The CEO Gets What He Wants novel Chapter 397

Overwhelmed by the soup's strange taste, Nicole's taste buds went into shock.

In that instant, she felt an amalgamation of sourness, bitterness, spiciness, and saltiness burn through her nostrils. The sensation was similar to having a sharp needle pierce through her nose, causing sweat to bead incessantly all over it.

Meanwhile, the irritation deep in her throat gave her the sudden urge to cough and subsequently retch.

Nonetheless, in front of the elders of the Moore family and the two children who were looking on with anticipation, Nicole had no choice but to maintain her poise so as to not embarrass herself. As she couldn't retch freely, the smile on her face turned awkward in her attempt to get a grip on herself.

“Ms. Lambert, is the soup I served you not delicious? But Zach says that it is. The chef has added a lot of expensive herbs into it and says that it's good for health. On top of that, it has beauty benefits too. I feel that drinking the soup will make your pretty self look even more beautiful!”

With her hands holding her princess-style dress, the smiling Rory looked exceedingly adorable.

Meanwhile, when Allie saw the children being nice to Nicole on their own accord, she couldn't feel any happier.

No one was looking forward to the harmonious scene more than she was.

With her smile stretching from ear to ear, she remarked, “That's really thoughtful of you. Nickie, since the soup carries Rory's sincerity, you should go ahead and finish it.”

Even though Nicole was Allie's favorite candidate for daughter-in-law, the grandchildren were still very important to her.

As the twins had resented Nicole all this while, Allie wasn't keen on seeing both parties at odds once the latter was married into the Moore family.

Now that Allie had made her wishes known, Nicole—bowl in hand—was trapped between a rock and a hard place. The stress she felt from the dilemma caused her face to cycle through a myriad of expressions.

Enduring the nauseating feeling in her stomach, Nicole wiped off the cold sweat over her nose and said, “Rory, can I drink this later instead?”

“Ms. Lambert, do you not like the soup I served you? I only did so because I thought you would enjoy it. Did I do something wrong?” Rory widened her unbelievably beautiful eyes while pouting pitifully at the same time.

Her tearful expression elicited Jeffrey's sympathy at once.

Gesturing for her to go over to him, Jeffrey pulled her into his arms and comforted her in a gentle voice, “There, there, Rory. Don't cry. Let me serve you some food.”

As Jeffrey put Rory's favorite fruit salad on her plate, he shot Nicole a piercing glare that sent a chill down her spine.

What's wrong with Nicole? Despite her warm and gentle demeanor, she doesn't know how to appreciate the bowl of soup served by my great-granddaughter. Even I didn't get the honor of having her serve me a bowl!

Consequently, the incident negatively affected Jeffrey's impression of Nicole.

When she caught a glimpse of the sudden change in Jeffrey's eyes, Nicole's heart dropped. D*mn it, I neglected Old Mr. Moore, who's the decision-maker of the family. Usually, he's the one who pampers the children the most. I must have angered him with my actions just now.

Flooded by complicated emotions, Nicole gritted her teeth to steel herself as she downed the entire bowl of soup in one go.

Once she was done, her stomach churned immediately. It was so unbearable that her tears and snot were on the brink of gushing out.

Desperately enduring it, she forced a smile that looked terrifying instead. “The soup's pretty good. I like it. Rory, thank you for being so attentive.”

Meanwhile, Zachary discreetly flashed a victory sign at his sister. As they watched Nicole speak sycophantically amid her discomfort, the children covered their mouths to hold back their laughter.

It was then that Cayden came down the staircase with Avery in his arms.

His arrival caused Nicole to forget the pain in her stomach as she stared adoringly at him.

With his extraordinary poise and features that seemed to have been carved by God himself, Cayden looked as if he had stepped out of a painting. He exuded a manly aura where even his casual clothing couldn't diminish his air of nobility.

A single glance at him was enough to intoxicate anyone.

As for Avery, her hair was loosely draped around her shoulders whereas the white full-length dress she was wearing accentuated the fairness of her complexion. Lying languidly in his arms, she looked like a cat that had just awoken.

The loving sight triggered a sense of discomfort in Nicole, which was quickly followed by a sudden bout of nausea.

After greeting Jeffrey and Allie, Cayden and Avery took their seats at the dining table.

Jeffrey, throwing Avery a glance, didn't show any emotion as he continued to play with the children.

Never one to welcome Avery, Allie greeted the latter's arrival with a scowl, followed by a loud snort.

Nonetheless, Avery ignored Allie's cold shoulder as she continued with her meal.

After all, it was Cayden whom she was going to be spending her life with in the future. As long as both of them persisted in their relationship, whatever objections Allie had were futile.

When Avery looked in Nicole's direction and saw the latter obsequiously serving Allie food, she couldn't help but have complicated thoughts about it.

Up till then, Nicole still failed to grasp reality and continued to assume that she could marry into the Moore family as long as Cayden's mother approved of her.

If Cayden was a mother's boy who obeyed Allie unconditionally, that would have been the right strategy.

Unfortunately, he was headstrong and domineering to the point that even Jeffrey's pressure meant nothing, let alone Allie's objections.

As a result, Nicole's efforts were nothing but an exercise in futility.

All this while, the Moore family practiced the principle of no talking at the dining table. Thus, the meal carried on without incident even though the atmosphere wasn't particularly jovial.

Regardless, the restless Nicole—desperate for Cayden's attention—racked her brains on how to make herself stand out.

When she noticed the classical Epean oil paintings on the wall, she remarked in an excited tone, “Old Mr. Moore, are these paintings by the famous Ustranasion painter Monet? As one of the foremost painters in the Modernist era, his works are exceptionally valuable. It's amazing that you have genuine Monets at home...”

When Avery heard Nicole trying desperately to impress her hosts, she choked on her food and almost spewed it out of her mouth.

After all, the latter had committed two fundamental errors in her comments. Firstly, instead of being Ustranasion, Monet was Ferropenian. Secondly, he was an Impressionist instead of a Modernist.