âOw!â Betty winced, nearly falling backward.
âLauren.â Landon stood before Lauren, gazing lovingly at her as she blushed.
âYou look beautiful tonight.â
âHuh?â Lauren mumbled, her heart pounding in her chest.
âItâs so boring here. Do you want to go somewhere with me?â Landon extended his hand to her.
âGo where?â
âWherever you want. Just name it, and Iâll take you there.â Sincerity filled Landonâs eyes.
For some reason, Lauren wanted to cry.
She had always been the slowest yet most obedient child in her family. She never learned what it was like to be doted on or have what she wanted fulfilled. This was a first for her.
âI⦠I want to find Alyssa and my brother,â she mumbled, her voice small.
âAlright. Iâll take you to them.â Landon held her hand and turned to leave with her.
The hall was dead silent.
When the two reached the entrance, Landon stopped in his tracks suddenly, nearly making Lauren slam right into his back.
He turned around and nodded respectfully to Javier before leaving with Lauren.
This made Javierâs eyes widen.
He had been annoyed with how rude Landon was, taking his daughter away like that, yet Landon had just paid his due respects to him. With that, Javier couldnât help but grow fonder of Landon.
âWhat do we do, Mom? What do we do?â Betty cried, holding onto her motherâs arm.
âHow could Landon just take her away like that? Isnât he intentionally provoking you now? You canât let Lauren leave with him! Get him to come back!â
âGet him to come back? Why would I do that?â Sophia flung her daughterâs hand away, her eyes laced with a disdain that used to only be meant for Lauren.
âMy birthday party is already ruined. What does it matter whether your sister is here or not?
âPlus, why would I want her to come back? Canât you see how devoted Landon is to her? He looks at her just the way your father used to look at me. So you better give up all those silly ideas of yours and stay out of your sisterâs way!â
Bettyâs heart sank into a dark abyss. She gritted her teeth in anger.
Sophia downed a glass of champagne, growling. âDo you think Iâm just going to give up. Alyssa Taylor?
Iâm not going to let you ruin my night any further!â
Outside the ballroom, Betty walked to a less-crowded area before calling Zoe. It only went through after several rings.
âHmph. You got some balls for calling me,â Zoe said over the phone, her voice laced with irritation.
Though Betty hated Zoe for having used her before, the saying that her enemyâs enemy was her friend couldnât be more applicable now. Betty needed Zoeâs help to deal with Lauren once and for all.
So she composed herself and said sternly, âIâm not in the mood to argue. I bet youâll feel the same way after you hear about what happened earlier tonight.â