Journey to Happy Ending novel Chapter 1797

The most beautiful sign that shows a party is full of joy and fun-filled activities is the sound of laughter. The moon was in full bloom, casting its rays onto the partygoers. The heat only served to spur the people's excitement like gasoline to a flame.

Justin was the bona fide leader of the kids. He was charming and respected. He could be decisive if need be, and was always dignified in his actions; sometimes, he was also caring, a key aspect on how a leader should be. People tended to forget that leaders needed to care about the ones they were leading. The kids loved him for that.

"Hey, Justin. When are you going to get married?" Eden, whose nosiness was a match even for Rain, asked while grilling some chicken wings over the glowing coals. As a medical student, he wasn't very tactful and was often blunt with his words.

"Don't be absurd. It's way too early for that kind of thing. I'm still really young." Justin, for all his genius, actually believed in fate. If he was ever going to get married, it would be with someone he loved deeply, and of course, fate should give him signs that she was the one. He set the girlfriend bar pretty high. As the boss of the FX International group, he just wouldn't fall for any girl he saw.

"You're not that young. You're almost thirty for God's sake," Eden quipped. Some of the hot embers drifted onto his hand. He recoiled in pain and started waving his hand up and down. He then backed away from the barbeque.

"What's this almost nonsense? Thirty is still a ways to go," Justin protested. He wasn't really against marriage. What he was totally averse to was the idea of a loveless marriage. Also, he absolutely did not want to turn into his father, whose private and personal life was preyed upon by the media. Even the birth of Jasmine hit headlines back then. The reporters loved to spread gossip like wildfire, particularly about his private life, but nothing they said in the news was true.

Hearing his protests to Eden's question, Joyce turned to look at Justin. Sooner or later, he would have to choose someone to marry and become a father of his own. The days of them being together like this were getting fewer and fewer, Joyce thought.

"Joyce, what's wrong?" Jasmine asked in concern when she saw her troubled expression.

"Oh, It's nothing. I'm just really full. I'm going to take a walk over there." Joyce forced an apologetic smile and stood up. From her worries she didn't notice her troubles were already manifesting themselves on her expression.

"I'll go with you," Jasmine said and stood up as well. The glow of the flames illuminated her already beautiful face. Her perfectly chiseled features were only made more apparent by the light.

"It's okay. I'd like to be alone, to be honest. Stay here and eat some more barbeque," Joyce quickly said, her hands gesturing Jasmine to stop. She then turned around and slowly walked away. Unbeknownst to even herself, her eyes had been glued to Justin all this time. She knew she had lost her heart to him.

She always knew he had always seen her only as a sister, no more, no less. She didn't dare confess to him about how she felt. She was too afraid to lose what they had now - a solid friendship.

She stood there, eyes downcast, arms crossed over her chest. She was so consumed by her thoughts that she didn't notice someone was already standing in front of her.

"Joyce, what're you doing here all alone? Don't you like the barbeque?" Daisy had been talking with Belinda and the others over the fire. Joyce's abruptly standing up and walking away alone caught her eye. So, she followed her.

"I love it, Aunt Daisy. How about you? Why're you here?" Joyce hid her sadness through a graceful smile. This prompted Daisy to smile back.

"I just saw that you were alone out here, so I thought maybe we could walk together," Daisy answered. Daisy saw Joyce's eyes whenever they fell upon Justin. They reminded her of the days when she first met Edward. She had that exact same look when she started falling for him. It was a pity Justin hadn't realized the looks Joyce had been giving him, or maybe he knew but didn't want to change the relationship between him and Joyce.

"Aunt Daisy, how did you and Uncle Edward meet?" Joyce asked innocently. She had always been curious, but nobody seemed to know the exact story.