Chapter 3
Our conversation wasn’t quiet, or rather, there was no need to avoid Serena.
So, Serena heard everything clearly, but she couldn’t react. In a setting like this, she had to swallow her pride, no matter how much it burned.
She hung her head, trembling with rage, the hatred in her eyes almost materializing, threatening to pierce us.
Too bad. If she had that kind of power, she wouldn’t have been forced to endure this humiliation until now.
As the banquet was about to end, Serena stepped out for a while. When she returned, she was carrying a thermal container.
I smiled faintly, glanced at my assistant, Maya, and calmly waited for her next move.
This time, she disregarded everyone’s stares and walked up to me, a gentle smile on her face. “Cassie, you’ve been so busy taking care of guests, you haven’t eaten anything. This is chicken soup my mom specially made for you. Drink it while it’s hot.”
“Don’t think everything’s fine just because you’re out of postpartum recovery. A woman needs to take care of herself for a year or two after having a baby…”
She chattered on, smiling, her words full of concern for me and her supposed sincerity.
Her earnestness almost made me believe her.
Everyone watched Serena showering me with care, personally serving me soup, their expressions varied, their minds buzzing with speculation.
Serena didn’t care in the slightest now. She handed me the soup bowl. “Drink it while it’s hot.”
“That’s very thoughtful of you,” I said, smiling as I took it, but didn’t drink. I looked at Serena, whose eyes were alight with barely suppressed anticipation, and offered an apologetic smile. “I forgot to tell you last time…”
“I can’t drink any more, but as you know, I don’t eat reheated leftovers. So I poured it out for the cook’s dog.”
Watching Serena’s expression instantly freeze, I smiled again. “She just had puppies, and she drank it all in one go, not a drop wasted.”
Serena nearly lost control of her facade. The hatred and breakdown in her eyes were about to spill over.
The people around us were enjoying the show. None of them would think there was anything wrong with me giving the chicken soup to a dog. They just found it hilarious how Serena tried so hard to please me, only to have her efforts literally fed to a dog.
Serena knew this too. She was both furious and humiliated, forcing a smile that was uglier than a cry. “It’s fine, if she drank it, she drank it. This time, you really should taste it yourself, it’s truly delicious.”
I nodded, slowly bringing the bowl to my lips.
My assistant, Maya, was quicker than thought. She snatched the bowl from my hand, steady as a rock, not spilling a single drop, and then drank more than half the bowl in one go.
Serena gasped in shock, hastily trying to stop her, only managing to knock over the last bit of soup.
Maya saw her reaction and pinned her to the ground. “You really are up to something!”
A murmur of excitement rippled through the crowd. Their gazes at Serena grew increasingly playful.
Serena’s face was pressed to the ground, right into the sticky chicken soup.
She knew she had failed again, and she had no idea who Maya truly was. She was close to breaking point.
My in-laws and Darian saw the commotion and were displeased. They gestured to their staff, who quickly briefed them.
After hearing the summary, my in-laws’ faces darkened further. They immediately ordered the chicken soup to be preserved for laboratory testing and had security restrain Serena.
The chicken soup itself wouldn’t be the issue. Serena’s problem, however, was huge.
She had caused such a scene, not only humiliating the Lin family but also offending the powerful Thorne family. Already a laughingstock, she had now maxed out all her negative stats.