Ryder took a full five minutes to calm down. He was trapped in it, unable to extricate himself. When he recovered, he immediately stood up with a cold face.
He thought Marina was shameless and seduced him at her father’s birthday banquet!
The maid knocked on the door. The birthday banquet was about to begin. The maid pretended not to notice the awkward atmosphere and reminded, “Mrs. Langdon, your friends have all arrived.”
“Alright, I’ll be right there.”
Marina answered. She walked to the dressing table after Ryder left. Her lips were swollen, and the lipstick was gone, replaced by a watery luster.
It was obvious who had done it.
Marina didn’t dare to resist just now. She was a little upset about her cowardice. But her heart couldn’t help trembling when facing Ryder.
In order to cover up her swollen lips, Marina changed to a red lipstick. As expected, the color improved her complexion, making the simple white dress more gorgeous.
As soon as Marina went downstairs, Lola couldn’t wait to greet her and grabbed her arm. “Marina, we didn’t have much time to chat the last time. What happened to you?”
Lola was only the daughter of a small entrepreneur. She was not qualified to attend the White family’s banquet.
This time, she was invited because of Marina. Lola had already looked around in the crowd several times, looking for single young talents.
She had an ideal partner in her mind, Shawn. However, Shawn had a female companion beside him. Although Shawn was entertaining the guests, Lola noticed that his gaze never left his female companion.
“Besides, why are you wearing the same dress as that woman?”
Lola was shocked. She hadn’t seen Marina for a while. What happened?
“Which woman?”
Having just been kissed by Ryder, Marina looked listless and asked casually.
“Who is Shawn’s female companion? Why haven’t I seen that woman attending other banquets? Is she the lady of some family?”
Lola got the point.
The riches in Jin City liked to hold parties and banquets to communicate. Lola couldn’t attend most of it because of her family background.
“No, she’s Maeve Aston, the secretary of the branch of the Duncan Group in Jin City.”
The appearance of the female lead attracted the interests of all parties, and Marina spared no effort to introduce her.
“How can a little secretary wear the same dress as you. Shawn doesn’t care. Isn’t he the one who loves you the most?”
It was a big issue that two people wore the same dresses at the banquet. After all, the two people would be compared, and the uglier one would be embarrassed.
However, the same dress was definitely looked well on Maeve. Her clean and refreshing temperament was not inferior to Marina.
“Why did you so care about Shawn?”
Lola was straightforward. Although she was noisy, her character was not bad. She was a little different from those scoundrels who urged Marina to find young men.
Since Lola was Mary’s friend, Marina didn’t ignore her. Marina replied, “Shawn probably wants to pursue Ms. Aston, so he invited her here.”
Then, Marina went to entertain the guests.
Marina was very nervous since she had never participated in such occasions. She did her best to learn from other socialites and conduct herself more appropriately.
“Marina.”
“I want to go upstairs to see Markus. Can you take care of Maeve for me?” Shawn waved to Marina.
“Don’t worry. I’m fine.”
Maeve was obviously not in the mood. Just as she was chatting with Shawn, she met a probing gaze.
It was gone when she looked up.
After repeating several times, Maeve finally found where the sight came from and was shocked.
The man sitting in the corner exuded an aura of danger. No one dared to approach him.
Maeve knew him. They had met at work. He was also one of the legendary figures, the president of the Langdon Group, Ryder.
Maeve’s heart beat wildly. She unconsciously peeked at Ryder. She, who had always been calm and easy, was stunned.
“Shawn, are you sure that Ms. Aston needs it?”
Marina carefully observed where Maeve was looking and found that Ryder was sitting there.
Sure enough, nothing could resist the sparks between the male and female leads. It was unstoppable.
Marina didn’t want to stay with Maeve. She planned to watch aside and wait for the male and female leads to strike up a conversation.
Maeve might not be so thick-skinned with her, the real wife of Ryder around.
“Mr. White, Mrs. Langdon is busy. There are a lot of guests today.”
Maeve’s face darkened.
Even if the White family was a nouveau riche, they were still rich. They lived in a villa that Maeve did not even dare to think about. And what did Maeve have?
After the banquet ended, Maeve would return to her rented apartment and be a nobody as before.
No matter how good Shawn was, he couldn’t compare with Ryder, that eagle-like man.
Maeve thought of something when she saw Marina’s dress.
The banquet soon began. Markus went up to the stage to thank the guests. He especially thanked Ryder for giving him an ancient painting as a present and displayed it personally.
He wanted to show off and let those spreading rumors behind him know that if Marina divorced, it would be Marina abandoned Ryder instead of her being abandoned by the Langdon family.
Marina smiled resignedly. Sure enough, Markus always considered everything for her, making her feel warm.
The dance began. The lights in the villa hall dimmed. The guests entered the dancing floor with their companions and began to dance to the music.
Ryder had never liked to attend such occasions. He stood up and headed for the bathroom on the first floor.
Seeing Ryder left, Maeve thought it was an opportunity. She apologized to Shawn and followed Ryder.
Maeve was fixing her makeup in front of the mirror in the bathroom.
Just now, she found that the thread on the back of the dress that she rented was loose. As long as she pulled, her back would be exposed.
It was a good opportunity to get close to Ryder!
Maeve heard the noise and pulled hard. Then, the back of the dress cracked, revealing a large part of her back. She could not help exclaiming.
Ryder stood behind Maeve and witnessed the whole process.
The woman in front of him looked like Marina, but he knew that she was not Marina.
Such an awkward situation couldn’t happen to a high-end custom-made dress. Apparently, this woman’s dress was a knockoff.
Ryder did not have a good impression of the woman who tried to squeeze into the banquet. He paused slightly and then was about to leave.
Maeve was so nervous that she almost could not breathe.
There were only two of them in the bathroom. Wouldn’t Ryder do anything? Maeve did not believe it!