Chapter 87 Dance Partner
After dismissing the irrelevant man, Aurora saw Francis turn around. She frowned with some displeasure - was her outfit today still not enough to attract him? She immediately recognized Jennifer beside him as the girl from that photo. Looking at her now, there was nothing special about her. Jennifer was clearly just a well-behaved girl with no personality or temper. Boring.
Aurora was the type who had to get what she wanted. Even though Francis had turned away, she still walked toward him. But then Isabella blocked her path with Tina. Isabella smiled politely but distantly, "Aurora, thank you for coming specially to celebrate with Tina. I watched you grow up, too. It's been so many years - keep me company and let's chat." Francis had finally been getting along well with Jennifer, and with Aurora's appearance, Isabella really worried that Francis might lose his head. She still clearly remembered how Francis had been desperate over Aurora back then. As a mother, she really didn't want Francis getting tangled up with Aurora again.
Tina also smiled sweetly and said, "Aurora, you look so beautiful today - you're practically stealing the spotlight from me, the guest of honor." Tina's words sounded like a complaint. Actually, she wasn't the type who liked being the center of attention - she was genuinely complimenting Aurora.
Aurora's smile became a bit awkward, and she quickly made amends, "Not at all, Tina, you look beautiful too." She had only been thinking about outdoing Jennifer today to win Francis's attention, not expecting to go overboard and upset tonight's real guest of honor. Having said this much, she could only stay and deal with Isabella and Tina.
But Isabella still had to greet other guests, so she could only delay Aurora for a while. When the music started, Aurora still made her way to Francis. She extended her hand openly, "Francis, dance with me." She said it so naturally, as if they had never been apart, as if she could make demands of him anytime.
Francis didn't answer right away. Instead, he glanced at Jennifer. Jennifer was his date - logically, his first dance should be with her. But Jennifer didn't have the confidence of being Francis's girlfriend. She stepped back half a step, released his arm, and said, "I'm going to the restroom; you two go ahead." She thought Francis's glance was reminding her to read the situation. He wanted to accept the invitation, so naturally, she would oblige. After speaking, she lifted her skirt and ran off, disappearing behind the side door.
The romantic music continued playing in the hall. Francis and Aurora must have already started dancing. Jennifer stood in the hallway feeling a bit lost. She thought she didn't care, but it still hurt. Being used by Francis to provoke Aurora's jealousy, she was just an insignificant supporting character. In the end, she couldn't separate sex from love and had developed feelings for Francis through their intimate encounters. So much so that she didn't dare watch him dance with Aurora, afraid of seeing his deep affection - the deep affection reserved only for Aurora.
"Jennifer, why are you hiding here? Why not go watch how perfectly Francis and Aurora dance together? Everyone's applauding them." Eugene's mocking voice rang out.
Jennifer turned around, her expression disgusted, "What's it to you? Instead of dancing the first dance with your fiancée, you find it fun to mock me here?"
Eugene crushed the cigarette in his hand, saying resentfully, "Fun? Very fun! I told you long ago, Francis had someone in his heart; he wouldn't stick with you! These past months, you've really enjoyed humiliating me through him, haven't you? I've been waiting for this day, Jennifer - he doesn't want you anymore!" He stepped closer and closer, until he roughly grabbed Jennifer's left arm, "You can still come back to me, Jennifer. I can overlook the fact that he slept with you."
Jennifer looked at him in horror, struggling hard to break free, "Let go of me! Eugene, you're crazy!" Eugene wouldn't let go, so she stomped hard on his foot with her thin heel, finally managing to step back a few paces.
Eugene was about to chase after her when Jennifer backed against the wall, thinking about which way to escape. As they faced off, Declan appeared. He smiled brightly, as if completely unaware of what was happening, "Why are you both here? Jennifer, I saw Francis dancing with someone else and was looking for you. May I ask you to dance?"
Jennifer's eyes were slightly red, her fingers trembling as she reached out to him, "Yes."
Declan took her hand and led her toward the ballroom. Though young, he was still half a head taller than Jennifer, his large hand completely enveloping hers, giving her a sense of security. Jennifer took several deep breaths before saying softly, "Thank you."
Declan pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket, smiling, "Your eyes are red. Are you upset because Francis is dancing with someone else?"
Jennifer took the handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes, lowering them somewhat shyly, "No. It's because Eugene just went crazy and scared me."
Declan glanced back at Eugene, who stood there glaring at them both with fury. He was such a coward, only daring to harass Jennifer when she was alone. Thinking this, Declan gave him a challenging smile, making Eugene clench his fists. But he didn't dare clash with Declan - Aria was here too, and if things got out of hand, it would be hard to explain.
When Declan led Jennifer into the ballroom, one song had just ended. Jennifer immediately saw Francis in the center of the dance floor, holding Aurora in a dip. Aurora's dress had a large cutout at the lower back, and Francis's hand pressed tightly against her smooth skin, leaving much to the imagination.
Nearby guests were still discussing, "Who's that beauty dancing with Francis? Such a gorgeous woman, and I've never seen her before."
"You don't know? Her name is Aurora. I heard she's Francis's first love! They really dance well together - they became the center of attention as soon as they hit the floor."
"I remember Francis brought his current girlfriend today, but it's not her. Why is he dancing with his ex instead of his current girlfriend? There's a story there?"
Jennifer's expression darkened. Declan was trying to console her, "Jennifer, you don't need to care about this gossip. He's dancing with another woman, but you can dance with me. That's fair."
Jennifer was about to say she wasn't feeling well and didn't want to dance, but before she could speak, she saw Aurora suddenly stand on tiptoe and kiss Francis. Francis didn't dodge - instead, he lowered his head and said something intimate to her. Jennifer's hand gripped her skirt tighter, and she said somewhat defiantly, "Okay, the next song - I'll dance with you."
The music for the second song started. Francis released Aurora's hand and looked around for Jennifer. He happened to see Jennifer smiling as she placed her hand on Declan's shoulder, the two of them chatting and laughing as they entered the dance floor.