Sophia instantly introduced herself, a hint of pride in her tone. âIâm Beckett Groupâs presidentâs wife, Sophia Kirkman.â
âI donât understand what sheâs saying, Mr. Jasper. You donât need to translate for me, though. Iâm not interested in her.â Ada didnât look at Sophia again, continuing her conversation in Furancian with Jasper.
Sophia could only understand a quarter of what they were saying. When she was about to re-introduce herself in Furancian, Jasper said lightly to Ada, âWe donât see eye to eye, and I donât plan on introducing irrelevant people to you either, Ms. Kingsley.â
Sophia froze in place upon hearing that.
A flurry of snickers and sarcasm rose from the crowd around her.
âWow! Adaâs really brave for turning down Mrs. Beckett like that. Who knew she was just as flawless when being herself as she was when acting?â
âAre you kidding me? Why would Ada Kingsley give a shit about our countryâs business and economy?
Sheâs Mosgravian, for Godâs sake. âBeckett Groupâs presidentâs wifeâ my ass!â
âRight? Sophia Kirkman can shove her snobbishness elsewhere!â
Sophiaâs face flushed in embarrassment. Still, she had to keep her image up. So, she forced another smile. âWeâre happy you decided to attend our hotelâs party tonight, Ms. Kingsley.
âIâm sure you know all about our competitor, KS World Hotel. As the companyâs matriarch, I am truly honored you chose us over them.â
Jasperâs gaze grew cold when he heard Sophia referring to herself as the companyâs matriarch. He scoffed inwardly.
Xavier quickly stepped in to translate for Sophia out of kindness.
âIâm afraid youâve misunderstood my being here.â Ada shook her head. âBoth Berenike Hotel and KS World Hotel are wonderful in their own right, but I didnât choose to attend your event because of the hotelâs reputation.
âI did so because Mr. Jasper has proven himself an honorable, sincere, and charismatic individual worthy of my attention.â
Sophiaâs cheeks burned once again as if she had been slapped.
Though Ada seemed distant from the mundane affairs of the world, she was secretly an intelligent and keen woman.
If she had agreed to Sophiaâs words in public, she would be acknowledging that Berenike Hotel was better than KS World Hotel.
Not only would that offend the latter, but it would also mean she had chosen Berenike Hotel to have her wedding at.
Ada wasnât so stupid as to fall for Sophiaâs trap!
Right when the atmosphere grew awkward, the main hall doors opened.
Zoe walked in in a Swavroski studded pink tulle gown, looking like some fairytale creature.
âIs that world-famous pianist Christina Hammondâs student Zoe Harper?â
âSheâs not just her student. Sheâs also Landon Harperâs kid sister!â
âLandon Harperâs kid sister? You mean my future sister-in-law?â
âWho would my sister-in-law be in that case? Betty Beckett? Ugh! I donât like her. Sheâs fucking weird, man.
Î In a corner of the hall, Betty sneezed.
She had noticed Zoe already. She was scanning for Landon next. Unfortunately, the man was nowhere to be found. It looked like she really had lucked out with him.
Zoe was unbearably pleased with how the crowdâs gaze turned from Ada to her.
She had persuaded Jasper to allow her to perform tonight, aiming to gain fame within Solana Cityâs elite society. She didnât want to be known as merely âLandon Harperâs sisterâ forever.
She slowly went up to Jasper, a lovely smile on her face.
But Jasperâs responding glance had no hint of affection in them.
It made her shiver.
Just then, there came loud, firm/clicks of heels on the floor outside the door.
Jasperâs breaths grew chaotic as he swiftly realized how familiar the sound was.