Chapter 52 The Engagement
"You are looking at the wrong woman." Toby's words jolted Xander out of his thoughts.
He looked at him and saw him smirking. He shot him a death glare before returning his gaze to the entrance. This time, he noticed Crystal with a pink gown in front of Ariadne.
Crystal arrived with Catherine by her side. Ariadne was just behind them, with Tiara. Crystal's face darkened when she noticed Xander was looking at Ariadne. She deliberately arrived late to draw everyone's attention to herself. However, they arrived at the same time at the venue, and Xander looked at Ariadne first instead of her. She should have been the one to capture his attention. She cursed Ariadne internally for ruining her entry. However, she composed her expression quickly. Everyone looked at Crystal as she moved through the crowd. She approached Xander with a smile. Xander smiled back.
Ariadne, on the other hand, joined the crowd with Tiara. They met with Crystal and Catherine outside as they arrived at the same time. However, Crystal gave her a triumphant smirk and headed inside the resort, ignoring them completely. Ariadne didn't bother with her arrogance and avoided her like strangers. But when they arrived at the hall, her gaze met with Xander's and she noticed the same intensity in his eyes she had seen that day in his penthouse. Ariadne averted her gaze and joined the crowd as Crystal approached him.
"Oh my...you look so beautiful." Emma exclaimed as she approached them.
Margaret came over as well and hugged Crystal. "Gorgeous." she exclaimed.
Aaron also hugged her. Crystal turned to face Xander.
"How do I look?" she asked.
"Beautiful." he replied, looking at her face.
His face remained expressionless, and he didn't glance at her body to examine her overall look. His mind was racing with thoughts about the woman in blue, who was lost in the crowd. He hadn't expected Ariadne to attend the engagement.
"Come... I'll introduce you to some of our special guests." Margaret said.
Crystal went to meet the guests with Margaret and Emma, while Xander stayed with his men.
"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Montecarlo. This's Crystal, my son's fiancee." Margaret introduced Crystal to a family as she approached them.
Crystal's eyes widened when she recognized them. Mr. Montecarlo belonged to Arch City's royal family. They were a highly esteemed family. Being Xander's fiancee had many advantages. One of them would be to meet and socialize with the most prominent families. Crystal was pleased that Margaret had invited a number of prominent families. Even Xander was unaware of this, as he didn't interfere with the preparation. He was surprised by the preparation as he was expecting a small party. However, Margaret, Emma, and Crystal had grand plans.
"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Montecarlo. I have heard a lot about you and your family. It's a pleasure to meet you personally." Crystal said, shaking his hands.
"It's nice to meet you, too, Miss Miller." Mr. Montecarlo said. "Meet my family. This's my wife, Georgia. He's my son Ross and my daughter Rosalind." he introduced his family to Crystal.
Ross was the same age as Crystal, and Rosalind was two years younger.
"You're such a gorgeous lady." Georgia said as she shook her hand.
Ross and Rosalind simply smiled at Crystal. The siblings remained silent as the conversation continued.
Ariadne and Tiara stayed away from Xander and Crystal. They were conversing with the other guests. After a while, Mark and Jennifer arrived together and joined them. Zidane also arrived shortly after. As he was staying in a different hotel he arrived separately. After speaking with some businessmen, he joined Ariadne. She introduced him to Mark and Jennifer.
From a corner of the bar Xander kept looking at Ariadne, while conversing with a businessman. He noticed her expression as she spoke with everyone with a smile. She didn't look like she was at her ex-husband's engagement party. She appeared to enjoy the party. The more Xander saw her smile, the more irritated and angry he became.
After all of the guests had arrived, a man took the stage. "Ladies and gentlemen. Now it's time for the event for which we have gathered here tonight."
Everyone's attention was drawn to the stage.
"Please welcome Mrs. Margaret Blake to the stage."
Margaret took the stage. She smiled at everyone.
"Thank you everyone to grace this evening with your presence. Today, we all gathered to witness my son Xander's engagement to Crystal. I'm glad that my son is going to start his own family now. He has chosen such a lovely lady for himself. Crystal is a kindhearted talented lady and I'm sure they will be happy together in the future..."
As Ariadne listened to her speech, it felt as if every word was directed at her.
"...Let's proceed with the ceremony in the presence of all of you." Margaret finished her speech, and Emma brought Crystal onto the stage.
Margaret gestured for Xander to come on stage from the side where he was drinking. Xander gulped down the wine before adjusting his suit. He walked to the stage and stood next to Margaret. Margaret stepped aside and made him stand beside Crystal.
"Now it's time." she said.
She pulled out a ring and handed it to him. Xander's expression was serious as he stared at the ring in his hand with a frown. There was silence as everyone watched them with anticipation.
"Put the ring on her finger." Margaret instructed.
He looked at his mother before turning to face Crystal, who gave him a smile. He averted his gaze and looked around the crowd until his gaze fell on Ariadne. Their gazes locked, and time seemed to freeze. His breathing quickened, and he turned away, glancing back at the ring. Crystal's face paled when she noticed his expression. People began to wonder why he was taking so long to put the ring on Crystal's finger.
"Is there a problem, Xander?" Margaret asked, but Xander simply shook his head in denial.
With a sigh, he eventually took Crystal's hand in his, slipping the ring into her ring finger. The hall erupted with applause. Crystal's face lit up with a wide grin and she didn't waste any time. She took her ring from Emma and inserted it on Xander's finger. The applause became louder this time as everyone cheered for them. Xander looked at Ariadne and saw her clapping with a smile alongside everyone else. He turned away clenching his jaw.
"She's on cloud nine. Look at her face." Tiara whispered in Ariadne's ear.
"Of course, she's. After all, it's what she wanted." Ariadne said with a sigh.
"You're okay, right?" Tiara asked with concern.
"Yeah."
At first, Ariadne was thinking of skipping the engagement. But then she remembered how Crystal had come to her home to invite her. She refused to stay at home like a coward and let them have the satisfaction of hurting her. After what happened at the festival, everyone knew she was Xander's ex-wife. She needed to shut the mouths of those who would talk about her reaction over her ex-husband's engagement. She would show them that she was unaffected and could even attend and enjoy her ex-husband's engagement party.
The couple joined the crowd and everyone congratulated them.
"Let's have a dance." Crystal asked as she stood by Xander, holding his arm.
"I don't dance, Crystal." he replied.
"This's our engagement party, Xander. Please for me.. just one dance." she pleaded.
"I'm not in the mood. You can dance, don't bother about me. I need some alone time." he removed his arm from Crystal's grip and moved to a corner.
His head began to ache in the crowd. As soon as Xander left, Catherine joined her. Crystal looked around for the royal family. When she spotted them, they began walking toward them.
"Congratulations, Miss Miller. Where's Mr. Blake?" Mr. Montecarlo asked.
"Thank you. Xander has gone for a drink." Crystal replied.
"This's my friend, Catherine." she introduced Catherine to the family.
Even though they smiled at her, they paid little attention to Catherine.
"Look, who I've here." Georgia's voice came from behind.
Crystal turned to see the woman approaching them with a smile. However, her face darkened when she spotted Ariadne and Zidane with her. Mr. Montecarlo, Ross, and Rosalind appeared to be excited at the sight of them.
"Mr. Watson. We meet again." Mr. Montecarlo hugged Zidane.
"Aren't you Miss Ariadne Miller, owner of the Autumn Collection?" he asked, breaking the hug as he tried to recognize Ariadne.
"Yes, honey. She's the talented owner of Autumn Collection. She's so young and beautiful." Georgia commented.
"Hello, I'm Rosalind. I'm a huge fan of your jewelry. The majority of my accessories are from the Autumn Collection." Rosalind exclaimed, excitedly, as she extended her hand.
"Thank you." Ariadne smiled as she shook her hand.
Mr. Montecarlo introduced his family to Ariadne.
"You're a gorgeous lady, Miss Miller. It's nice to meet you." Ross said, taking Ariadne's hand and kissing it.
"Thank you." Ariadne said, surprised by his actions.
"She's the CEO of the Watson Group's Zavion City branch as well." Zidane added as they continued to praise Ariadne.
Crystal was furious. They not only praised Ariadne, but they had completely forgotten about her and Catherine. They behaved like Ariadne's fans. Moreover, Ross appeared to be smitten by Ariadne's charm. She clenched her jaw. She couldn't let anyone ignore her for Ariadne. She would never tolerate this.
"At such a young age, you have accomplished a lot." Mr. Montecarlo said, impressed.
"Not only that.. She's also a single mother." Crystal interjected, finding the opportunity to expose Ariadne. She smirked when she saw the shock on everyone's faces.
"Oh, really? I didn't know that." Georgia stated.
"Yes, she accomplished all of this while raising her children. She's very hard working." Crystal added, making Ariadne frown.
"Children? How many children do you have, Miss Miller?" Georgia asked.
Ariadne found herself in big trouble. They were successful in hiding Alex from everyone until now.
However, now that Georgia had asked, she couldn't lie to her. Not only would it be impolite, but Georgia was also a royal.
"Three... I've three children... Two sons and one daughter." Ariadne finally answered, swallowing her fear.
Everyone's eyes widened, including Crystal.
"You have three children!?" a voice came from behind.
Ariadne's face turned pale as the voice belonged to none other than Xander.