“No, no, not flattering, really, little Paige, you’re our Wind Island benefactor.”
Artie is old, and on such an occasion, he can’t help but be immersed in memories, looking at Paige, his eyes reddened, “I think the first time I saw you back then, you were still only eighteen years old, skinny and small, and I don’t know where the strength came from, you caught a snake out of the grass.”
Said Artie also made a snake-catching gesture, causing the table to roar with laughter.
Paige laughed too with one hand on her face, “That snake is still the one you ended up cooking for Uncle Artie, and it was exceptionally well done.”
“I remember that too.” Alfredo grinned and responded, “The salt was so thick in it, it made my teeth fall out.”
The table laughed again.
“It’s good to be able to pore some salt, and it’s still too coarse.” Artie touched the plate with chopsticks, staring at the table of food in front of him, “You know at that time, we didn’t dare to dream of such a table of food.”
After suffering for a long time, even the ability to fantasize is lost.
Seeing Artie’s eyes covered with watery light, Paige got up to add wine to him, “Uncle Artie, it’s all in the past, come on, I’ll drink with you.”
“Sure.” Artie happily responded, “I want that bottle, the one with high alcohol content, I’m not used to drinking champagne or red wine.”
“Okay.” Paige switched to spirits and poured him a glass, then poured herself a glass.
Seeing this, Artie was stunned, Alfredo sat across the table and frowned, advising, “Paige, you’re a girl, don’t drink such a strong drink, just accompany Uncle Artie to drink a little.”
“It’s fine, I’m happy today.” Paige did not think so, both hands hold up the wine glass to toast Artie, “Uncle Artie, let’s drink?”
Artie saw that she was so proud of herself, he put back his words of admonition and raised his glass, “Okay, let’s drink.”
The glasses clinked with a crisp sound.
Paige tilted her head back and drank it all in one go, the spirits going straight down her throat.
Those next to her complimented her on her good drinking.
The spiciness burned in her heart and returned straight to her throat, and Paige’s head went blank for a few seconds from the burn. Only then did she regain her senses.
She put her glass down and picked up the bottle again to pour, smiling even more brightly, “Uncle Artie, come on, have another drink.”
Enrico stood looking away from Paige, eyes so heavy they could drown everything.
The light fell on her body, setting off her entire beauty as she glowed.
Never one to make a scene, she sat there quietly listening to the man at the table tell her stories of Wind Island, listening with great interest and occasionally responding.
When she heard the happy part, she pushed and exchanged cups with the people around her, and drank from one cup to the next, with a smile on her face all the time, and a pair of eyes shallowly curved, with a touch of flavor between her eyebrows.
This celebration banquet was a medal she gave herself after accomplishing her ideal.
Perhaps, she was truly happy.
It was only his chest that was cut with a long bloody gash of rawness.
He didn’t go up and pull her off the drink, he was afraid.
He was afraid that she was really happy, and even more afraid … that her happiness was fake.
The entire opulent banquet hall was bustling with people, and there was laughter everywhere as everyone enjoyed the food.
Beau butler led the servants of the manor to shuttle between the banquet, a white long-haired dog also followed in the shuttle, pleasant.
Not far away on a trellis, Gabriel rested his pretty little face on the edge of the shelf and looked through the sunglasses on the bridge of his nose at Paige’s table, “Look brother, does my mommy look good?”
At those words, a teenager stood up from beside him, resting his handsome face on the trellis on the floor above Gabriel’s, and asked suspiciously, “Who?”
It was none other than Bastion, who had been shooed away to play.
Not-so-young children and even younger children are easy to recognize at a lively party like this, and don’t need to be introduced to each other to play together.
“My mommy.” Gabriel pointed to Paige, who was smiling and sipping her drink in the distance, “The one in the white dress, the prettiest one in the room is my mommy.”
Bastion glanced over along and froze a little, “You said … Paige is your mommy?”
“Yeah.” Gabriel was a little proud.
Bastion pulls his head back and pulls Gabriel out, bending down to remove the other man’s sunglasses and examining the little face in front of him, going into shock.
It seemed like it.
Paige’s son looks like Paige, and the more you look at him, the cuter he gets.
Bastion couldn’t help but touch him on his little cheeks, loving him beyond words.
“…”
Gabriel was a little confused by the touch.
“Gabriel, since you’re Sister Paige’s son, I’ll definitely protect you as a big brother from now on!”
Bastion put on his big brother’s aura, and suddenly turned his eyes, thinking that’s not right, “No, you can’t call me big brother, you have to call me little uncle.”
“Why?” Gabriel looked at the young teenager in front of him in disbelief.
Of course it’s because the generation is wrong, call him little uncle first, and then call him little dad later, perfect.
Bastion stood there thinking prettily, when suddenly a lazy voice with a smile came, “Yeah, I wonder why too?”
Bastion was startled, turned his head, and saw Paige standing on that side of the trellis at an unknown time, her white gloved hand holding a glass of wine, smilingly looking at the two of them, her pupils cutting through the water and looking around.
Paige seemed extraordinarily beautiful tonight, and both Bastion and Gabriel looked at her so closely that they forgot to speak.
“Two little ones, don’t run around, you’ll get lost.” Seeing them not move, Paige reminded them with a smile, slowly straightening up and turning her head to leave.
“…”
Bastion looked at her beautiful back in a daze, did he see sadness the moment she turned her head away just now?
“President Paige.” Another table of guests calls out to Paige.
Paige smiles and walks over to the table, a table of people stand up, “We are the crew of the group heading to Wind Island, I didn’t expect President Paige to invite us, we are flattered, we drink to you.”
“Good.” Paige smiled lightly and raised her wine glass to clink glasses with everyone, then without any hesitation, she drank the wine in her glass.
“President Paige is a good drinker, come on, come on, have another drink.” A group of people cajoled and poured more wine for her.
Paige smiled and stood there, coming and going, drinking from her glass no matter what came to toast her.
The Peak Club table sat there, the food on the table untouched.
The table was silent.
From the moment Paige drank her first glass of wine, they sensed something was wrong, the Paige they knew would never be a glutton for punishment, let alone sink into alcohol.
Everyone was happily enjoying the celebration.
They, on the other hand, couldn’t immerse themselves.
Carrie sat there, looking at Paige, who was presiding over the whole celebration with ease, her hand on the table clenched a little bit.
Suddenly, she couldn’t help but stand up, and just as she was about to leave her hand was pressed against the tabletop.
She turned her eyes, and there sat Rafael, his long, slender hand clasping hers.
After a long moment, he slowly lifted a deep face, his deep eyes looking at her from behind his lenses, “This is out of the hands of any third party.”