Mr. James Sr. accepted it with a cheerful smile.
“My assistant tells me your schedule is booked solid for the next three years. It’s getting harder and harder for an old man like me to see you,” Mr. James Sr. said, his eyes flicking to Yvonne as he probed, “And you and Yvonne…?”
“She’s my leading lady,” Thomas replied with a smile.
Mr. James Sr., being of an older generation, didn’t immediately catch the nuance. But Marcia, standing beside him, gasped, “Are you two dating?”
Yvonne was speechless.
His leading lady? Did he have any idea how suggestive that sounded?
“You’ve misunderstood. We’re just working on a film together,” Yvonne clarified. She wanted nothing to do with Thomas.
“Oh, just co-stars. And here I thought you’d actually managed to land a big fish,” Marcia muttered with a sneer.
Mr. James Sr. shot her a cold glare, and Marcia wisely shut her mouth.
With most of the guests having arrived, it was time for the banquet to begin. The four top families were naturally seated at the VIP table.
As Teresa was a daughter of the James family, she was also given a seat there, despite being out of favor.
Yvonne and Bennett were not at the same table, but they weren't far from each other.
She happened to look up and saw Bennett elegantly sipping wine from a crystal glass.
Their eyes met for a fleeting moment before they both looked away, as if they were nothing more than strangers who had briefly crossed paths.
Halfway through the banquet, Yvonne received a call from Sandra.
She excused herself to Teresa and left early.
The car was unusually quiet, the atmosphere thick with an unspoken tension.
“What are you thinking about? You haven’t said a word,” Yvonne said, resting her hand against the side window.
Sandra gripped the steering wheel, her eyes fixed on the road ahead, her face looking a little pale.
“I heard that Mr. Thompson and Ms. Walker are getting engaged soon.”
Yvonne’s hand, resting on her lap, clenched instinctively, but she forced a lighthearted smile. “Mr. Thompson and Ms. Walker have been dating for a long time. Engagement and marriage were bound to happen sooner or later.”
But Sandra’s grip on the steering wheel tightened, the blue veins on the back of her hands standing out. “It just makes me think of Yvonne. How devastated she would be if she knew her childhood sweetheart was engaged to another woman.”
After Sandra spoke, a brief silence once again filled the small car.

Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Sorry for Your Loss, It's Me, I'm the Loss
Hi ... Could you please publish another novel .. The mocked missed hidden crowns.. thank you 🙏🏻...
Oh wow, definitely hooked on this. Great story. Thank you....
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