Chapter 168

Chapter 168

The sudden noise shattered the intimate atmosphere, like waking from a beautiful dream.

Amelia quickly pulled away from Raymond's embrace.

Raymond's previously gentle face turned stern, his brows furrowing tightly, a cloud of displeasure darkening his expression.

He silently cursed the unwelcome intruder.

Raymond didn't want to acknowledge the person outside, but the knocking grew more urgent, accompanied by someone calling Amelia's name.

From the sound of it, the person seemed to have an urgent matter, determined not to leave without achieving their goal.

Raymond had no choice.

Reluctantly, he got up to open the door.

To his surprise, Harold and Alaric stood there.

Alaric's eyes lit up instantly upon seeing the situation inside, as if he had discovered something precious.

Pointing at Raymond, he said smugly, "See, I told you they were in here!"

With that, Alaric forcefully pushed past Raymond, striding towards Amelia, shouting, "Amelia, I knew you were here! That damn Harold tried to stop me from seeing you."

"I wanted to talk to you last time we met, and this time, no one will stop me!"

As he spoke, Alaric grabbed Amelia's wrist.

"I have some friends downstairs, come meet them and have a drink."

Without waiting for a response, Alaric tried to pull Amelia outside.

Raymond couldn't tolerate this.

Today was supposed to be his carefully planned date with Amelia, and these two had barged in uninvited, now trying to take Amelia away. How could he agree to that?

Raymond immediately stepped forward, extending his arm like a solid wall to block Alaric's path.

However, Amelia's mind had cleared a bit.

She didn't want to continue entangling with Raymond, so she went along with Alaric's suggestion, saying, "It's fine, I'll go out with Alaric for a walk and relax."

With that, Amelia gently freed herself from Raymond's obstruction and followed Alaric out the door.

Raymond was furious, glaring at Harold.

Harold shrugged helplessly, spreading his hands, "I didn't know you were coming today. I tried to stop them, but couldn't."

Raymond said nothing more, his face dark, and followed them downstairs.

Downstairs, as Alaric had said, a group of people had gathered, many of whom they had seen at the club last time.

Seeing Amelia and Raymond appear, the crowd became excited, teasing, "It's rare to see you two together, are you on vacation?"

"Last time we didn't drink enough, how about a drink now?"

Unable to refuse their enthusiastic invitation, Amelia reluctantly sat down with the group.

Alaric, seeing Amelia sit down, immediately tried to sit next to her, but Raymond pushed him away.

Alaric glared at Raymond, his eyes full of anger.

Raymond calmly sat beside Amelia, wrapping his arm around her waist possessively, saying, "What's wrong? Is it a crime to sit next to my wife?"

Alaric gritted his teeth, hissing, "Just you wait!"

After sitting down, Alaric eagerly began to badmouth Dean to Amelia, "Let me tell you, Dean is no good. After the last party, you wouldn't believe the dirty things he did!"

Amelia listened absentmindedly, turning to Raymond and whispering, "Didn't you say this villa was for me? Why are they here?"

Raymond looked at Amelia, patiently explaining, "The villa was losing money when I bought it, so I had someone help manage it. Who knew they'd come today."

"If you're unhappy, I'll give you the management rights back, and you can handle it however you want."

Amelia shook her head, saying, "No need, it's fine as it is."

Meanwhile, Alaric had moved from Dean's work to his personal life.

"You wouldn't believe how messy his personal life is. I heard he even kidnapped the Graves family's daughter recently!"

The crowd gasped in shock.

Seeing everyone just listening and not drinking, Alaric slapped the table, saying, "Don't just listen, drink!"

He poured a drink and placed it in front of Amelia, smiling.

"We haven't had a drink together, come on, I toast to you."

The crowd joined in, and in the lively atmosphere, Amelia sighed helplessly, about to raise her glass when Raymond took it from her, saying, "I'll drink this for her."

Raymond downed the drink in one gulp, impressing everyone with his boldness.

Alaric's eyes widened in displeasure, shouting, "We were toasting Amelia, why are you butting in?"

Raymond remained calm, his tone steady, "I'm drinking for my wife, is there a problem?"

Alaric, furious, felt his pride trampled by Raymond, shouting, "Fine, you want to drink for her? Then drink all you want!"

He placed drink after drink in front of Raymond.

The crowd, rarely seeing Raymond like this, joined in, toasting Amelia.

Normally, no one would dare force Raymond to drink.

Everyone knew Raymond's high status and wouldn't easily offend him.

Harold, seeing this, wanted to help but was stopped by Raymond.

Raymond didn't back down, drinking one glass after another, soon feeling dizzy and his vision blurring.

Finally, when Alaric stopped, Raymond's head felt like it was about to explode, and he hurried to the bathroom.

In the bathroom, Raymond turned on the faucet, letting the cold water flow, splashing it on his face.

The cold water cleared his mind.

Harold appeared behind him, sighing, "Why do you do this to yourself?"

Raymond forced a bitter smile.

"You don't understand. Some things you have to do yourself."

After a pause, Raymond asked, "Did you find out about the assassination attempt?"

Harold nodded, "Yes, it was Dean. He has business dealings with your father. Acting now might affect your family."

Raymond sneered, his laugh full of disdain and anger.

He threw the paper towel into the trash, saying coldly, "Foolish."

"Keep an eye on Dean, don't act yet. I need to figure out how to deal with those two."

Leaving the bathroom, Raymond saw Alaric had squeezed next to Amelia, chatting enthusiastically.

Raymond snorted, saying nothing, and walked over, sitting on Amelia's other side, pulling her hand and resting his head on it.