Chapter 149
But right now, Raymond had completely lost control. “I don’t want it! I want the one Mom gave me! I want my mom! Only hers!” he cried, over and over, his voice hoarse with desperation.
His words were heartbreaking; anyone who heard him would be moved to tears.
Yet Celestine only tossed aside the lucky charm in her hand, her expression cold and numb, watching from the sidelines as if none of this had anything to do with
her.
Chester, meanwhile, had finally run out of patience. He snapped, “Celestine, do you really have to push everyone to the edge? I’m done with this act of yours–like the world owes you something, like you’re the most wronged woman on earth! Have you got any conscience left? Raymond is your son, your own flesh and blood, not some orphan or foster child! You want a divorce? Fine. I agree. As soon as the birthday dinner is over, we’ll sign the papers.”
“Fine. That’s your promise,” Celestine replied calmly.
In the stunned silence that followed, Celestine smiled for the first time that day–a genuine, unguarded smile.
“Mr. Fordham,” she said softly, “I hope you’ll remember what you said tonight, and never regret it.”
“Of course I will!” Chester ground the words out between clenched teeth.
If he didn’t make Celestine suffer some real consequences this time, she’d think she could do whatever she wanted!
“Hmm, seems I picked a bad moment to show up,” came a man’s voice, tinged with amusement and surprise.
Everyone started, caught off guard.
Celestine turned with a smile toward the newcomer. “On the contrary, Mr. Prescott, your timing is perfect.”
Gideon emerged from the shadows at the far end of the pool.
Only then did the guests realize that along the west side of the pool, just next to the corridor, there was a row of benches. The overhead light in that corner was out, leaving the area in deep shadow. Unless you looked closely, you’d never notice someone sitting there–especially someone in a gray suit like Gideon’s.
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No one knew how long he’d been there.
Dahlia, bristling with anger, jabbed a finger at Celestine. “Celestine, you’ve got some nerve, grinning like that! Can’t you see you’re making a spectacle of us in front of outsiders?”
Celestine ignored her, her smile only growing brighter.
Chester rubbed his aching temples and suddenly turned to ask, “Mr. Prescott, were you by the pool just now when my son fell in?”
Gideon answered apologetically, “Sorry, I was resting over here for a bit. Didn’t hear anything unusual.”
ཤིང ར ཀུན དུ མ བྱུང བར དོན པ ན བ མ དངས ཐམ
Then, as if struck by a thought, he added, “By the way, isn’t this supposed to be a swimming pool, not a koi pond?”
“That’s right, Mr. Prescott. It’s a swimming pool,” Joanna replied with a sweet, practiced smile.
Gideon nodded thoughtfully. “I thought so. When I came in earlier, though, I could’ve sworn I saw this young lady talking with the cleaning staff. Were you negotiating some sort of fee? Is this pool privately rented by Miss Sinclair?”
The words landed like a stone in still water, sending ripples of shock through the
room.
Joanna’s smile froze, but she quickly recovered, her eyes curving as she tried to act unfazed. “You must have been tired, Mr. Prescott. You misheard. I was just passing by, saw the cleaner working alone, and felt bad for her, so I gave her a tip.”
“Yes, Miss Sinclair was incredibly generous–I’m very grateful!” the cleaner chimed in quickly, eager to back up Joanna’s story.
But Joanna shot her a warning glare.
Idiot! Why would you say “incredibly generous” and draw attention to the amount?
Thankfully, Gideon didn’t linger on the topic. Instead, he said, “Maybe I remembered wrong. For a moment, I honestly thought this was an ornamental fish pond. I even brought my camcorder along to record the ‘fish.”
Joanna had just begun to relax when a flicker of panic crossed her face.
Gideon produced a camcorder from the shadows, his tone almost gentle. “It sounded like you were having quite an argument just now. Must’ve been some misunderstanding. Luckily, my camera’s been rolling since I arrived–it’s still got a full charge.”
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“Why don’t we all take a look together? That way, we’ll know exactly what happened.”
