Sylvia turned around and saw a familiar handsome face. “Brother? What are you doing here?”
Isaac, dressed in an iron-gray suit, stood tall and elegant. Two men in black followed him, clearly his subordinates or assistants.
Franklin followed Sylvia’s gaze and saw Isaac. His eyebrows twitched involuntarily. Running into Isaac here?
Isaac walked over to them and softly said to Sylvia, “I happened to be passing by and saw someone who looked like you, so I followed. I didn’t expect it to really be you.”
Sylvia’s bright eyes looked at him. “Are you here on a business trip?”
Isaac nodded. “I’m here to handle some matters. I haven’t eaten yet; how about we eat together?”
Franklin’s face showed a hint of displeasure at the thought of their rare time together being interrupted by Isaac. But before he could speak, Sylvia said, “It’s rare to run into each other. Let’s eat together. Franklin has already booked a private room.”
Franklin felt speechless but couldn’t bear to disagree when he saw how happily Sylvia and Isaac were chatting.
So, he swallowed his displeasure and entered the private room with Sylvia.
The private room was spacious, bright, and elegantly decorated, making a striking impression.
After the three sat down, Franklin began to order food. As soon as he opened the menu, Isaac started introducing the restaurant’s specialties. “The signature dishes here are foie gras caviar steamed eggs, cheese prawns, and…”
He listed several signature dishes, and Sylvia listened attentively but didn’t ignore Franklin’s feelings. “Is there anything you like? What do you want to eat?”
Franklin tried to control his expression, not wanting to appear too gloomy.
He didn’t want Sylvia to think he was petty, but he couldn’t help feeling jealous.
Isaac was really an eyesore.
After calming himself, he replied, “Anything is fine. I’ll eat whatever you like.”
A sparkle flashed in Sylvia’s eyes, as bright as stars.
“Okay.”
The sweet atmosphere filled the entire room.
Isaac felt very uncomfortable and sour inside.
Why was it that everything he wanted was always in Franklin’s hands, whether it was Sylvia or anything else?
Fate was always so unfair, always playing tricks on him.
The food arrived quickly since it was around four in the afternoon, not a typical dining time.
At this hour, there were almost no other customers.
“The presentation is indeed excellent,” Sylvia remarked as she looked at the array of delicious dishes on the table, catching a faint whiff of their aroma.
Isaac carefully removed the cilantro from a plate of shrimp while saying to Franklin, “Sylvia never liked cilantro before; she always found its taste strange.”
Franklin felt a pang in his chest. “She eats it every time at home now. People’s tastes change; what they liked before, they might not like now. What they didn’t like before, they might like now.”
His words were full of double meanings.
Isaac narrowed his eyes slightly but didn’t get angry. Even though he understood Franklin’s insinuation, he maintained his smile. “After all, I’m Sylvia’s brother. I’m used to taking care of her.”
At that moment, a waiter walked in carrying a bottle of red wine.
The waiter opened the wine and was about to pour a glass for Franklin when Franklin said, “Ladies first.”
The waiter quickly turned to pour for Sylvia but accidentally spilled some red wine onto her white dress, leaving noticeable stains.
Sylvia barely had time to react before the nervous waiter started apologizing profusely.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. Mr. Maskelyne’s presence was too overwhelming…”
“I… I’ll wash it for you.”
“Or I’ll compensate you with a new one.”
The waiter’s face turned pale with anxiety.
Sylvia wasn’t the type to make things difficult for others, so she shook her head. “It’s okay; I’ll wash it when I get home. It’s just a dress.”
Franklin grabbed some napkins and started wiping the stains off Sylvia’s dress.
At that moment, Isaac instructed his subordinates behind him, “Go get the gift box from the car.”
A few minutes later, one of his men returned with a gift box. Isaac smiled at Sylvia. “This dress was originally prepared for you. Now it comes in handy.”
Sylvia was taken aback. “Prepared for me?”
“Yes. Old Mr. Thompson has been seriously ill and has been in the nursing home for a long time. I wanted to invite you to visit him. He mentioned you a few days ago, Sylvia… I thought you could wear this dress to see him.” Isaac spoke sincerely, without any ulterior motives visible.
Sylvia felt a slight stir in her heart. Old Mr. Thompson was both her and Isaac’s mentor; they had learned a lot about appraising treasures from him.
Later, Isaac went into the luxury goods and antiques business and became a kingpin in the industry.
Thinking about Old Mr. Thompson now in his twilight years and poor health made her feel that visiting him was her duty.
She nodded. “Alright, we’ll visit him together tomorrow. His health is failing; he suffered severe injuries during an expedition to an ancient tomb years ago. It’s a miracle he’s still alive.”
Life and death were beyond anyone’s control.
While Sylvia and Isaac chatted, Franklin couldn’t join in as he didn’t know who Old Mr. Thompson was. He could only silently serve Sylvia food and pour her water.
This made him feel extremely uncomfortable.
But he endured it.
Sylvia didn’t have many friends; Isaac was probably one of them.
And since Sylvia called him brother, he should consider him as such.
But this brother always gave off an unsettling vibe that made Franklin uncomfortable.
“Alright then, we’ll go together tomorrow. You should change into the new dress now; it’s not comfortable wearing something dirty.” Isaac smiled after Sylvia agreed.
Sylvia took the new dress from Isaac and nodded. “Okay, I’ll go to the restroom.”
After she left, only Franklin and Isaac remained in the private room.
Without Sylvia as a buffer, the atmosphere between the two men became tense and cold.
Franklin had no intention of speaking first but saw Isaac gently swirl his wine glass and leisurely say, “I used to think your marriage with Sylvia was just a formality, so I never considered you a rival.”
He paused before continuing, “I knew all along about Sylvia’s marriage and divorce with you. But I never expected you to start pursuing her and even succeed with your persistence.”
Franklin coldly stared at him. “So Mr. Carr is done playing the brother-sister game? Ready to be upfront with me?”
Seeing Isaac finally drop his pretense, Franklin sneered. “You like Sylvia. But Mr. Carr, don’t forget you’re already married with children. Everyone knows Miss Anto from the Anto family gave birth to your child. You’re not single now. So if you want to steal someone else’s partner, at least make yourself single first.”
His tone was full of sarcasm and disdain.
Isaac smirked as if he didn’t care about having children at all.
“Do I not even have the right to like Sylvia? Impossible! Franklin, look at yourself now. Do you think you can hold onto your position as the president’s son? Or do you think you can protect Sylvia with your current status?”
He laughed arrogantly, his eyes filled with manic intensity. “Men like you who have no real skills are just trash in my eyes.”
Franklin stared at Isaac’s provocation without expression, gritting his teeth but saying nothing.
Isaac secretly sneered; so he could hold his temper?
Suddenly, Isaac grabbed his wine glass and splashed it towards himself. Franklin froze but instinctively snatched the glass away.
And not a drop spilled.
Seeing the glass firmly taken by Franklin and placed back on the table made Isaac’s molars ache with frustration.
“What’s wrong?” At that moment, Sylvia returned.
As soon as she stepped into the room, she sensed something was off.
Did she just see something like a struggle over a wine glass? Was she seeing things?
“Nothing much; the wine glass almost fell,” Isaac smiled while looking at Sylvia. “The dress looks nice on you. You look even better in it.”
He had calculated that Sylvia would return soon and planned to splash himself with wine to frame Franklin.
But he hadn’t expected Franklin’s quick reflexes to thwart him completely.
Although Franklin didn’t understand why Isaac wanted to splash himself with wine, his instincts told him it wasn’t anything good.
Fortunately, he had practiced ancient martial arts and was highly skilled.
Snatching a wine glass was no big deal for him.
Isaac had been caught off guard; if he had been prepared, their struggle over the glass might have taken some effort.
Franklin glanced at Sylvia’s dress-pale yellow that highlighted her fair skin and long neck-but found it an eyesore.
Wearing another man’s gift felt like an insult to him as her husband.
He was really angry!