Chapter 281 Hatred
“Okay, Great-Grandma.” Jared obediently nodded his head.
Seeing that Francis was sending Harriet off, Anastasia pulled Jared to her. “Jared, return to your room first. I’ll call you later.”
“Okay.” After he ended his words, his bright eyes looked toward Erica. Seeing that, Erica guiltily lowered her head to look at her phone.
After Jared went upstairs, Francis and Naomi returned. “Where’s Jared?” Francis asked.
“He went upstairs to play.”
“Your gown looks stunning, Anastasia!” Naomi immediately said, as if she was trying to please Anastasia.
Anastasia, on the other hand, only gave her an indifferent reply. “Thanks.”
“Naomi and Erica rarely join such an occasion, Anastasia. Do take good care of them later.” It was Francis’ hope that the entire family could get along well.
“I don’t need that. Hayley will be here too; she’ll keep me company.” Erica spoke arrogantly before picking up the phone to call Hayley.
“I’m going to see Jared.” Francis missed his grandson, and he walked upstairs right after his words.
Naomi’s eyes welled up with resentment when she saw this. She wouldn’t have known Francis’ true intentions if she hadn’t eavesdropped on him in the hospital; he had already taken Jared as his heir to the company.
“Hello, Hayley, are you here?”
“Oh, you’re here! That’s great. I’ll go over,” Erica said eagerly.
With that, she immediately took her handbag and said, “Mom, Hayley is here. I’m going to look for her now.”
She left immediately after speaking. Anastasia did not want to be in the same room with Erica, so she went to the balcony with her phone. Naomi, on the other hand, sat on the sofa, munching on a handful of pistachios and contemplating her plans for the evening. First and foremost, she desired to gain Harriet’s favor. Next, she hoped to find a good catch for her daughter at the banquet tonight, and last but not least, she would seize any advantage that came her way.
It was six o’clock when all the guests gathered in the main hall. Ten minutes later, Anastasia received a call from Elliot.
“Dinner is beginning soon, Anastasia. Ask your family to come over.”
“Okay,” she replied.
“I might get busier tonight and won’t be able to care for Jared and you. You must both take care of yourselves.”
“I know that. Don’t worry about us.” She did not intend for him to look after them too.
Ten minutes later, Francis, holding Jared, together with Naomi and Anastasia, reached the main hall. That night, the banquet was divided into three different periods: six-thirty to eight for dinner, eight to nine for all guests to offer their birthday congratulations to Harriet, and nine to ten for the guests’ free time to walk around and enjoy the fireworks show.
As everyone invited to the banquet was Presgrave Group’s close affiliates and Harriet’s close friends, the number of guests was limited to around one hundred. Though it wasn’t a lot, the entire banquet appeared grand and luxurious.
Anastasia noticed Hayley, dressed to the nines, standing beside the fountain with Erica. They looked at each other, as if they were on opposing sides fighting each other. Anastasia’s hatred for them was burning in her heart.
Despite being the ones who committed wrongs, Hayley and Erica showed no remorse. Instead, they stood haughtily.
When Anastasia entered the main hall, all of the seats had names written on a gold plate. When she realized she hadn’t been assigned a seat with Francis, she approached an usher. “I’ll bring you to your seat, Miss Tillman,” the usher said.
Surprised, she followed the usher to the main area, where her name was written on one of the seats on the side. Elliot’s name was next to hers. Her heart pounded fast when she saw that. Jared’s seat was beside hers, and Nigel was the next. Clearly, Elliot had arranged for this.
But Anastasia did not want to be this high-profiled. There were many noble and reputable guests tonight, and it wasn’t appropriate for her to sit here.
She, therefore, called the manager over and informed him of her intention to move to the table where her father was seated. Hearing that her family was at the other table, the manager immediately arranged for her seat to be changed.
With that, she sat together with Francis, with Jared between them. Naomi was on the other side of Francis, whereas Erica wasn’t there at all. She had gone to sit with Hayley.
