Chapter 438: Shock, Engagement Banquet Reversal
"Welcome, everyone, to our two families' engagement party."
Daniel stepped onto the stage, took the microphone Oliver handed him, and spoke.
He dared to speak directly because when Oliver handed him the microphone, he had said:
"Mr. Smith, Nathaniel has been safely rescued and is here at the venue."
As soon as Daniel spoke, all eyes turned to him, accompanied by applause.
Zoey felt both happy and somewhat strange inside.
She felt there was something odd about this introduction.
Shouldn't he directly introduce it as: Thank you all for coming to the engagement party of the Smith Group's leader Daniel and Zoey?
But maybe it was just because Daniel himself was a man of few words and kept things brief!
Zoey pushed aside her wandering thoughts, her face flushed, her eyes eagerly fixed on Daniel on stage, ready to go up at any moment.
Daniel picked up the microphone and spoke again, "As today's officiant, I invite the two betrothed—Nathaniel of the Smith family and Zoey of the King family—to come on stage!"
As soon as these words came out, the venue fell silent for a moment.
Griffin, representing the King family, turned dark in the face, and Zoey looked even worse, her body swaying as if about to collapse, her mind going blank for an instant.
Griffin was the first to react. "Daniel, what is he doing? What nonsense is he spouting? Fine, fine, fine, so this is you scheming against the King family, is it? Mason, if you don't give us an explanation, don't blame us for not saving face today!"
He sneered at Mason, his tone both questioning and threatening.
Mason, however, appeared exceptionally calm and composed. "Griffin, how can you say we schemed against you? This engagement between our two families—wasn't it you who came asking for it? We agreed, and we never said the groom would be Daniel. How is that deception? Also, don't be impulsive. Going along with this is actually better for your family. Otherwise, if this blows up, it'll have a big impact on the King family's stock price. I heard that the King family's finances have been a bit tight lately."
Since they were going to scheme against the King family, they naturally had to eliminate all potential risks first, so they had investigated why the King Group was desperate enough to use poison to secure this marriage alliance.
That's how they discovered this piece of information.
If the King family was thriving, the Smith family using a relative could gain a good reputation—that would be the Smith family's win.
If the King family ran into trouble, they could directly cut ties with this branch relationship without affecting the Smith family.
Griffin now understood Mason's plan.
He never imagined he would fall for this trick.
"Mason, I never knew you had such skills!"
Griffin said coldly.
But he didn't demand an immediate explanation anymore.
Mason knew Griffin had no choice but to swallow this bitter pill.
However, while Griffin could think of the bigger picture and hold back, Zoey's obsession with getting engaged to Daniel had become so strong that she couldn't bear it.
Zoey was about to lose it on the spot.
York and the others had already received instructions and, anticipating her possible reaction, stopped her in time.
Mason also promptly reminded Griffin, "Griffin, at this moment, it's better to proceed with the engagement. Otherwise, the King family will really lose face, don't you think? For Zoey to get me to agree to this engagement, she must have some brains. She wouldn't make a scene at a time like this, would she?"
He stopped just short of spelling out that Zoey had drugged him.
Whether Griffin knew about this, Mason wasn't sure.
But from Griffin's next reaction, Mason knew he was in on it too.
"Zoey is clever and naturally knows what to do. She doesn't need your reminder. Daniel missing out on Zoey is his real loss."
He immediately summoned his most trusted person and pulled Zoey to his side.
No one knew what Griffin said to Zoey.
In the end, though unwilling, Zoey didn't make a scene.
While many people were discussing and guessing what was really going on—did Daniel change his mind at the last minute? Or had they all just misunderstood from the beginning?
Daniel spoke again: "I invite the two betrothed, Nathaniel and Zoey, to come on stage."
Nathaniel then walked out in a sharp suit.
His presence was clean and gentle.
Though he fell far short compared to Daniel, he could still be considered outstanding.
However, Daniel was already among the best in their circle, with almost no one able to compare, so being inferior to him wasn't really a big deal.
Everyone just wanted to see if they had misunderstood who the real parties to this marriage alliance were.
Zoey had already gone on stage with a forced smile.
Her going on stage confirmed Daniel's words.
Daniel then, as the officiant, said a few words of blessing for the couple before stepping down from the stage.
Throughout, he didn't look at Zoey's face or care about her emotions.
And after stepping down, he headed straight for Emily.
This was actually an indirect announcement that Emily was the one he cared about.
However, things were quite lively around Emily at the moment.
"Boss, I was wondering why you made such a high-profile entrance with Mr. Smith. Now I finally understand. This move was absolutely brilliant."
Sophia excitedly gave Emily a thumbs up.
Byron wasn't about to be outdone in his praise. "Boss, when I think about how Zoey has been showing off these past few days, only to be humiliated like this on the spot, I can't help but want to laugh. Boss, tell us the truth—is Mr. Smith already your boyfriend?"
As soon as Byron finished speaking, he felt a chill run through his body.
Just as he was about to speak, he was stopped by a look.
Daniel had already come up behind Emily. The reason he stopped Byron from speaking was because he also wanted to hear what Emily's answer would be.
Emily hadn't yet realized Daniel had arrived.
It wasn't that her alertness had decreased.
Perhaps her natural trust in Daniel made her automatically filter out any sense of danger when he approached.
Emily smiled and said sincerely, "Not yet, but it should be soon!"
Sophia and Byron had actually already noticed Emily's feelings for Daniel, so when she said this, they knew she had forgotten the pain James had caused her and was gradually opening her heart to accept Daniel.
They were happy for her.
But at this moment, they didn't dare breathe, saying nothing.
After Emily spoke, when the two didn't react, she frowned, finding it strange. "What's wrong? Why are you reacting like this?"
"Looks like I haven't worked hard enough. I need to keep trying to earn your acknowledgment!"
Daniel's deep, magnetic voice came from above Emily's head.
Hearing the familiar voice, Emily's heart skipped a beat.
She never expected Daniel to hear what she said.
No wonder those two had reacted that way. Belatedly realizing what happened, she glared at the two in front of her with some embarrassment.
She mouthed silently: You two! You knew Daniel was here and didn't tell me, making me embarrass myself.