Chapter 110 Art Exhibition
Vanessa was left speechless by Vincent's remark, standing in the entryway with her face flushing red and white.
Vincent used to be, if not completely compliant with her wishes, at least never sarcastic toward her.
She stood there stiffly for a moment, then changed her shoes and walked in, sitting down across from Vincent. She picked up her chopsticks but had no appetite.
Luna sat beside them, head down, eating the cake in her bowl. Daisy had made it on her last visit, and since they hadn't finished it that day, Luna couldn't bear to throw it away and had specifically asked Anna to keep it in the fridge.
Now that she'd taken it out to eat, it didn't taste good anymore.
She ate with a miserable expression on her face.
She couldn't help thinking that when Mom was home, she would always make it for her. Auntie Vanessa clearly knew how to make it too, but since she'd moved in, she hadn't made it for her even once.
She wasn't as nice to her as before either.
Her little face puffed up, and she couldn't help thinking it would have been better if Auntie Vanessa hadn't moved in.
Watching Luna's expression—a mix of disgust and dissatisfaction—Vanessa felt her irritation spike.
She set her chopsticks back down and leaned back in her chair, struggling to keep her voice calm.
"Vince, actually what I wanted to say is, I've been living here for so long now, and in my heart, I've long considered myself your wife, the lady of this house." She paused.
"Whatever you want to do, whoever you want to give things to, even if I have no right to question it, at least you could let me know about it, right?"
Vincent glanced at her. "I will next time."
His tone was flat and indifferent, the epitome of being dismissive.
anessa felt a hollow ache. She picked up her chopsticks again and began to eat, though the food was tasteless.
Luna was born with allergies and had to be careful, but like any child, she lacked self-control; if she saw someone else eating something, she wanted it too.
Because of this, the household menu always catered to her tastes—foods she couldn't eat simply never made it to the table.
Vanessa ate absentmindedly, stealing glances at Vincent. His profile looked good under the light, with clear features and a tightly set jawline.
For some reason, even though she was sitting right across from him, it felt like there was a huge distance between them.
Vanessa was sensitive to people's emotions, but wasn't Vincent the same?
While eating, he suddenly said, "There's an antique jewelry auction next month. I've had a spot reserved for you. Go pick out a few pieces you like."
Vanessa froze for a moment, her eyes instantly lighting up.
"Really? Will you come with me?"
Vincent nodded. "Yeah."
Before Vincent could say anything else, Luna suddenly chimed in, "Daddy, what's an auction?"
Vincent looked at her. "It's a place where they sell things. There are many treasures, and people hold up paddles to compete for them. Whoever offers the highest price gets to take it home."
Luna's eyes lit up immediately. "Then I want to go too! I want to hold up a paddle!"
Vincent smiled, amused. "Do you even know what holding up a paddle means?"
"I do!" Luna puffed out her little chest. "It means the things I like, nobody else can fight me for them!"
Vincent laughed and patted her head. "Alright, we'll take you. The whole family will go."
Luna happily tapped the table with her fork. "Great! I'm going to pick the prettiest jewelry to give to Mommy!"
She paused, then smiled at Vanessa. "And to Auntie Vanessa too."
Vanessa smiled back and patted the girl's head, but the smile in her eyes gradually faded.
He said he'd take her to the auction to buy better jewelry, but was jewelry really what she wanted?
What she wanted was for Vincent to have only her in his heart.
She wanted the title of Mrs. Black.
As long as they weren't married, her heart would remain unsettled, and increasingly anxious.
Daisy was swamped at the company.
New data had come out from the lab, and she had to verify every entry. On top of her own workload, her role as a consultant meant she was constantly pulled into other projects.
She buried herself in handling these matters, even having takeout delivered for lunch, which she hastily ate at her desk.
Around two in the afternoon, while she was reviewing a report, there was a knock on her office door.
Amy poked her head in, grinning. "Ms. Hart, Felix is here, says he wants to see you."
Daisy paused. "Which Felix?"
"Which one could it be?" Amy winked at her. "Felix Felix! Are you pretending not to know or do you really not know?"
Daisy laughed. "What's there to pretend about? What's he doing at the company?"
Amy shrugged. "Seems like he came to discuss something with Mr. Reed, and once they finished, he asked to see you."
She paused, lowering her voice. "Ms. Hart, is Felix chasing after you?"
Daisy shot her a warning look. "Don't talk nonsense. Let him in."
Amy ran off with a smile.
Right after, Felix pushed the door open, wearing casual clothes and carrying a paper bag, his face bright with a smile.
"Ms. Hart, busy?"
Daisy leaned back in her chair, looking at him. "What brings you here?"
Felix placed the paper bag on her desk. "Just passing by. I heard you were busy this morning and worried you might be tired, so I brought you a coffee."
Daisy opened the paper bag. Inside was an iced latte, with fine droplets of condensation on the cup—from the shop she usually went to.
As far as she knew, that coffee shop wasn't close by, and they didn't do delivery.
She glanced at Felix but didn't call him out on it, picking up the cup to take a sip.
"Thanks for making the trip."
Felix sat down across from her, hands clasped on the desk, watching her intently.
Daisy felt a bit uncomfortable under his gaze. "What are you trying to do? The way you're looking at me, it's like you're about to sell me off or something."
Felix smiled. "Look at what you're saying. I just think you look pretty good when you're working."
Daisy laughed, giving him an exasperated eye roll. "If you keep this up, I'm kicking you out."
Felix quickly dropped the smile. "Don't! Come on, can't I just come see you for no reason?"
"Actually, my grandfather is having an art exhibition today. I wanted to ask what time you get off work and if you're free. Would you like to come with me to check it out?"
Daisy paused. "An art exhibition? Your grandfather?"
Wasn't The Harper Group a tech company? She knew the Harper Group was a tech giant, but she’d never heard of them being involved in the arts.
Felix smiled helplessly. "My grandfather, Connor, retired a few years ago, and at home he got into painting. He's been at it for several years now."
"Last month, he took his carefully painted works to an amateur competition, fully expecting to get an A rating, but the judges tore into him and criticized his paintings as worthless."
"Connor was furious and insisted on holding his own exhibition, inviting a whole bunch of friends to show their support."
Daisy couldn't help but laugh. "Connor sounds like quite the character."
Felix laughed too. "character? He just refuses to accept he's getting older. He told me to invite friends too, the more the better, so I thought I'd ask if you're free."
Daisy thought for a moment, then checked the time.
She'd handled most of today's work, and she really didn't have anything urgent tonight, so she nodded.
"Alright, I'll go."
Felix's eyes lit up. "That's great! What time should we leave? I'll wait for you."
"Six o'clock, is that too late?"
"Not at all. You finish up; I’ll just wander around the building."
When the time came, Daisy finished delegating the remaining tasks and left the office with Felix, one after the other.
Amy popped her head up from her workstation, winking at Daisy.