âWhat are you doing here again?â
Irwinâs good mood took a nosedive as soon as he caught sight of Wilson coming in with Yvette. He made it clear that he didnât welcome Wilson in his home.
âStop being so rude! Itâs bad enough you didnât welcome your sonâinâlaw in, but you even chased him away!â Yara scolded, slapping Irwinâs arm.
âHeâs not my sonâinâlaw!â Irwin muttered under his breath.
Every time Wilson came, he would steal the attention of his wife and daughter.
âThatâs right, Dad is right!â Adam chimed in, seizing the opportunity to agree with his father.
âI think you come to our house too often. You can leave now!â
As long as he could get rid of Wilson, he could spend more quality time with his precious sister.
Wilsonâs face remained impassive, his lips curving in a faint smile. He spoke in a calm and unhurried tone as he addressed Irwin. âMr. Murray, I recently acquired an ancient pottery made of red clay. Iâm not very familiar with antique pieces so Iâll have someone bring it over tomorrow for you to appraise.â
As soon as Irwin heard about the rare redâclay antique, his eyes lit up, and he quickly changed his tune.
âThatâs so thoughtful of you. Why donât you stay for dinner tonight?â
Given Irwinâs love for antiques, who could blame him?
Adam looked at Irwin with disdain, disapproving of his fatherâs sudden change of attitude.
He wasnât to be so easily influenced, no matter what petty bribes Wilson offered!
âAdam, I hear youâve been on the hunt for Master Xev, the ruler of the underworld. Iâve found some information and was looking for an opportunity to tell you.â
With a hearty cough, Adam couldnât hide his excitement. Master Xev had been notoriously difficult to track down. Despite all their efforts, his team still came up emptyâhanded.
âDonât get ahead of yourself thinking Iâll approve of you as my brotherâinâlaw just because of this! I only lost to you by chance last time. Iâll show you whoâs better next time!â
Wilson languidly raised an eyebrow, his deep, resonant voice unhurried. âIf you want to spar, Iâm always up for it.â
âKeep your voice down!â Adamâs eyes darted around the room. Seeing that Yvette was oblivious to them, he felt a wave of relief wash over him.
âYvie hates it when we fight. Letâs keep this from her.â If his sister got mad at him and ignored him. thereafter, it would be more painful than death!
At the banquet hall, the executives swarmed Jacob as soon as he entered. They were eager to leave a good impression.
âMr. Jacob, itâs great to see you here.â
âJacob, youâre so young and accomplished! The Zenith project was a massive success.
Youâve made another couple hundred billion, havenât you?â
âTell me about it! Mr. Murray is so lucky to have Jacob as his son. Heâs brilliant and destined for great things. Compared to my son whoâs such a disappointment, I canât help but feel jealous. If only he could be more like Jacob, Iâd be over the moon!â
âIndeed, my kidâs a disappointment too. If only he was as promising as Jacob, I would be extremely grateful.â
âIâm flattered by your kind words.â Jacob was going through the motions, making small talk with the executives. But it was obvious to everyone he wasnât really engaged.
The executives couldnât help but wonder what was wrong, as they had never seen Jacob like this before.
Only Jacobâs assistant, Jack, who was following closely behind him, knew the truth. His employer was still puzzled and upset that Nancy had blocked him.
Speaking of which, this was the first time Jack had ever seen Jacob so out of it. In the past, no matter what difficult situations arose, he had always remained calm and composed.