Eugene spat coldly, âYou may take my place if youâre jealous.â His words elicited a laugh out of Christoff. âMy heart already belongs to someone. Why would I still be jealous? You, on the other hand, seem to have other ideas. Are you unwilling to entertain me?â
âYouâre right. I am unwilling to entertain you, and my relationship with the King is not as fragile as you think!â Eugene retorted.
Christoff sneered at his words, âAre you unhappy about entertaining me, or are you dissatisfied with the King of the Cityâs arrangement?â
Eugene said, âYou may remove the latter option. Iâm just unwilling to entertain you.â
Though Christoff intended to provoke him, Olivia nudged him angrily. Through her gaze, she seemed to be either holding back her anger, warning him, or growing impatient. Sensing that, Christoff quickly coaxed her, âOkay. Iâll stop talking to them and give you more attention!â
Olivia struggled to break free from his embrace, but to others, they looked like a couple who were in a flirty bicker.
Eugeneâs brows furrowed even tighter. He couldnât explain why, but when he saw Christoffâs monstrous claws on Oliviaâs shoulders, he wanted to chop them off. The feeling even grew intense as time passed.
Could it be due to the hatred he had for Christoff? âEugene, come and take a seat,â Hayes suddenly spoke. Only then did he suppress the annoyance in his heart and took a seat beside Hayes. Hayes smiled and remarked, âI didnât expect to see you here at all.â
In response, Eugene replied to him with a hidden meaning, âBut Iâve been waiting for you.â With an arched brow, Hayes observed the shift in Eugeneâs expression and seemingly understood him. âCome with me for a drink. later.â
âOf course,â replied Eugene. Following that, a knock came on the door. Azalea permitted them to enter. âCome in.â
The waiter outside came in and informed her respectfully, âPrincess, the King of the City made me bring a bottle of red wine from his collection to the King and Mr. Stevenson. He hopes that you and Mr. Nolan will give them a warm welcome.â
Azalea replied, âSure, Just leave it here.â After the waiter left, she got up and poured the wine into Hayesâ glass until it was full to the brim. âJust have a drink with Eugene tonight here, Hayes. Bring him to your place tomorrow Hayes teased, âWhy? Are you reluctant to send him away so soon?â
âWhat are you talking about? Iâm reluctant to send you away since you havenât been visiting lately.â âWhy donât you come with us tonight if you donât want me to leave?â asked Hayes.
âNo, thanks,â Azalea whined and glared at him. Thereafter, she poured wine into Christoff, Olivia, and Eugeneâs glasses.
Due to the conversation that she heard earlier, Olivia had been wary of their drinks being drugged. Hence, while Azalea was pouring wine, she already picked up the glass and smelled it.
As expected, besides the scent of wine, she could smell the faint scent of Ecstasy. She could tell whom the drug was prepared for. They were indeed well prepared with backup plans.
âHmm...â Olivia scanned the room with hesitance and uttered, âDrinking too much is bad for health.â She almost wanted to blurt that the wine was drugged, but after pondering about it, she concluded that not many would have the guts to drug the drinks in City Palace.
The waiter who was appointed to deliver the wine to Hayes earlier wouldnât have done it without the orders of the King of the City. Therefore, she couldnât directly comment that there was something wrong with the wine, or it would be equivalent to starting a war.
Even after she warned them, Christoff didnât seem to sense anything off. On the other hand, Eugene glanced at her again and squinted his eyes suspiciously. Is she trying to say something?
Hayes didnât find a problem with the drink either. Even though she had hinted to them that, drinking was bad for the body, he raised his wine glass and toasted, âCheers, Eugene!â