundred-Lily Sweet.”
“Oh!” Evie nodded, thinking about the drink’s name. She didn’t pay it much mind. It was delicious, anyway.
Evie wasn’t just full. She was stuffed.
Now she sat at the table, quietly listening to Charlie continue her gossip.
“Evie, do you think tonight’s banquet feels a bit like a matchmaking event?”
Evie’s eyes widened. She stared at Charlie in confusion.
“What do you mean?”
“My cousin just introduced me to some of his friends. They’re all unmarried. I feel like he’s trying to sell me off!” Charlie whispered.
Evie suddenly caught on.
“You’re overthinking it. Your cousin is unmarried, so most of his friends are unmarried too. Birds of a feather flock together.”
“What you said makes sense. Maybe I’m just being too sensitive.” Charlie grinned and nodded.
“Actually, you could give it a try.” Evie rested her chin on her hand and looked at Charlie.
Sigh. She was already married.
“Why would I look? I’m still young! I’m only in my twenties. We should enjoy our freedom while we’re still young!” Charlie said excitedly, and Evie couldn’t help but laugh.
“What are you laughing at? Am I wrong?” Charlie slapped Evie’s arm in mock anger.
“No, I just realized you’ve picked up a lot of adjectives since you came back from abroad.” Evie smiled.
“That’s true. After going abroad, you really appreciate how beautiful your homeland is, how amazing the food is, how lovely the people are, and even how kind the local music scene is.” Charlie continued, getting emotional.
Evie watched Charlie talk endlessly, a smile on her face.
She could feel Charlie’s overwhelming patriotism.
“Charlie, if you’d written all this in your old essays, you wouldn’t have had to worry about hitting the word count or getting a high score.”
The moment Charlie heard the word “essay,” cold sweat broke out on her forehead.
Back in the day, her worst subject wasn’t math or physics, which most people dreaded. It was Chinese.
Especially essay writing. That was her nemesis.
“The essays I wrote back then were all assigned topics. Did we ever get a chance to write freely? Besides, this is real experience. Only through experience can you have these kinds of life insights, okay?” Charlie retorted loudly.
Evie nodded with a smile.
Just then, Charlie said, “I think Mr. Sterling must be a man with a story.”
“Why did you suddenly bring him up?” Evie felt a knot form in her stomach.
The person Charlie had mentioned most tonight wasn’t her cousin. It was Alexander Sterling, her cousin’s good friend.
Just hearing his name made her uncomfortable.
It was the same name as her husband.
But if he were the same person, he would have recognized her.
She was nearsighted. He wasn’t.
So the conclusion was…
It must just be a coincidence.
“Just an example!” Charlie said with a smile.
Just then, the music started. People began to dance.
Several songs had already played, but Evie and Charlie had been too focused on eating to notice.
“Evie, want to dance?” Charlie asked.
“No, I’m too full to move!” Evie declined.
“If you don’t exercise after eating, you’ll get fat!”
“If you exercise right after eating, you’ll get a stomach ulcer!”
Charlie glared at Evie.
Evie smiled smugly.
Just then, Lucas Bennett walked over.
“Is my cousin coming to ask you to dance?” Charlie asked.
“No, he’s coming to ask you!” Evie raised an eyebrow.
“Bet on it?”
“Okay, what’s the bet?”
“A big seafood dinner!”
“Deal!”
“Miss Vance, I apologize for the poor hospitality tonight.” Lucas came over and said politely.
“Mr. Bennett, you’re too kind. I’ve had a wonderful time with Charlie.” Evie smiled.
“Did you enjoy the food?”
“Very much!” She and Charlie were both foodies.
“That’s good. If you don’t mind, I’d like to borrow my cousin for a dance.”
“Of course, please go ahead!” Evie nodded.
Then she turned and shot Charlie a triumphant glance.
Charlie was depressed. Her seafood dinner was gone.
As she walked away with her cousin, she couldn’t help but ask, “Cousin, why didn’t you ask Evie to dance?”
Logically, he should have invited Evie first.
“I wanted to, but she already has a date.” Lucas replied calmly.
“A date with who?”
“Alexander Sterling.”
“What?” Charlie turned around and saw Alexander walking over to Evie, saying something to her.
Evie was a big liar.
Ten minutes earlier, Alexander and Lucas had been chatting.
Lucas looked in Charlie and Evie’s direction and smiled. “Your cousin’s friend is very cute.”
“Cute, yes. But you don’t stand a chance.” Alexander calmly replied, also looking in Evie’s direction.
“What do you mean?” Lucas withdrew his gaze and looked at Alexander with interest.
“We registered our marriage not long ago.” Alexander took a sip of wine and replied calmly.
Lucas nearly choked on his wine. He barely managed to swallow it without making a scene.
After he finally composed himself, he asked in disbelief, “What did you just say?”
“She’s Mrs. Sterling now. My wife.”
“No, she doesn’t seem to know you.”
“That’s what puzzles me. Maybe it’s because she’s not wearing her glasses. I didn’t recognize her at first either.” Alexander frowned.
“Alexander, you’re joking, right? Even if you couldn’t see clearly, you could hear her voice and her name. Besides, she’s your wife. You wouldn’t mistake her for someone else.”
“No, it’s her.” Alexander replied firmly.
“Is she pretending not to know you because she doesn’t want to be married to you?”
Alexander turned his head and looked at Lucas. His face was expressionless, his eyes dark.
Lucas laughed, a little schadenfreude in his tone.
He knew Alexander was married. Mrs. Sterling had been pressuring him to get married for years. It had only gotten worse recently.
A while ago, Alexander mentioned he had registered his marriage with a young girl.
Lucas had even teased him about being an old cow eating tender grass.
“We only met once on the day we registered. Since then, we haven’t seen each other.”
The implication was clear. They weren’t close. It was normal for her not to recognize him.
“It seems she doesn’t think much of you either.” Lucas patted his friend’s shoulder with a sympathetic expression. “It’s rare to see you hit a dead end.”
“Even if it’s a dead end, she’s still Mrs. Sterling.” Alexander clinked his glass with Lucas and replied calmly.
Lucas shook his head, laughing and crying at the same time. After meeting Alexander, he had learned to kill his wine.
“Do you mind if I dance with Mrs. Sterling?”
“Yes, I do.” Alexander was blunt.
Lucas shrugged. He knew Alexander wasn’t joking.
This guy wasn’t just a clean freak. He was also possessive.
As long as something was his—whether it was a person or an object—others should keep their distance.
This guy didn’t know the meaning of sharing.
Well, his wife wasn’t something you shared with your brother.
But aside from his wife, this guy didn’t know how to share anything else.
Lucas considered himself generous. He ignored Alexander’s stinginess and inhumanity and resolutely went deep into the tiger’s den to become his sworn brother.
Lucas invited his cousin to dance.
Alexander walked up to Evie and said, “Evie, do you mind dancing with me?”
Evie looked up, saw Alexander, and smiled as she shook her head. “Sorry, I can’t dance.”
“That’s fine. Let’s take a walk together.”
After he finished speaking, Alexander took Evie’s hand and pulled her up, leading her to the dance floor.
From the moment Alexander took her hand, Evie’s mind went blank. She couldn’t react at all.
By the time she came to, they were already on the dance floor.
Alexander was now leading her in a waltz.
She had said she couldn’t dance. But in truth, she was a quick learner. Besides, her father, a nouveau riche, had wanted to cultivate his two daughters into elegant and versatile talents of the upper class. He had made them learn all sorts of things.
Social dancing was naturally included.
Evie looked up at Alexander.
Well, there was still a layer between them.
“Mr. Sterling, do you always invite dance partners like this?” Evie couldn’t help but ask, her tone full of dissatisfaction.
Was he a barbarian?