Chapter 24 Dinner
"Ahh, love at first sight!"
Xander looked at Toby as he commented. However, Toby was looking at Jose. Xander looked at Jose and noticed he was staring at the girl in a daze. Jose averted his gaze at Toby's comment.
"There is nothing like that. I am just curious. She does not seem to be from this city." he said, clearing his throat.
Toby burst into laughter.
"Let's head inside." Xander said as he walked towards the mansion.
.
Ariadne and Tiara entered the mansion. Ariadne felt nostalgic as she stepped inside. Memories from the past filled her mind, most of which were bad.
"Are you alright?" Tiara asked her, breaking her out of those painfull memories.
She composed herself before giving her a nod. The servants led them to the living room. The living room was lightly decorated. There were guests present, and music was playing in the background. It looked like a small party. As they walked in, everyone's attention was drawn to them. They were all close relatives to the Miller family. However, no one greeted them. They only stared at them with critical expressions. Margaret was also there, chatting with Emma. They also noticed Ariadne but looked away, ignoring them.
"How rude! First, they invited you, and now they are ignoring you as if they don't know you." Tiara said.
"They are just like this. I am not surprised. I just came here to get my mother's belongings." Ariadne said.
Suddenly, Emma stood up from the couch she was sitting on with Margaret, and approached towards them with a huge smile on her face. At first, Ariadne was confused, but soon she realized that someone was standing behind her and Tiara. She didn't need to turn to find out who it was.
"Xander. Please come. We were waiting for you." she greeted Xander.
All of the relatives looked at him. Xander and his men walked past Ariadne and Tiara. Everyone came to greet him.
"Congratulations, Mr. Blake. Our Crystal is very lucky."
"But she is worthy of you. You two will be happy together."
Ariadne and Tiara grabbed some drinks and went to a corner, ignoring them. After greeting Xander, they all sat down and began talking. Xander and his men went into a corner, away from the gossip, to drink wine and enjoy some privacy.
.
"Aria."
Ariadne turned and saw her father.
"I am glad you came." Aaron said before hugging her.
Ariadne hugged him back hesitantly.
"Aria, why are you there? Come here and sit with us. We have missed you so much." Emma said, smiling.
Ariadne rolled her eyes, internally. Xander's gaze met hers for a brief moment before Ariadne looked away. She approached Emma and sat down with them, while Tiara remained in the corner. Emma hugged Ariadne. Crystal descended the stairs right at that moment.
"Here you are, taking so long to get ready. Everyone has arrived. Come, Xander is waiting for you." Emma said, drawing everyone's attention to Crystal.
She wore a black dress that reached her knees and her hair was tied in a bun. She looked gorgeous.
"I am sorry for making everyone wait. Thank you for coming." she went to Xander and hugged him.
Ariadne averted her gaze from them.
"Aria, you came. I am so happy." she approached them after talking with Xander for a while, and hugged Ariadne before greeting the other guests.
"You look gorgeous, Crystal." a relative complimented.
"Yes, and congratulations on your engagement to Mr. Blake."
"I knew for a long time. You two were made for each other."
"She is a kind-hearted and talented woman." another relative added.
Crystal smiled from ear to ear as she thanked everyone for their compliments. Ariadne sipped her drink quietly, while Emma and Margaret smirked looking at her. They wanted to make her feel sad and ignored. However, Ariadne remained composed, despite her inner irritation and restlessness. They continued to praise Crystal and discuss her engagement to Xander. After a while, Crystal left to get a drink, and Ariadne followed, seeing an opportunity to speak with her alone.
"Hello, Crystal." Ariadne called her from behind.
"Oh, hey, Aria." Crystal turned, holding her drink.
"Can I see my mother's belongings now?" Ariadne got straight to the point.
"Why's the hurry? You have just arrived. Let's have some fun. After the dinner, I will take you to my room. I have carefully gathered everything for you."
"I think we should get it done right away. After dinner, we may not have time as everyone will be tired."
"Ok. Come with me." Crystal agreed, before giving it some thought.
"Excuse us for a moment." she informed everyone, particularly Xander, who frowned.
They climbed the stairs as Crystal led Ariadne to her room. Xander kept his gaze fixed on them until they disappeared.
As Ariadne entered Crystal's room, she looked around. There were changes from the last time she visited this room. Her gaze fell on the night lamp beside the bed. Crystal noticed Ariadne looking at the lamp.
"This one... I have kept it untill now. It's very special to me." Crystal said, smiling slyly.
"Do you remember, we got into a fight over this?" she added as she approached the bed and took the lamp in her hands.
She smirked, recalling their fight. She intentionally placed it there as it was associated with a painful memory of Ariadne.
(FLASHBACK)
(16 years ago)
Ariadne placed a lamp on the table next to her bed. She turned on the lamp's switch, and it glowed with light. She smiled and placed her hands in her cheeks in awe, as she looked at the beautiful lamp. It was a medium-sized glass ball with a fairy angel sitting inside, in a forest. Suddenly her room door slammed open.
"You! You have stolen my lamp." Ariadne's smile faded as Crystal's loud voice filled the quiet room.
"Mom, Dad. See... Aria has stolen my lamp. Give it back to me!" she yelled angrily at her.
Emma and Aaron rushed into Ariadne's room.
"Look, Mom. She stole my lamp and is refusing to return it." Crystal began crying, pointing at the lamp.
Emma gave Ariadne a death glare while consoling her daughter, but said nothing. She knew Aaron would handle it.
"Aria?" Aaron looked angrily at the little girl.
"I like it, Daddy. It's beautiful. I want to keep it." Ariadne said, innocently.
"It's not yours. It's mine. Xander has gifted this to me." Crystal shouted.
"She's right, Aria. Give it back to her." Aaron said.
"But I really like this. Can I keep it for at least today?" Ariadne pleaded. "I will return it tomorrow."
"No, that's mine. I won't share it with you."
Ariadne grew frustrated. She had been requesting Crystal all day to lend her the lamp for a few days, but she had denied. So she stole it out of rage.
"My fiancé gave it to you. I have every right to keep it." Ariadne said angrily.
The little girl had little idea what a fiancé was, but her friends told her that everything her fiancé owned, including himself, belonged to her.
"Aria!" Aaron slapped her.
Ariadne's eyes widened as tears welled up, and she looked at her father with disbelief and fear. It was the first time Aaron slapped her.
(END of FLASHBACK)
"Yeah, I do remember." Ariadne replied with a sigh.
"By the way, where are the things?" she changed the topic and looked at Crystal.
Crystal opened her cupboard, took a bag, and handed it to Ariadne. Ariadne sat on the floor before opening the bag.
"Is there anything left behind?" she asked as she looked inside the bag.
"No. The maid has placed everything in this bag. Actually, that room will be renovated. My cousin will stay there."
'So my mother's room will also be gone now.' Ariadne thought in her mind but didn't voiced it.
"By the way, who is the woman with you?" Crystal asked.
"She's Tiara. She is family....a friend, sister, or whatever you want to call her." Ariadne said, smiling.
"Oh." Crystal kept her gaze fixed on Ariadne as the latter stood up.
"I think we should go now." Ariadne said.
"Ok." Crystal stepped aside, allowing Ariadne to take the lead.
She didn't ask her to explore the mansion or anything else. She was polite to Ariadne in her office only to convince her to attend the dinner. Now that she had come, there was no need for her to act nice. She was now waiting for the dinner, when everyone would humiliate Ariadne in front of Xander. She smirked, growing impatient for the show.
They find the hall empty as they descended the stairs. Only Tiara stood there, leaning against the wall and looking at her phone. She approached Ariadne and took the bag from her.
"Where's everyone?" Crystal asked, looking around.
"They all went to the dining table, Miss. It's time for dinner." a servant informed her.
"Let's go there." Crystal said, glancing at Tiara curiously.
"Go ahead. I will join shortly after I put this bag in the car." Tiara told Ariadne, who nodded in agreement.
Ariadne and Crystal walked towards the dining room, while Tiara went outside.
Toby and Jose were outside, smoking. Jose composed himself as soon as he saw Tiara. However, the girl ignored him and went straight to their car, putting the bag in the back before locking it again. She glared at Jose before heading back to the mansion. Toby chuckled, while Jose looked away, embarrassed.
"We should go back, too." Jose said before walking towards the mansion.
.
Ariadne followed Crystal to the area where the dining table had been set. Everyone had taken their seats. Aaron and Emma sat in the head chairs on one side. Two chairs on their left side were empty. Xander sat in one of the head chairs on the opposite side, leaving the seat next to him empty. Margaret sat on his left side, while two seats on the right side were vacant. The other relatives occupied the remaining seats.
"Ariadne, come seat here." Emma called her as they noticed them, pointing to the two empty seats to their left.
Ariadne went and took a seat, while Crystal sat beside Xander. Tiara, Jose, and Toby also arrived and took their seats. Tiara sat next to Ariadne, while the two men took their seats near Xander. The servants served the food, and everyone began eating.
"Aria, who's this woman with you?" Emma asked.
"I am Tiara Blackwood. Aria's caretaker." Tiara answered for Ariadne.
"You don't appear to be from this city."
"Yeah, I am from Purple City."
Jose looked at Toby suggestively, and the latter smirked.
"Ariadne, I heard you were in Purple City all these years." a relative said.
"Yeah."
"You have now returned as CEO of Watson Group. That's impressive." another relative added.
They had all heard the news as they were also in the business world.
"She also secured the Grace Hospital project for her company." Aaron said proudly, causing Emma to grit her teeth.
She and Crystal were not pleased with the way the conversation was going. They felt the need to do something and stop Ariadne's praise.
"Why didn't you bring your kids?" Emma blurted out unexpectedly, leaving everyone silent.