Grace felt a little ufortable. Damien''s gaze never left her. Sometimes, he


    frowned; other times, he pressed his lips into a thin line. She had no idea what he


    was thinking. All she knew was that under his stare, she felt like an object on


    disy.


    The whole private room felt colder by the second. When she finally nced up,


    she realized something else was wrong. Ethan didn''t look so good either. His face


    was pale, and he kept sipping water, his wrist tense around the ss.


    Grace quickly got up and walked over to him. "Mr. Henderson, are you feeling


    alright?" she asked, keeping her voice low.


    Ethan lowered hisshes. Both his hands were wrapped around his ss. "I''m


    fine," he said simply.


    But Grace knew him better than that. Even if he was really hurting, he wouldn''t


    waste wordsining about it.


    She leaned in a little closer, whispering, "Is it your stomach? There''s a pharmacy


    nearby. I can run and grab you something if you want."


    Before Ethan could answer, Damien mmed his head on the table.


    "Ms. Lambert, why don''t you sit back down and keep some distance, yeah?" he


    asked sharply.


    Grace finally caught on. Damien wasn''t just being weird; he was guarding Ethan


    against her. He thought she had ulterior motives.


    Grace couldn''t help butugh even as she straightened back up and went to sit


    down.


    Ethan''s fingertips twitched for a moment. He gave Damien a long, steady look.


    Damien raised an eyebrow and gave himself silent credit. In his mind, a woman


    like Grace didn''t deserve someone like Ethan. As long as he was around, she''d


    better give up whatever she was nning.


    Grace had already straightened up, and since the tension was obvious, she asked


    directly, "Do you need me to go get some medicine?"


    "No need."


    She immediately sat back down, keeping a good ten feet between them.


    The table was huge, built for private banquets and meant to host VIPs. There


    were no small tables in a ce like this.


    Grace had barely sat down when Damien let out a low, mockingugh beside her.


    "Don''t think I don''t know what you''re


    trying to pull. You''d better drop


    whatever ideas you''ve got. I''ve heard


    all the rumors going aroundtely.


    Those were your doing, weren''t


    they? You spread them on purpose,


    didn''t you?


    "Well, for your information, Mr. Henderson Senior is still lining up blind dates for


    Ethan. That should tell you everything. The Hendersons have never seriously


    considered you."


    He said it just loud enough for Grace to hear.


    She smiled calmly and closed the menu in her hands. "Mr. Jensen, I know exactly


    where I stand."


    Once all the dishes had been served,


    Grace quickly leaned toward Ethan


    and began introducing the meal. To


    make sure she didn''t sound clueless,


    she had gone over every ingredient


    and cooking method when making


    the reservation.


    "Mr. Henderson, the broth in this dish is said to—"


    Before she could finish, Damien cut in, "No talking while we eat."


    Grace''s mouth snapped shut. She was worried Ethan might actually dislike her


    trying to describe the dishes. She quickly apologized, "Sorry about that."


    She could practically feel the air around him growing heavier. The pressure in his


    presence made her uneasy.


    Thinking she had misstepped, she nced at Damien and offered him a small,


    grateful smile. "Thank you for the reminder, Mr. Jensen."


    Damien gave a coldugh. "Don''t bother ttering me. It won''t work."


    Grace held back a sigh. She had heard the gossip that Damien had a reputation


    for being notoriously difficult. Still, he wasn''t like Simon, who treated her with


    extreme hostility.


    Damien was passive-aggressive, sure, but not dangerous. He just clearly didn''t


    think she was worthy of Ethan.


    Fine. She could live with that.


    After that, she said only one thing during the entire meal. "Mr. Henderson, Mr.


    Jenson, I hope you both enjoy the food."


    Then, she stayedpletely silent, terrified of saying anything that might upset


    Ethan further.


    But the longer the meal went on, the heavier the mood around Ethan became.


    When it was finally time to leave, she


    rushed over to push his wheelchair,


    trying to be helpful. As she reached


    for the handles, she asked carefully,


    "Mr Henderson, did you not eat


    enough?"


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!