Chapter 288: The Courting-Death Mother and Daughter (2)
No one was more shocked than Aiden Faulkner. She hadn’t forgotten that Justin Hale had worked with Seraphina Sterling back in Tollan Town! He had even praised Seraphina more than once! Seeing them arrive together now, and hearing the familiar way Justin spoke to Seraphina, set off alarm bells in Aiden’s mind.
She hurried forward and wrapped her hands affectionately around one of Justin Hale’s arms, her expression a mixture of pleasant surprise and heartfelt concern. "Justin, you’re so busy, you shouldn’t have made time to come! You work so hard already. I hate to see you wear yourself out like this!"
"Happy birthday, Aiden!" Justin Hale’s voice was filled with deep affection, tender and lingering. In that moment, it was as if she were the only person in his world. She could even see her own reflection clearly in his pupils. His gentle voice and soft gaze could make any woman swoon, hopelessly lost in the tender world he wove around her.
"Thank you!" Aiden Faulkner’s heart soared with happiness. A single look, a simple wish from him, and she would surrender completely. This man was a spell she would be under for the rest of her life—she had known that from the very first day they met!
In that instant, Aiden Faulkner became the happiest woman at the banquet, all because of Justin Hale’s arrival and his one simple wish.
Seraphina Sterling watched with a faint smile. ’As an outsider,’ she thought, ’I have to admire Justin Hale’s masterful technique. That handsome facade, paired with such a tender expression, is dangerously deceptive. If he decides to charm a woman, I doubt any could escape his grasp. It can’t be helped. Even the strongest women harbor a fairy-tale dream of a prince in their hearts.’
’The only reason they seem tough and unshakeable is that the right man has yet to appear and awaken that dream.’
"Seraphina Sterling, why are you with Mr. Hale? You even arrived together?" Jasmine Faulkner’s expression soured. ’This girl has already seduced a boy from the Gallagher Family. If she gets her claws into Justin Hale too, our plans will be much harder to execute!’
"Just a coincidence," Seraphina Sterling replied with a gentle smile, the dimples on her cheeks looking exceptionally charming. Her soft voice held a hint of amusement, her sincerity seemingly beyond reproach. But the more earnest she appeared, the less Jasmine Faulkner and her daughter believed a word she said. And that went double for Faye Sterling!
"A coincidence? Since when are there so many coincidences in the world? You blew us off this morning saying you were busy. Don’t tell me you were on a date with Justin Hale! I’m warning you! Mr. Hale is my cousin’s fiancé! He’s not going to fall for your tricks! You’d better stay far away from him, unless you want to end up humiliating yourself!"
"Getting involved as a third party, seducing someone else’s fiancé! A lady of the Sterling Family cannot be labeled with such a title! If you really dare to harbor any improper thoughts about Mr. Hale, then don’t blame me for being harsh!"
Although Faye Sterling kept her voice down, her words seethed with anger, her admonishing tone like that of an elder chastising a junior.
A glimmer of understanding flashed in Seraphina Sterling’s brilliant eyes. "Aiden Faulkner hasn’t even gotten angry, so what are you so worked up about? Justin Hale isn’t your fiancé! Or could it be... you’re just jealous of me? All those high-and-mighty words you just said were nothing but a cover for your own envy!"
A flicker of panic crossed Faye Sterling’s eyes, as if Seraphina Sterling had hit the nail right on the head.
"The truth is, you’re the one who wants a connection with Justin Hale, aren’t you? You wish you were the one standing beside him right now, not the cousin you keep mentioning, right? You’re the one who wants Justin Hale to be your fiancé, not hers, isn’t that it?"