Chapter 740 Hypocrisy

When Christina heard Azure’s voice at the noisy banquet, she had initially thought it was just her imagination.

However, upon turning around and seeing Azure in a heated debate with two other wealthy ladies, Christina felt her mood sink.

She was sure the only Gibson family member she had sent an invitation to was Timothy, so why did Azure show up uninvited?

As if that wasn’t bad enough, the latter even had the check to cause a scene at the banquet!

Christina promptly set her glass of juice down and was about to storm off when Nathaniel held her back.

The man had also spotted Azure, but unlike his wife, he could control his temper better. “Old Mr. Stone is here, too,” he mumbled.

Thankfully, Christina quickly caught on to what Nathaniel was implying. Oh, that’s odd... Why would Azure and Barnaby attend the banquet together? Isn’t he eager to break off all ties with her? When did they reconcile? More importantly, why have they decided to make a public appearance? Aren’t they afraid of Sheridan kicking up a fuss? Argh! I can’t make heads or tails of this!

However, I’ve got to hand it to Azure... She must be pretty impressive if she managed to melt someone as cold-hearted as Barnaby.

Having noticed how baffled Christina was, Nathaniel spoke up. “Sheridan has mostly been away on business trips, and besides, he has enough problems to deal with. I doubt he knows half of what his father’s doing.”

Ha. I know Sheridan well. Azure wouldn’t be strutting around like she owns the place if he were here. Then again, it’s a pity to see what she has become. The Mrs. Lazuli I knew had always been a classy and dignified woman. Alas, the cruel reality of life has dulled her shine and changed her mindset, turning her into one of those unsophisticated and narrow-minded ladies who shamelessly flaunt their wealth...

“More than half of Jadeborough’s most influential people are in attendance today. I can’t let her stir up trouble in my turf,”

Christina retorted before pulling her hand away and walking toward Azure.

However, just as she was nearly approaching the woman, the latter suddenly turned and left. Christina wanted to give chase, but the two ladies who had bickered with Azure began swarming around her.

“Mrs. Hadley, today’s the grand opening of your studio. You shouldn’t be letting any Tom, Dick, or Harry attend the event!” one of them piped up.

“Didn’t you hear what Old Mrs. Gibson said earlier?” the other added, though with a hint of sarcasm. “Old Mr. Stone has already accepted Nigel into the Stone family, and it’s only a matter of time before she marries into the family too. Aren’t you jealous of her good fortune?”

Even though Christina disliked Azure, it didn’t mean she’d tolerate others making fun and speaking ill of the latter in front of her.

“Many people are attending the event today, but I can assure you that those two aren’t on my guest That said, I wouldn’t be a good host if I chased them away now, would I? As long as everyone stays in their lane, I’m sure there wouldn’t be any problems,”

she said coldly.

Having read between the lines, the two wealthy ladies quickly realized what Christina truly meant. However, despite their frustration, they knew they weren’t in a position to retort.

After all, they were the ones who had stirred up trouble first, and they weren’t on Christina’s guest list.

“You’re right, Mrs. Hadley. We shan’t bother you anymore. Goodbye,” the two ladies said before taking their leave, albeit begrudgingly.

Christina wanted to continue searching for Azure, but by then, the latter was nowhere to be found. At the same time, Julia had sent someone to inform the young woman that she wanted to introduce a friend to her.

Left with no choice, Christina went off to look for Julia instead.

After leaving the main banquet hall and roaming around, Azure finally found Timothy alone in the lounge.

Having surveyed her surroundings to ensure no one was looking at her, she hurriedly walked to the table and dropped a pill into the glass of champagne. Within seconds, it dissolved into the liquid before her eyes.

Azure picked up the glass and swirled it gently, a wicked smile tugging at her lips. Satisfied, she spun on her heels and made a beeline for the lounge.

Unbeknownst to her, two little heads suddenly popped out from behind a large floral arrangement. With a slice of cake in each hand and cream at the corners of her mouth, Camila turned to her brother, wide- eyed and anxious. “Lucas, that nasty old witch dropped something into the champagne glass and is heading toward Granddad’s lounge now. What should we do?”

Calm and sensible as ever, Lucas wiped his sister’s mouth with his handkerchief before putting it back into his pocket. “Come on.

Let’s follow her and see what she’s up to.”

“Yay! We can finally play a detective game!” Camila exclaimed as she danced around excitedly, her cakes almost smashing into Lucas’ face.

The latter sighed and promptly took one of the cakes away from Camila. “I’ll hold on to this for you first. You can have it back when you’ve finished the other slice.”

With that, Camila chuckled and led Lucas to the lounge by the hand.

Before long, the two children began their stealthy operation of lurking outside the lounge and doing their best to peep through the door crack.

Timothy sat in the lounge, analyzing his chess match while waiting for Charlie to return from answering a call. What he wasn’t expecting, though, was the appearance of an unwelcome guest.

Upon seeing Azure strut into the room, he turned glum and shifted his focus back onto the chess board, clearly having no intention of entertaining the older woman.

Azure knew Timothy was prejudiced against her, but if she wanted to achieve her goal, she’d have to use her thick skin to her advantage.

“Timothy, 1-heard you’d be at Christina’s banquet, so I decided to drop by to see you,” Azure said as she shamelessly sat opposite the man and pushed the glass of champagne toward him. “If I remember correctly, you used to love drinking champagne the most... Try this. I specially picked it for you. Let me know if it’s to your liking.”

Timothy didn’t even bother to spare her a glance as he replied coldly, “Given my current health condition, do you think I should be drinking?”

Realizing how painfully awkward the situation had become, Azure froze. Sh*t. I’ve made such a big mistake! I’d better try to smooth things over...

“Oh, I’m sorry. I thought you had already recovered. In that case, let’s forget about the champagne. What would you like to eat? I can get it for you since you have difficulty moving.”

“Just because my legs aren’t good doesn’t mean I can’t care for myself. Why don’t you cut to the chase?

with There’s no need to suck up to me,” Timothy said as he calmly moved his chess piece and locked eyes Azure.

It was also then that he realized just how much Azure had changed. Not only had her clothes and style become more elegant, but she also seemed less raddled. Her poise and grace, without a doubt, were shining through.

Even though Azure’s motive had been exposed, she felt no shame as she shared her real reason for approaching Timothy.

“Nigel has been behaving well in prison lately, and our lawyers said that it’d be beneficial for his trial if you could write a letter of understanding.”