Free Web NovelChapter 89: Chapter 89: The Brightest Star in the Crowd
All eyes turned toward them.
In the elevator stood Damien Vaughn, dressed head-to-toe in black and exuding his usual noble detachment. A fair-skinned, tall woman was holding his arm.
The woman had almond eyes, red lips, delicate, arched brows, and a small, pert nose. Her features were so exquisite and lively they looked as if they had been meticulously carved by the Creator. He was cold and she was warm; they looked like a perfect match.
With her left hand, the woman held the arm of another man who was just as noble and detached. He was dressed in all white, with messy, jet-black hair falling to his shoulders. He looked like a bohemian rock star, or perhaps an artist filled with creative spirit.
Any one of them alone would have been the center of attention, but with the three of them appearing together, the visual impact was like seeing the male lead, female lead, and second male lead from an arthouse film.
A commotion rippled through the crowd, and then, as if by unspoken agreement, everyone fell silent.
Damien Vaughn, Cecelia Archer, and Zeke Walton stepped out slowly. The elevator doors closed, and only then did someone break the silence.
"Big Bro, is this the girlfriend you’ve been hiding away all this time? It’s not like she’s ugly, so why are you only bringing her home today? You made Grandpa think you really didn’t want to get married. He’s been worried sick about you."
"Zeke, why are you with them? So you knew about this all along?"
The speaker was Simone Vaughn, Damien’s cousin from his second uncle’s side and the eldest young lady of the Vaughn family.
Since childhood, she had been engaged to Zeke Walton by the arrangement of their two grandfathers. As she spoke, she moved to take his arm, but he subtly dodged her.
"He’s a grown man. Doesn’t he have the right to manage his own love life? Does he have to report everything to you?"
The soft, artistic air about him from earlier had vanished. When he spoke again, his voice was that of a typical man.
Feigning nonchalance, he let go of Cecelia’s arm to grab a glass of wine, then casually scanned the dining table.
"The feast is already served? Looks like we can start eating. Perfect, I’m starving. Grandpa Vaughn, I remember you’re not a fan of all that pomp and circumstance. Why don’t we just start dinner?"
The crowd became lively again. Everyone present tonight were members of the Vaughn family and close friends of the grandchildren. They had all been here countless times and were extremely familiar with one another, so the old man didn’t stand on ceremony.
"Alright, if you’re hungry, let’s eat. I’ll head back to rest after I’m done, and you young people can relax and have fun."
Following the old man’s lead, a group of gorgeously dressed men and women took their seats at the dining table.
All sixteen of them completely surrounded the Vaughn family’s dining table, which usually felt far too large and empty.
The old man sat at the head of the table, with the second uncle and aunt, third uncle and aunt, Damien, and the others seated in order on his left and right.
Cecelia sat next to Damien, Zeke sat next to Cecelia, and Candy was being held in the old man’s lap.
"Today is not just my birthday, it’s also a joyous day because your big brother has added to our family. I’m very happy. I propose a toast to everyone. I hope you all will work hard and follow his example—add more children to the Vaughn family."
Everyone drank a glass with the old man, but there was little joy on their faces.
’Learn from Damien Vaughn? What was there to learn?’ ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
’The esteemed eldest grandson of the Vaughn family getting married and having a child should have been a wonderful affair that caused a stir throughout Veridia. But he’d gone and handled it like he was hiding a mistress in a secret love nest. It would be humiliating if word got out.’
Of course, in front of the old man, not a single person dared to express their true thoughts.
They went through the motions of eating for over an hour before the old man grew tired.
"The birthday celebration is over, and it’s time for me to head out. The rest of the evening is yours. Go have fun."
"Candy, do you want to go upstairs and read with Great-Grandpa, or stay here and play with Mommy and Daddy?"
’Candy felt like she was dreaming today.’
’Ever since she met the handsome uncle, her biggest dream had been for him to become her daddy and build a happy family with her mommy. Then Mommy would have someone to cherish and love her, and she wouldn’t have to work so hard.’
’But a lot of things had happened recently, and she had thought it was hopeless. She never expected that today...’
’Mommy hadn’t said a single word to stop her, nor made any gesture to hint at anything. The uncle even had her call the old man ’Great-Grandpa’ and brought them to his home for dinner. Could it be that the uncle and Mommy had gotten together behind her back?’
’Candy was so happy. She really, really hoped that the uncle and her mommy could be together forever.’
’At the same time, she knew she had to give them enough space to let their relationship grow. She couldn’t get involved in everything.’
"I want to go play with Great-Grandpa! Great-Grandpa likes Candy, and Candy likes Great-Grandpa!"
"HAHAHAHA." The old man was so charmed by the clever, adorable little girl that his spirits lifted considerably.
"Good girl, Candy. My affection for you isn’t wasted. You’re such a good girl who knows how to show gratitude. In all his years, the best gift your father has ever given me is you. Great-Grandpa is just so happy today. Alright, then Great-Grandpa will play with you a little longer. Let’s go upstairs."
’A whole table was covered with gifts from everyone else, yet the old man hadn’t even bothered to open them and was already declaring Candy the best gift?’
The old man and the little girl held hands, chatting warmly as they entered the elevator. Only when the doors closed did everyone else let out a sigh of relief.
Those who needed to stretch, stretched. Those who needed to loosen their ties, loosened their ties.
"Big Bro, you’ve really done it this time. Pulling a stunt like that, you nearly threw us all under the bus. Grandpa didn’t say anything, but now all the pressure to get married is definitely going to fall on me. You’re a real ’great’ older brother, you are."
The speaker was Carter Vaughn, son of the second aunt. After Damien, he was the oldest of his generation in the Vaughn family. At twenty-six, he had been back for a year after studying abroad and worked as a designer at a real estate company under the Vaughn Group.
Heavily influenced by Western thought, he was a great admirer of freedom and had no desire to get married so early.
He thought that with his big brother taking the heat, he could enjoy a couple more years of freedom. He never expected the pressure to arrive so suddenly.
Damien Vaughn leaned back in his chair, sipping his wine, and gave him a lazy glance.
"If you really don’t want to get married, is Grandpa going to hold a knife to your throat? It’s pressure you’re putting on yourself. Don’t blame it on me."
That seemed to make sense. Carter Vaughn was so thoroughly refuted he was left speechless.
His sister, Simone Vaughn, looked at the devastatingly handsome fiancé beside her and chimed in at the right moment.
"What’s wrong with getting married? Meeting someone you love, seeing them day in and day out, having a few cute babies... what’s not to love about such a sweet life? I really don’t know what you guys are thinking, always making marriage sound so terrifying."
She didn’t outright say she wanted to get married, but the push for marriage in her words couldn’t have been more obvious.
Carter Vaughn glanced at her, then at Zeke.
"Then you two should hurry it up. You’ve been engaged for years anyway, and Grandpa loves kids. Have a few for him to play with. You can have my share of kids for me, too."
Everyone laughed.
Simone Vaughn showed no sign of shyness at all, looking triumphantly at Zeke. Zeke just pretended not to understand and put some food on Cecelia’s plate.
"Look how thin you are. Eat more."
"Most women gain weight after giving birth, but you don’t show any signs of it at all. Have you not been eating properly? Don’t worry too much. My mom has a secret for staying in shape. I’ll ask her for the diet plan later. I guarantee you’ll be healthy and nourished without gaining any weight."
’From the moment they sat down until now, he hadn’t said a single word to her, yet he was being endlessly attentive to Big Bro’s woman. Was he trying to suck up to him?’
Simone Vaughn was annoyed that even he was bowing and scraping before her big brother.
