This Time, I'll Be the Villain's Favorite Daughter novel Chapter 369

Chapter 369 Finally Got My Pinch

Somalie had been read like an open book

Finished

“Facing those people on my own might be a little much for me,” she said with a slight frown, then admitted candidly, “My dad even considered whether this family might be worth a marriage alliance.”

Somalie took the sparkling water a server handed her, her tone unusually serious. “But honestly, they’re too strange. We aren’t even from the same country, and our cultures are completely different, so dealing with them would be a real headache.”

On top of that, she found this family incredibly closed off,

The event itself made that obvious.

She’d been here a while now, and not a single direct descendant of the Clarks had shown their face in the public areas, not even to say hello, leaving a crowd of guests to mingle among themselves with drinks in hand.

“A marriage alliance?” Iris looked up from her dessert. “Your dad really thinks of everything. Does an heiress like you have to worry about marriage alliances too?”

“It’s business,” Somalie said with a shrug, taking a sip of her sparkling water. “But I’ve already crossed that option off in my head.”

There was no way she’d pick such a strange family.

In the end, Iris and Phoebe traded a glance and let the heiress drag them along, resigned to their fate.

Phoebe looked dazed, with the tragic air of a lamb being led to the slaughter. “Somalie, what if these people end up killing us because of you?”

“Why don’t we go change our clothes first?” Iris said, making one last attempt to wriggle out of it.

Somalie looked her up and down. “You two look great exactly the way you are. So cute, and you’ll definitely turn heads. Come on, let’s go.”

The ones allowed inside were the most important figures at the party, and wedged among a crowd of middle–aged politicians and white–haired elders, Somalie looked especially young.

The reception room was furnished just as lavishly as the rest of the party.

The only difference was that outside, a string ensemble at least played in the background, while in here it was unnervingly quiet–quiet enough that you could clearly hear the soft clink of a glass being set down on a table—and the air felt faintly tense.

Guided by the people around her, Somalie took a seat.

Her hand rested naturally on the armrest, her skirt smoothed out, her back perfectly straight.

Iris and Phoebe sat on the other side, both of them inexplicably nervous.

10:06 am W

Chapter 369 Finally Got My Pinch

Meanwhile, in the side hell-

Finished

“I need to go check whether my friends are here yet.” Maya was already lunging for the door.

She’d barely taken a step before a slender hand caught the back of her collar with perfect aim.

Edric hauled her back, his grip impossible to break. “Stop running off. What’s so bad about staying with us?”

Dragged back into place, Maya stood miserably in the middle of her brothers.

“I don’t mind staying with you guys,” she said, glancing around, puzzled, “but why are we all standing here like we’ve been put in time–out?”

Leave it to her to walk straight into one of the Clarks‘ classic lineup moments.

Edric was always caught off guard and laughed by something she’d come out with from nowhere. “You could go sit with George, though. With this many guests, it would look rude for the rest of us to be sitting down.*

“I’m heading to the main hall,” Toby said, adjusting his cuff, his gaze landing on Maya as she spoke. “Do you want to come with me?”

He’d been planning for ages to pull Maya into his own circle and show her around.

He’d probably had the idea ever since Maya was little.

Toby wanted everyone to see that this was his sister,

But every time Maya spotted him talking with people, she’d take off like a scared rabbit, faster than

anyone.

Sure enough, Maya turned him down again.

Toby was used to it by now. He shot her a glance, and when he took in her outfit for the day, the corner of his mouth curved up before he could stop it.

ľ

She always reminded Toby of how she’d looked as a little kid, dressed up by their mother in all sorts of flashy outfits.

“You look cute today,” the young man said, his voice unusually gentle, before adding softly. “Very pretty.”

With that, he turned to head for the center of the ballroom.

Maya froze.

She hadn’t expected a compliment today, least of all from Toby, the family’s resident old–fashioned

stickler.

A sudden burst of delight hit the girl, and she clamped her arms tightly around his waist from behind, with enough force to make him stumble a step forward.

10:06 am W

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