Taya laughed at herself, withdrew her gaze, and looked at Jackson sitting in the driver’s seat.
“Where will the celebration banquet be held?”
“Seaview Hotel.”
It was the most luxurious hotel in Arcadia.
The celebration banquet held by the Sterling pack was mainly to celebrate the acquisition of the contract in the Weston City project.
Although it was just a project for the Sterling pack, it laid the foundation for their expansion and partnerships in Arcadia.
Taya thought Jackson would take her to the hotel, but he dr ove to the mall-to the same high-end dress shop he’d taken her before.
The difference was that he bought her ten custom dresses,
including bags and jewelry this time.
Looking at the high-end paper bags put into the trunk one by one by the staff, Taya felt a headache coming on and rubbed her forehead.
“This is far too much to spend.”
Jackson leaned against the car door and tilted his head to look at her. “You’re not allowed to return any of it this time, or I’ll just keep buying more.”
In the past, Silas was the same. He bought things for her and didn’t allow her to refuse or return them.
He looked gentle, but in fact, he was a very stubborn an domineering person. He would do what he said and wa persistent.
Taya didn’t say anything. She would ask Harper to return them to him after she died.
Jackson dro ve her to the hotel.
Before entering the banquet hall, he asked her to hold his arm.
Taya glanced at him and held his arm reluctantly.
Jackson looked down at hand on his arm and couldn’t help but smile.
They walked arm in arm. When the shifters in the banquet hall saw the Alpha coming with his human companion, they Under the congratulatory atmosphere of the crowd, the smile on Jackson’s face deepened, and even his eyes were w orm.
The banquet hall was very large and luxuriously decorated. It was lit with warm yellow lights and played soothing music.
The wolves who came to the banquet wore high-end dresses and held goblets of wine laced with wolfsbane, whispering to each other.
Everyone from the Sterling pack had good manners, from senior pack members and down. When they saw Taya, they didn’t make sarcastic remarks but politely greeted her.
S Taya felt a little uncomfortable. She was used to being one of the only humans in the room, if not the only one, but typically shifters tended to be dismissive of her. That people were being polite to her threw her off.
Jackson seemed to have read her mind. He whispered in her ear, “You’ve been busy with this project with me recently, and you’ve done a good job. It’s expected for you to attend the celebration banquet as my female companion, and my pack knows if they aren’t polite to my guests, there will be hel l to pay for embarra*sing me.”
After hearing what he said, Taya tilted slightly to create space between their bodies. She didn’t want anyone to think that this was more than her attending as someone who’d worked on the project.
As seen through Jackson’s eyes, her small gesture was noticeable, somewhat of an insult.
Jackson didn’t show that he thought anything of it. After leading her to the main table and sitting down, he called the waiter over and ordered a hot tea for her.
“Drink this first. It’ll warm you up. I know they keep it cooler in here because shifters are always hotter.”
He picked up a spoon and stirred the tea to cool it down before handing it over to Taya.
His actions were the same as Harper’s, which had been their habit since they were children.
They knew she was afraid of being scalded after badly burning her mouth once, so they always helped her stir and cool things down before giving them to her.
Especially Silas. No matter what the situation was, he would let her eat first.
Silas feared she would stop taking medicine, so he worked while studying and gave her all the money he earned.
Taya always laughed at him for being so stupid, but he’d gently touched her head and said, “Taya, you’re mine. I can’t let you starve, right?”.
He had treated her so well that she had been spoiled. She had always been willful and domineering, throwing tantrums over small matters.
If she hadn’t lost her temper that day, Silas wouldn’t have been hit by a car to save her, and they wouldn’t have ended up like this.
Thinking of the past, Taya couldn’t help but tear up.
She was afraid that Jackson would see, so she quickly lowered her head, took the tea he handed over, and sipped it.
Jackson smiled.
This time, not only did she not refuse him, but she also drank the tea obediently. Did it mean that she didn’t ha te him so much?
He looked at her quietly, his eyes never leaving her, as if he was looking at his beloved. As he kept watching, he gradually became more entranced by her.
It was not until she finished drinking that he reluctantly looked away and picked up a napkin to wipe the corners of her mo uth.
No matter how dim the light was, everyone present could see the deep affection in their Alpha’s eyes.
They thought that Ms. Palmer was just someone who had helped with the Weston City project bidding. But it appeared the frail human woman meant much more than that to their leader.
When some of the Sterling pack members saw their Alpha’s actions, they couldn’t help but take out their phones and quietly take photos of the two of them.
Taye felt a little uncomfortable with Jackson’s actions.
She wanted to push him away, but with so many eyes watching, it would embarra*s him. Alphas were not rebuffed in public, and she didn’t want to risk him losing face with his pack or risk him becoming upset with her.
Jackson’s smile deepened and his wolf preened inside of him when Taya didn’t reject him.
He lowered his head and asked her gently, “Have you seen my brother before?”
He felt that Taya’s resistance to him must have something to do with his brother, and he wanted to ask her directly about it to get to the bottom of the situation.
Taya frowned. “You have a brother?”
Jackson nodded. “Yes, his name is Michael Sterling. He used to be the Alpha of the Sterling pack. You’re sure you don’t know who he is?”
Taya shook her head. She had never paid attention to any news related to the Sterling pack. How could she know Michael?
It was Jackson’s turn to frown.
Since Taya didn’t know who his brother was, it meant that Michael had never looked for her.
But there was another possibility: his brother had used Jackson’s name to deal with Taya.
Thinking of this, Jackson hurriedly asked her, “Did I do anything bad to you five years ago?”
Taya thought he was testing her again, so she was disgusted and replied impatiently, “No.”
She answered decisively, without hesitation, which caused Jackson to pause in surprise.
If his brother hadn’t gone to find Taya in his name, it could only mean…
She just didn’t love him anymore.
When Jackson thought of this possibility, his heart ached.
And this was just under the circumstance of him having lost his memory. What would happen if he were to recover it?
Taya didn’t notice anything wrong with Jackson. She stood up and said, “I’m going to the bathroom.”
She saw that Jackson was lost in thought, so she walked out of the banquet hall without waiting for his response.
The bathroom was huge and luxurious.
Taya looked at herself in the mirror. She wore beautiful and heavy makeup, making her look even more similar to Tara.
She hated to see herself like this, so she quickly looked away and walked into a stall.
When she came out to wash her hands, the bathroom door was suddenly closed with a loud bang, followed by the click of the lock.
Taya sensed that something was wrong, and she quickly turned around.
Roman was there, sitting in a wheelchair.
He was wearing a patient gown and a face mask, with his hands hanging limp on the armrests of the wheelchair. His eyes were dark and malicious, staring at her fixedly.