Chapter 184 Interesting Dinner
THIRD PERSON POV
The banquet hall slowly returned to normal.
Laughter still filled the room, glasses still clinked, and servants still moved between guests carrying silver trays.
Even with everything looking normal, there was still a bit of tension between the guests.
Some watched Damien. Some watched Zade. Almost everyone watched Sophia, though many pretended not to.
Damien sat with Tiffany beside him, surrounded by Simon, Peter, and several business associates. He carried himself with the same authority he always used in public, but those who knew him well would have noticed the stiffness in his shoulders.
Peter remained close to Damien. He poured Damien a drink without asking, clapped him lightly on the shoulder, and laughed too loudly at jokes that were barely funny.
Damien didn’t reject the behavior. Instead, he accepted it.
Simon leaned against a high table nearby and smirked as he watched Peter and Damien together.
“See?” he said to the group around him. “This is what real trust looks like. We stand by our own people.”
Peter lifted his glass proudly. “Some people earn loyalty. Others just marry into rooms they never belonged in.”
Several people laughed. Tiffany lowered her eyes but deep down, she felt satisfied with his statement.
She enjoyed the picture being painted - herself at Damien’s side, Peter treated like family, Sophia left somewhere outside the circle.
Damien was nice and patient towards Tiffany and her people, despite Peter’s rude behavior, yet Sophia’s own family were treated coldly by him. He would put up business walls when they needed help.
People noticed it, even if they said nothing aloud. Damien was the Alpha. Nobody would dare to question him.
There were two guests at the table as well. They watched everything with annoyed expressions – Noelle and Ken.
Noelle was elegant and known for being outspoken. Ken stood behind her, Zade’s longtime friend. He swirled the drink in his glass once and whistled lowly.
“That group has impressive talent,” Ken said dryly.
Noelle arched an eyebrow. “For what?”
“For pretending standards matter.”
She laughed. “Ah. Yes. Selective morality is very fashionable this season.”
Ken’s eyes stayed fixed on Damien’s group. “Interesting that a rude drunk man can be treated like family if he’s useful.”
“And a decent woman can be pushed away if she’s inconvenient,” Noelle added.
Their voices were loud. A lot of guests heard every word.
Noelle set down her fork and decided to join in the conversation.
"The Northern development," she said, loud enough for everyone to hear "That’s the coastal corridor project, isn’t it? The one with the three contested land parcels?"
Peter turned to her with a smile "That’s right. We’ve been working through the access rights for months-"
"Mm." Noelle tilted her head. "And the contractors you’re bringing in..... they’re all Stone-affiliated firms, I assume?"
Peter’s smile faded a bit. "We work with people we trust-"
"Of course you do," Noelle grinned. "Nothing wrong with that. It’s just-" She looked at Ken briefly, and Ken smiled "When all the risk is distributed among the same group of people who are also distributing all the benefit, it does create a certain-" She paused, selecting. "Unfairness and favouritism. Doesn’t it?”
Simon heard them clearly. His face darkened at once.
He pushed away from the table and walked toward them with anger radiating off him.
“What did you say?” Simon demanded the moment he reached them.
Ken glanced at him lazily. “I said your tailoring is too tight. It seems to affect your mood.”
Everyone laughed.
Simon’s jaw clenched. “Watch your mouth.”
Noelle smiled pleasantly. “Why? Does honesty embarrass you?”
Peter got up. “You people think being clever makes you important.”
Ken looked him up and down. “No. But it does help us avoid becoming you.”
Simon’s hand tightened around his glass. He looked ready to throw the drink or worse.
Before he could act, another presence entered the circle.
Zade.
He didn’t rush. He didn’t need to. He simply got up. The force of his presence alone changed the balance.
“Enough,” he said quietly.
Simon froze, turning to him. “We were only talking.”
“Then keep talking,” Zade replied. “Use words, not hands.”
Peter looked away first. Simon still shook with anger. He stepped back and adjusted his jacket as if nothing had happened.
Ken hid a smile behind his glass. Noelle looked like she was enjoying herself.
“Wise choice,” she said softly.
Simon glared at her but said nothing more. He turned walked back to his seat. Peter muttered under his breath.
Zade’s eyes landed on Damien. Damien was already looking at him.
The room suddenly felt smaller.
They sat opposite each other, looking at each other eye to eye. Damien’s face remained controlled, but his eyes were hard. Zade’s expression was calm, but his Alpha aura radiated off him.
None of them smiled. None of them looked away
Tiffany noticed before most people did. She pretended to listen to someone speaking about charity funds but her eyes kept drifting toward Zade. She was confused.
She had expected rivalry centered around herself. She thought Zade was after her.
Instead, Zade barely looked at her. Instead, all his attention was on Sophia.
Tiffany’s fingers tightened around her glass.
Why Sophia?
Sophia was supposed to be the fading wife, the inconvenient woman Damien tolerated. She wasn’t supposed to become the center of interest for a man like Zade.
Meanwhile, Sophia kept eating. She didn’t say anything. She did not chase Damien’s attention. She didn’t even notice any of them.
That, more than anything, unsettled Tiffany.
Damien saw Sophia too.
Every time he tried to focus on the people around him, his eyes returned to where she sat.
“You’re distracted,” Tiffany said lightly.
He looked at her. “No.”
She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Then drink with me.”
Before he could answer, the MC stepped onto the raised platform near the front of the hall.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” the MC announced “Thank you for honoring this evening with your presence.”
Guests turned to him. The room became silent.
“We especially thank the Stone family for their continued generosity and support.”
Everyone clapper and cheered.
The MC continued speaking about partnerships, charity, and legacy. At the end of the speech, the MC lifted his own glass high.
“To prosperity, unity, and the families who build our future.”
Everyone raised their glasses.
Tiffany glanced at her drink and made a small face.
“I can’t drink alcohol tonight,” she murmured. “It upsets my stomach.”
Without hesitation, Damien reached for her glass.
“I’ll take it.” he said.
He drank from Tiffany’s glass first, then lifted his own and finished that as well.
The room noticed the gesture.
The MC, smiling broadly from the platform, looked directly at them and laughed into the microphone.
“Now that,” he said, “is devotion. Mr. Stone drinking for his wife. That’s a wonderful example.”
Everyone clapped and cheered again.
Then he added the words that changed the room.
“To Mr. and Mrs. Stone!” he said.
For one suspended second, silence followed.
Then heads turned toward Tiffany, toward Damien and toward Sophia.
Damien didn’t correct the MC immediately. And everyone saw that too.
Ken muttered under his breath, “Well. That was expensive.”
Noelle took a slow sip of champagne. “This dinner is way more interesting than I thought it would be”