Chapter 68 Blocking the Opportunity for Love
Amelia was listening to Samuel's halting speech and nearly got startled by him.
When she heard clearly that he was just saying he liked the painting, she quickly calmed down and nodded, "Thank you."
"To be honest, I really never thought Taylor would be a girl. Even less did I expect that you are Taylor."
Amelia shrugged indifferently, "Painting is just a hobby of mine, so I've never told outsiders about it."
If it weren't for Niamh's behavior today, she wouldn't have revealed her identity as Taylor.
"But I'm curious, who did you learn painting from?" Samuel asked.
Amelia glanced at him, "Does Mr. Crawford really like investigating other people's privacy?"
"Just curious, that's all."
"Sometimes curiosity kills the cat."
Samuel curved his lips, "Well, lucky for me, I'm not a cat."
He doesn't get it. Amelia didn't bother arguing with him.
Anyway, she wasn't going to tell him who taught her to paint.
That was a secret only she knew. Even Byron and Faith, she had never told them.
Because if this secret got out, others might think she was some kind of freak.
"Where are you taking me?" Amelia changed the subject.
This was no longer just the conference area, but a corridor further inside from the conference area.
On both sides of the corridor were rooms with closed doors, and in the middle was a thick carpet with intricate patterns.
Although Amelia designed the Luminance Art Gallery, today was her first time coming here.
Samuel stopped and looked at her.
"Of course, to fulfill your duty as my date."
"What do you mean?"
"There are quite a few guests today, but the really important ones are all here. I need you to help me fend off certain people."
"I don't understand what you're saying."
"No need to rush, you'll know soon enough. When the time comes, please cooperate with me, Amelia."
As he spoke, Samuel pulled open the door handle of the room in front of them.
The door opened.
Amelia looked up and saw it was a spacious living room with huge floor-to-ceiling windows, and inside sat several well-dressed people.
There were men and women, older ones and younger ones.
Amelia scanned them and only recognized one of them.
The Sullivan family's grandson, Steven.
Also known as Yasmin's boyfriend.
But clearly, his status there wasn't high, as he was obsequiously pouring coffee for a middle-aged man.
"The coffee here is just average quality. Mr. Rojas, since you like coffee, I'll take you and Ms. Rojas to Ember & Oak Café another day. I drink their coffee regularly, it's really good."
The man called Mr. Rojas, Marlon, smiled and nodded, "Sure, I've heard about this place called Ember & Oak Café for a while, but haven't been there yet. However, I'm currently handling a very important case and don't have time right now."
Steven looked up and asked, "Is this case related to that Magnus from before?"
That Magnus was the case that the Richardson family got involved in.
Marlon didn't respond, acting as if he hadn't heard, and turned to the girl with short bob hair beside him, "Janet, if you're free, go have coffee with Steven. If the coffee is really good, bring some back for me."
Janet Rojas nodded, "Okay, Dad."
That's when Amelia and Samuel pushed the door open and entered.
Hearing the noise, everyone inside looked over.
After seeing it was Samuel and her, Amelia noticed that the girl named Janet's eyes clearly lit up.
But after seeing her, her brows slowly furrowed.
"Samuel's here." A man closest to them walked forward with a smile and asked, "I heard there was some trouble outside earlier. What happened?"
"Just a small misunderstanding, already resolved."
"Good that it's resolved. Marlon and I were just about to come check it out."
"Thanks for your concern, just a small matter."
The man nodded, then turned his gaze to Amelia and asked, "And this is?"
Samuel suddenly took Amelia's hand and said, "This is my fiancée I mentioned earlier, Amelia."
Amelia instinctively wanted to pull her hand back, but Samuel held it tightly, not giving her any chance to break free.
She glanced at him and quickly caught on.
So this was the act he needed her help with.
She held back and ultimately didn't continue struggling.
What could she do about owing Samuel a favor?
She could only bite the bullet and play along.
The man who had just spoken was surprised for a moment when he heard Samuel's explanation.
But he quickly regained his composure and greeted her warmly.
"Ms. Richardson, hello, hello. When Samuel mentioned he had a fiancée earlier, we didn't believe it. Didn't expect it to be true. Now that I've seen you in person, I understand why he got engaged at such a young age. Ms. Richardson, you're so beautiful, if it were me, I'd want to marry you right away too!"
Amelia gave a dry laugh and was about to speak when she heard Samuel say in a cold voice, "Mr. Reed, you're almost fifty, aren't you? Better not make jokes like that and take advantage of us young people."
The words seemed like a joke, but the coldness in them was barely concealed.
Mr. Reed's expression froze for a moment. Just as he was about to explain, Samuel had already ignored him and led Amelia over to Marlon.
"Marlon, let me introduce you, this is—"
"I already heard just now, you don't need to say it again." Marlon's tone clearly showed his displeasure.
And Janet beside him looked even paler.
Amelia could guess what was going on even with her toes.
When he said outside that he needed her help to fend off something, she thought there was some danger.
Turned out it was to block romantic opportunities.
This kind of mess, and he didn't tell her earlier!
Amelia had nowhere to vent her anger, so she secretly gripped Samuel's hand back with great force.
But Samuel seemed completely oblivious to the pain and continued smiling calmly.
He didn't even furrow his brow, continuing to say to Marlon with a smile, "How can that be? Proper courtesy is still necessary. This is my fiancée, Amelia. Amelia, this is Marlon."
Amelia couldn't bring herself to respond warmly to someone else's coldness. Knowing the other party didn't welcome her, even if it was an act, there was no need to be too enthusiastic.
"Hello." She only nodded slightly as a greeting.
Marlon's expression immediately became even more unpleasant.
It was others who stepped in to ease the atmosphere, quickly moving past the topic and chatting about other things.
Samuel arranged her in an empty seat and personally poured her coffee.
"Just sit and have coffee and cake, no need to be nervous. Everyone here is one of us."
Amelia stiffly pulled at the corners of her mouth.
Soon Samuel was pulled aside by several others to chat.
Amelia knew she was just there as decoration, so she wisely didn't participate in their conversation and just sat quietly drinking coffee.
Steven had said earlier that the coffee wasn't good, but she actually thought it was pretty decent, with a slight sweetness in the aftertaste.
"You're the Richardson family's daughter?" A female voice suddenly spoke beside her.