When Two Winters Met (Henrietta and Yosef) novel Chapter 28

The man's deep eyes flickered down past her collarbone for a second, then back up. “Good. The party's about to start. You should go in, don't be late.”

With that, he walked on ahead, but there was an unreadable quality to the way he had looked at her.

“Oh. Okay,” Artina said quickly.

By the time she found her seat, the party had officially begun. A famous, top-tier host was acting as the master of ceremonies, offering beautiful words of blessing from the stage. Then, he invited the Sargent family onto the stage to give a speech.

The whole family went up to wish Henrietta a happy birthday. Tears welled up in Henrietta's eyes. It was a heartwarming scene, and the audience applauded warmly.

Afterwards, Henrietta's father, Hector Sargent, publicly announced that he was giving her twenty percent of the company's shares as a birthday gift. Sabrina and their adopted son, Quinton, also presented Henrietta with gifts, to continued applause from the guests.

Finally, after some official pleasantries and inviting the guests to enjoy the evening, the family left the stage, and the banquet began. The food served was of the highest quality.

Hector, along with Sabrina and their children, made the rounds at the head table, toasting the guests.

At Matteo's table, people were constantly flattering him, so envious they wished they could trade places with him.

Jolie's eyes glazed over at the sight of the dishes being served. She didn't recognize any of them but shoveled them into her mouth anyway. Her bratty son was being noisy, pointing at this and that, demanding to eat everything.

Matteo, however, kept his eyes fixed on the head table. The birthday wishes were over, so… when would they announce the engagement? Would they wait until the end of the party?

Pamela leaned in and whispered, “Matteo, how much is that twenty percent stake our future in-laws mentioned worth?”

Matteo's thoughts returned to the present. He considered for a moment. “If the company's worth a hundred billion, then it's twenty billion.”

Matteo was fuming. He wanted to deny it, but he was starting to panic himself. Time was ticking by, and Henrietta was just sitting at the head table, eating elegantly, showing no intention of coming over.

Jolie suddenly said, “I have an idea. Why don't you just go up on stage and propose to her? Didn't you buy engagement rings?”

The mention of the rings was another source of humiliation.

Matteo remained silent.

Jolie pressed on, “Even if she did break up with you, going up there announces your relationship to everyone. A family like hers cares about appearances. Do you really think she'll get on stage and admit she just dumped you? If she does, she'll be the one in the wrong for breaking up on such an important day. That's just bullying!”

Jolie's words tempted him. It seemed like forcing the issue was his only option now.