The first one to step inside the room was Danny, who walked with wide strides, all while he nagged, “Can‘t we take turns to visit her instead of coming in all at once?” He had just taken a few steps when his body stiffened. “Holy crap. Isn‘t that the world–renowned movie star, Cecile Sinclair?”
At that, the rest of the Griffiths following behind him froze as well. Jack nearly dropped the gifts that he had brought, shocked as he was once he got a good look at the woman by Elise‘s side.
Everyone seemed to have been thoroughly shaken by this. Only Alexander‘s expression was still as even as ever. Elise, who exactly are you? he wondered.
Elise herself was also surprised. She was unsure how to break the tension,
Cynthia patted Elise before she stood up and fluffed her hair. Then, she slowly spoke. “Greetings, I am Elise‘s aunt, Cecile Sinclair, but off the stage, I am just Cynthia.”
“Her aunt?” Jack couldn‘t believe his eyes. No wonder Elise ignored me back then. It‘s because her own aunt is an international superstar.And there I was, brazenly telling her that I would bring her around to meet her favorite actors. At that thought, Jack felt even more ashamed.
Alexander glanced at Elise, whose gaze was darting everywhere. After a moment of contemplation, he slowly walked over and extended his hand like a gentleman. “Nice to meet you. You‘re here to visit Elise too, right?”
“I happened to be in the country, so I came to visit her.” Cynthia extended her hand in response to his politeness. She eyed the man before her. His eyes betray nothing. And he‘s able to maintain a level head even when faced with something like this. Such a polite gentleman. He‘s a good match for Ellie.
“Are you here to visit Ellie, too? My, my, Ellie‘s the apple of my father‘s eye. Everyone has been worried out of their minds ever since she got injured,” Cynthia said with a tone that indicated her seniority over Alexander.
“I apologize for making you and your family worry. It won‘t happen again.” Part of the reason that Elise had gotten hurt this time was because he hadn‘t taken good care of her.
“I‘ll leave things to you, then.” Cynthia smiled breezily after she heard Alexander‘s promise. She walked over to Elise‘s side and teased, “Ellie, it seems to me the Griffith Family has some fine heirs. I think you two would get along well.”
Alexander‘s expression turned a fair bit chillier when he heard that.
“Aunt Cynthia, but that‘s…” Elise stuttered, her words tripping over each other.
The tiny room was already cramped enough with all the people squeezed into it. Now, the atmosphere had turned even stranger.
“Since your aunt is here, we‘ll have to welcome her properly as hosts,” Matthew suddenly said with a gentle tone, having remained quiet all this while. He lifted his head, only for his gaze to directly meet Elise‘s.
His gaze… was completely different from Alexander‘s; it actually had a hint of brightness in it.
Matthew shifted his gaze over to Alexander, his tone still gentle and polite as he spoke. “What do you think, Alexander?”
“All right. You handle the arrangements,” Alexander replied simply.
Elise gave Matthew a once–over. On the surface, he and Alexander were brothers. But in reality, they seemed to have more of a superior–subordinate relationship. It was probably because they had worked together at the same company for a while.
“Would you like to come with us for lunch, Miss Sinclair?” Matthew suddenly asked. Even his voice sounded bright and smiley.
Lunch!
Elise was extremely excited at that thought. Her appetite was terrible after eating several days‘ worth of bland food. Now that she got the chance to feast, she was, of course, going to take it.
“Of course!” Elise answered without another thought.
However, Cynthia looked at Elise before asking, conflicted, “But, can you leave your bed this soon after your injury?”
“I happened to read this book on geomancy before. It said that being in the company of others can speed up the healing process,” Matthew said casually.
Spending time in the company of others? Only Cynthia, who spent most of the year overseas, would believe this kind of outrageous lie.
Despite that, Elise still gave Matthew a thankful look. Thanks a lot!
The mood at the table soon livened up. But for some reason, Elise thought it didn‘t seem like a welcoming party for Cynthia. This feels more like a recruitment process. And Aunt Cynthia‘s the recruiter, recruiting the perfect husband for me,
“Alexander, Ellie‘s hand still hasn‘t fully healed yet. Do you mind helping her get some of that pork?”
And so, an extra piece of fatty meat suddenly appeared on Elise‘s plate while she was still chewing the pork that she had gotten earlier.
“You‘re welcome.” Alexander said casually.
You‘re welcome, my foot! I absolutely hate meat with fat on it. How did you manage to even find such a huge chunk anyway? Elise bemoaned internally.
Elise propped her chin on one hand as she casually scanned the people around her. Other than Alexander and herself, everyone was happily chatting.
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