Xo Novel
17
The next day, it was the birthday party of Annie.
Eight o’clock in the evening, at the Keystone Hotel.
Although the banquet was just beginning, most of the guests were already there.
In the lavishly decorated banquet hall, more than half of the most powerful figures of the city of V were gathered together under the exquisite crystal chandeliers, clanking and toasting.
Today, Annie was dressed in a lilac tube top long dress with hand-made embroidery. The lining of the dress stopped precisely above her ankles, and on the outside were layers of soft yarn, sweeping on the ground, giving her an unworldly beauty.
Holding a glass of wine, she made her way through the crowd, greeting the guests one by one.
Her elegant movements and graceful manners made her exactly like some lady from a noble background.RêAd lat𝙚St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only
Low bursts of praising words could be heard everywhere.
“Miss Gil is elegant and beautiful. No wonder she’s so popular in the entertainment industry.”
“Sure, it’s not just that she’s beautiful, she’s also got herself a good husband. Not everyone can marry the young master of the Anderson family.”
“She’s indeed something herself. It’s just been a few years and she’s already in such a position. That’s not easy.”
“The Gil family has been so lucky to have such a daughter. If they can join hands with the Anderson family, they shall have no rivals in the entire city.”
As the discussion continued in the hall, Annie curled her lips in satisfaction.
After all, it was naturally something to feel proud of to be recognized.
The Gil at present were all smiling, and even Ciara could not hide her pride anymore hearing all these compliments.
She looked around the hall and tilted her head to ask Jaden, “Is Zoe here?”
Jaden answered in a low voice, “Not yet.”
Ciara knitted her brows swiftly.
Jaden muttered next to her ear, “Mom, she wouldn’t just lie to us, would she?”
“Probably not.” Helen herself was also somewhat worried, “Zoe always keeps her words. Maybe it’s just the traffic. Or something happens to her. Should we call her?”
Jaden sneered, “What can happen? We told her two days ago. What can possibly keep her until now? It’s not the rash hour. What can be wrong with the traffic? I think she just won’t come. She wants to make us all embarrassed.”
Hearing this, Helen could only force a smile.
“Actually, it doesn’t really matter if she is not here. The other guests would be just fine. It’s just Mrs. Wright….”
Mrs. Wright was the god mother of Kiera, Zoe’s mother, and she was also the witness of the engagement of Zoe and Steven.
The Wright family had quite a history in the city of V. Though they were not even nearly as powerful as they once were, they still had quite an influence, especially in the world of business.
After all, Mrs. Wright was from the Kawn family. Everyone in the Ambario knew they could never afford to cross the Kawn family.
Though Mrs. Wright had left the Kawn family many years ago, they had kept a connection with each other. The Gil family sure knew better than to cross her.
The eyebrows of Ciara were tightly knitted. After a while, she said in a low voice, “Call her. Ask her where she is. And tell her, if I can’t see her in an hour, she will have to bear the consequences.”
Jaden immediately brightened and hurriedly agreed before he went aside to make the call.
At this moment, Mrs. Wright walked towards them with her grandson, Declan Wright.
“Why is Zoe not here yet? You told me Zoe gave up on the marriage herself, and that’s why I’m here. But now she’s not here. Won’t you lie to me, will you?”
Ciara hurried force a bright smile on her face, as if begging, “How come? How dare we ever lie to you? Zoe just called us. She’s now in a traffic jam. It might take a little longer for her to be here. Let’s wait a bit, and she will explain to you.”
Mrs. Wright swept her glance over the family and scoffed coldly.
“You’d better say the truth. Or if I find out you are bullying her, I will never let you go. Sure you don’t want to be the enemy of the Wright family, right?”
The smiling face of Ciara stiffened, and after a while, she nodded, “Sure.”
Mrs. Wright scoffed again and turned to leave.
Immediately after Mrs. Wright left them, Jaden came back with his phone.
Ciara’s face darkened and asked, “How’s it? Is she here?”
“Yeah, she said she is on the way now.”
Ciara finally felt relieved and took a deep breath, “That’s great. I believe she would not dare to play any tricks.”
In the meanwhile…
Jack also placed an invitation before Henry.
“Mr. Henry, today the Gil family is throwing a party for their daughter, and they also invited you. Are we going?”
The invitation had been sent to him two days ago, but Henry was too busy to pay attention to it. Finally, even Jack had almost forgotten about this matter.
Now the banquet had already begun, and he remembered the invitation only now and hurriedly took the invitation over to him.
Henry raised his head from the pile of documents and swept a glance over the names on the invitation.
“Is she going?”
Jack did not even need to ask to know what he meant by “she”.
Hurriedly, he answered, “Yes, Mr. Hang. I saw her name on the list.”
His hand paused in the middle of a signature. After a while, he nodded, “Prepare a gift. We will be going in a while.”
“Yes, Mr. Han.”
…
The clanking and toasting in the banquet hall continued.
The Gil family was getting more and more nervous.
It was all because of Zoe, who was still nowhere to be found.
Mrs. Wright had sent someone to ask Ciara more than once. And every time the answer would be just the same, “She’s on the way.”
However, it’s been almost an hour, and Zoe was not here yet. Mrs. Wright was losing her patience and thought they were lying to her.
Just when she was going to confront them, a loud noise sounded from the doorway.
Everyone looked over out of curiosity, and when they saw the cause of the commotion, they could not help gasp in surprise.
Holy Heavens! Who was that! She’s so beautiful!
Zoe was dressed in a dark blue long dress with starry patterns today.
Her long and slender body was just a heavenly match for her dress. The stars on her dress were like a waterfall flowing from her waist to the ground, sketching her beautiful narrow waistline.
Her delicate face was now stunning with a thin layer of makeup and her slightly wavy yet fluffy chestnut hair, draped on her shoulders, was swaying gently as she walked.
She walked into the hall, stood not far from the door and swept her cool glance over the guests in the hall, the aura of her aloof nobility emanating from her whole being.
Some of the guests made eye contact with her, felt a chill running up their spine, and could not help moving their eyesight.
But the face was indeed beautiful, and it would be such a loss if they did not take everything in. Thus, despite the nervousness, they were still reluctant to look away, hoping to watch her face for a few more minutes.