Two Can Play (Celeste and Dominic) novel Chapter 392

My mother whirled on her. "Shut up! Do you have no respect for your elder sister or her fiancé? Pat is older than you! You have always been a selfish girl, always about yourself. Every time, we do everything for you. But this is Pat's day. Do you not realize that being engaged is a big deal, especially to a man like Kingsley? We are all here talking about Pat's future, and you, a woman who is already married with children, are butting in. This is about the present, not people of the past."

Vivian glared at our mother, her eyes turning red, while Jonathan tapped her arm, trying to calm her down. In the end she sank back into her seat, heaving with anger.

I had no desire to play along anymore. "Unfortunately, I have to leave. I have a lot of work to do, and I need to get back to it."

My mother's voice turned coaxing, almost sweet. "Come on, Pat. Now that you have a fiancé, you cannot be wasting your time away in that small laboratory of yours."

"What are you talking about?" Kingsley cut in, his voice sharp. "Pat does not work in a small laboratory. In fact, the laboratory where Pat works is one of the best, if not the best, in this country. It is worth billions."

"What?" My mother blinked.

"I am surprised you do not know." Kingsley shook his head. "You must have heard about Helix, right? Helix received funding from Veil Holdings. You know the chairman of Veil Holdings, Dominic Ford? He invested five billion dollars in Helix. That is the lab where Pat works."

My parents' eyes went wide. Shock rippled around the table like a wave. Kingsley pulled out his phone, eager to prove it, and brought up the pictures from that night when Dominic had made the announcement about Helix. He passed the phone to my father, who stared at it, his mouth opening and closing.

"Yes, yes, yes!" My father's voice rose with excitement. "Helix, it is true! I saw so much about this. Pat, the place you work at is Helix?"

Kingsley nodded.

The color drained from Vivian's face as the implication of my words sank in. I had not meant them as a shade, but now I realized how they sounded. My sister had gotten pregnant early, out of wedlock. She had been just about to begin college when she got pregnant, so she had ended up marrying Jonathan.

She never pursued her education after that. They had always mocked me for it, the fact that I went to school and poured my time and passion into my career. But now, it felt really good.

As though Kingsley sensed something from the way everyone had gone quiet, he suddenly spoke. "Actually, getting an education is really important." He turned to look directly at Vivian. "I think it is not too late for you to go back to school."