Chapter 42

Chapter 42

That means a lot of things.

It means Chloe did something behind the scenes.

It means someone around Elton doesn't want him to have it easy.

That person might even know about Freya's feelings and doesn't want the two of them involved.

Because Christina knew that Freya had a boat-shaped birthmark on her waist.

That evening, at The Copper Kettle.

Gabriel had already arrived at the private room.

When Juniper pushed open the door and saw Gabriel, her eyes lit up. She leaned in to Christina's ear and whispered, "Christina, is it just me? I feel like Gabriel's gotten even better looking since we last saw him."

Thinking of Delphine, Christina understood completely.

"It's not just you. I haven't seen him for half a day and I think he looks much better too."

Juniper didn't catch the meaning. "That's what they call seeing your lover as the most beautiful person.He's always been the most beautiful."

"Isn't this the most beautiful Gabriel in the world?"

Asher had arrived at some point and spoken up from behind them.

Everyone burst out laughing.

Gabriel resisted the urge to touch his face, knowing he'd gone too far and been found out.

So what if he was found out?

To see that look of wonder in Christina's eyes, it didn't matter if his little secret was exposed and he embarrassed himself a little.

Christina introduced Juniper to Asher.

"Why did you come? I was planning to introduce you all in a few days."

"I had time, so I came." Asher sat down without any hesitation. "I've already ordered the food. Tonight just eat whatever you want. Since you're Christina's friend, you're my friend too. Don't be shy."

Christina pressed her hand to her forehead. "Asher, sometimes eating with you is really no fun at all."

When they went out together, they liked letting Asher order least, but he loved ordering the most.

As for why, wasn't it strange that he didn't need to care about what anyone else wanted to eat?

That's because his approach was to get one of everything on the menu.

With everything ordered, there was no need to worry about missing someone's favorite dish.

But this also took away their desire to explore the food.

Their group wasn't short of money; ordering everything would only cost a string of numbers, but this was their only source of fun, and Asher had to take even that away.

Asher shrugged. "You guys haven't let me order in thirteen visits now. Today I finally got the chance, so you have to listen to me."

Christina waved her hand. "Fine, let Juniper try everything one by one, then she'll know what to eat next time."

Since she came back, her frugal habits seemed to have disappeared too.

The Copper Kettle? Order everything?

Even though Juniper's family was among the top in Harborview City.

Juniper had heard of The Copper Kettle's reputation.

A meal here wouldn't cost no less than three million dollars.

And having money alone wasn't enough to get in.

More importantly, The Copper Kettle's chef's skills were exceptional. Even among the students trained by the head chef, very few could replicate his taste.

Therefore, The Copper Kettle had a limited amount of food each day.

If the head chef overexerted himself, his body couldn't handle it.

Ordering all the dishes meant The Copper Kettle probably couldn't serve anyone else today.

She tugged at Christina's sleeve. "Christina, isn't this too much? Are we basically booking out The Copper Kettle tonight?"

"Not too much. Gabriel already reserved the whole place."

Juniper's jaw dropped.

"If Austin were to come..."

"He has no influence in Aurora City. He can't get in."

For the first time, Juniper felt as though she wasn't actually wealthy.

Some people just shouldn't be mentioned.

Just as they sat down, Christina's phone rang.

It was Austin.

Christina raised an eyebrow, said nothing, and answered the call.

"Christina, stop messing around! Are those men with you right now? Tell them all to get lost! If you want a man, I'll fly to Aurora City right away."

Austin wasn't focusing on his trip properly and was checking trending topics about her again.

"Get lost!"

Christina hung up.

She suddenly felt bored.

She had wanted to keep Austin around to watch the show.

Who knew Austin would keep bothering her?

This time she simply blocked him.

Just as they were about to chat, Juniper's phone rang.

"Juniper, I just heard your voice. You went to find Christina, didn't you?Not talking? I know you've gotten close to Christina recently and don't take me seriously anymore, but I need to remind you that the Glenn family's roots are in Harborview City. As long as the Glenn family is in Harborview City, you'll be under the Lewis family's thumb. If you don't want to cause trouble for the Glenn family, answer my question!"

Christina nodded at Juniper.

Juniper answered, "I'm here."

"Are there men around Christina? Wait, are you saying she already sent those men away? She's done? That bitch, I should have slept with her back in Harborview City!"

On speakerphone, Austin's vulgar words were heard by everyone.

Christina frowned and covered her face.

What kind of ex-boyfriend had she dated? She'd clearly just added a stain to her life.

To think she once liked someone like this was truly embarrassing.

Juniper also frowned. Austin's words were too much.

"Austin, shut your filthy mouth! Before, when you bullied Christina and treated her as a substitute, I couldn't fight you, and Christina had no power or influence, so I had nothing to say. But you haven't forgotten who Christina is now, have you? Can you afford to mess with the White family?"

"I can't!" Austin said through gritted teeth. "So you're jumping ship to suck up to her? Isn't that interesting, Juniper? When you helped her before, did you ever think about making her repay you? Now that she's back home and has power, she makes you grovel to her. What's worth protecting about a woman like that? Tell Christina now—if she wants a man, come find me."

"I only have one thing to say to you—get lost!"

Austin froze. Christina had heard all of that?

The phone was thrown and shattered into pieces.

Austin said through clenched teeth, "Juniper, you just wait!"

Mary came in and, seeing Austin in a bad mood, said with concern, "Austin, is something wrong with the company? Don't worry about it. The staff have prepared lamb soup for dinner. Let's go eat first. Maybe by the time we're done, there'll be a solution."

"I'm not eating. You go ahead."

Austin decided to go back.

He was going to Aurora City to keep watch.

He understood now—he loved Christina.

After learning that Christina had slept with other men, even though he was jealous, he hadn't considered cutting off contact with her at all.

He even hoped that after trying, Christina would realize that none of those men were as good as him. That way, she would come back to him.

As for letting Christina cool off on her own?

And then waiting for her to come find him?

That was no longer possible.

He'd figured it out—Christina was way too popular now. Without him, Christina had hundreds, if not thousands, of other choices.

He could be pushed to the very end at any time.

Austin was fuming by himself.

He'd made up his mind.

First, win Christina back.

Everything else could wait until Christina was back by his side—then he'd settle the score with her.