Chapter 171
The worst part was, the man standing before them was wearing the exact same clothes as the one they’d just seen earlier.
Serena’s mind spun in chaos.
How could this be happening?!
All four faces blanched in terror.
Joanna was the first to break the silence. “Oh my God, Mr. Prescott–it’s you Just now, Miss Langley said she saw you and Celestine having dinner, and we all thought–well, we assumed-”
Elena opened her mouth, but the oppressive air radiating from the man in front of her left her completely speechless.
She knew this man.
It was President Prescott–the very one her father had been desperate to partner with lately!
A sudden flash of understanding crossed Chester’s eyes. “Mr. Prescott, this is all just a misunderstanding.”
“Oh?” Gideon cocked his head, voice dangerously calm. “And what exactly is misunderstood?”
Chester found the words stuck in his throat. If he said it out loud, he feared the consequences would only be even more disastrous…
He instinctively glanced at Celestine.
She smiled sweetly, hands folded, and turned to the man across from her. “Mr. Prescott, they were just discussing whether you were my lover.”
“Celestine!” Chester tried to cut her off, but failed. All he could do was growl, “I said it’s a misunderstanding! Don’t bring your nonsense in front of Mr. Prescott!”
Gideon’s gaze was sharp as a judge’s. “So, none of you said those things?”
Every single one of them wanted to deny it. But under Gideon’s intense stare, not one of them could utter a word of protest.
“I thought, after last time, Mr. Fordham had learned his lesson–was genuinely
interested in working with the Prescott Group. Seems I was wrong.” Gideon leaned back in his chair, casual but merciless.
Chester had moved heaven and earth to try to restore their partnership with the Prescott Group–pulling every string, calling in every favor. Gideon’s presence at the old man’s birthday dinner had been a sign that things might finally be thawing.
Now, thanks to a pointless misunderstanding, all those efforts were about to go up
in smoke.
Chester shot Serena and Elena a glare icy enough to kill.
They were nothing but dead weight, good for ruining everything.
Elena had never seen Chester look at her with such venom. She was so shaken she could barely breathe.
Judging by Gideon’s tone, he had no intention of working with anyone in this room ever again.
What would happen to her father’s company now…?
Would her dad actually kill her for this?
And it looked like Chester was holding a serious grudge against her, too!
Damn it. Damn it all!
The room hung in tense silence.
Celestine had had enough of this suffocating drama.
She stood up–just as the lights above began to flicker.
A moment later, the entire restaurant was plunged into darkness.
Celestine’s heart instantly pounded faster.
She’d been afraid of the dark her whole life.
It was so bad that she couldn’t fall asleep at night without a light on, not even as an
adult.
Chester had known about her fear. When they first got married, he’d even gone along with her habit and left a little nightlight on.
But after a while, the patience wore thin.
One day, Chester simply took his things and moved into a guest room.
From then on, they’d slept separately–sometimes without even thinking about it. It just became the new normal.
Then came the night of the thunderstorm. The storm knocked out the power lines to their house.
The whole place went pitch black.
Outside, lightning cracked and thunder rolled.
The terror of darkness swallowed Celestine whole. She curled up against the wall, clutching her blanket, shivering uncontrollably.
After what felt like forever, Chester finally appeared–reaching out to pull her from the corner, lighting a candle as he did.
Surprised and relieved, Celestine stared at him. “You came back for me?”
Chester managed a gentle smile. “You’re afraid of the dark. I knew you’d be scared, so I came to check on you.”
Chapter 172
