As they were standing right at the entrance of Ritz Carlton, it was only natural to have countless pairs of eyes watching them at that moment.
Just as Myra almost died of embarrassment, a pair of hands took her into his embrace and led her into the hall. Throughout all this, the man did not forget to glance at the crowd before them with a slight smile. “Thank you all for attending my banquet at the Ritz Carlton. I hope that all of you will enjoy yourselves tonight,” Tony announced in a calm voice, as if kissing a woman in front of the crowd was no big deal. He then chivalrously led Myra toward the center of the hall.
The next instant, the crowd suddenly burst into an uproar.
Recently, the fiancée of the Hart Family’s successor had caused quite a stir in Bradfort City and became the source of gossip and scandal, especially her entanglement with the successor of the Chase Group, Sean Chase, as well as her relationship with the man who was standing before them now. Their relationship—which could be regarded as a love triangle—was known to all, and it added some flavor to the banquet tonight; other than the regular conversations between the businessmen and celebrities, the guests, especially the female ones, had something interesting to gossip about.
The gossip was born from their jealousy, envy, or even frustration toward her, and some of them were purely enjoying the show from the sidelines. Upon seeing Myra, everyone had different thoughts.
Some time ago, when the media revealed that Tony and Myra were getting married, some were of the opinion that the news might be merely a rumor. However, when Tony kissed Myra in public, his actions made everyone realize that it was indeed the truth and the couple’s wedding would most probably be just around the corner.
“Director Hart, this is…” a bold guest casually asked while pretending to strike a conversation.
“Let me introduce her to you—this is Myra Stark, my fiancée.” Tony openly introduced her identity to the person who asked about her without any hesitation. Then, he looked at Myra. “Myra, this is Director Jenkins, the director of the Jenkins Group; the Hart Group has a lot of business dealings with his company.”
Myra smiled at him politely. “Hello, Director Jenkins.”
“Hello.” Director Jenkins, who had good social etiquette, concealed the shocked look in his eyes and grinned as he looked at Tony. “Director Hart, your fiancée is really gentle and beautiful, and I heard that Miss Stark is an outstanding designer as well. The both of you are a good match, Director Hart. It seems like I have to congratulate the two of you on your upcoming wedding.”
“Thank you. I won’t forget to invite you to my wedding when the time comes, Director Jenkins.” Although the smile by Tony’s lips was light, everyone was able to tell that he was in a pleasant mood today, which made them shoot complex looks at the woman beside him. It was completely out of everyone’s expectations that Tony would end up marrying that woman.
The families, who had had the intention to have their daughters marry into the Hart Family, all shook their heads in resignation at that moment.
Tony and Myra greeted the guests one after another while exchanging pleasantries with them. Soon after, they arrived at the center of the hall, where all the members of the Hart Family had gathered; even Elliot, Philip, and Lucas were waiting for them there.
Upon seeing the blushing Myra, Elliot winked at her. “Myra, did you notice how half of the women in the hall looked at you? Their gazes were filled with envy, jealousy and resentment!”
Sure enough, the hearts of the women, who attended the banquet while holding onto the last shred of hope, were filled with envy, jealousy, and resentment upon seeing how affectionate Tony was toward Myra. It was totally beyond their expectations that a cold man like Tony would introduce Myra as his fiancée, his tone all the while filled with his affection toward her.
Myra glared at Tony before she turned to look at the two elders of the Hart Family. “Old Master Hart, Old Madam Hart,” she greeted politely.
Lisa nodded calmly while Sebastian let out a quiet snort. “You guys sure are early.”
Upon hearing that, Myra was speechless. I remember Tony said that it was Sebastian himself who asked us to come at this exact moment.
However, she was used to Sebastian always saying things that he did not mean, so she immediately smiled apologetically. “I apologise for that; we will come earlier next time.”
Sebastian once again appraised her from head to toe before he frowned and pouted. “We have been preparing nutritious meals for you every day lately, but why are you still so skinny? Tell me the truth—did you throw away all the food?”
Myra felt helpless upon hearing that. “No! I made sure to finish everything that had been sent over to me.”
It was only then did Sebastian nod in satisfaction. “You are more obedient than Tony.”
After saying that, he cast a disapproving glance at his grandson. If this grandson of mine is as obedient as his fiancée, I won’t have to worry for him all the time!
However, since Lisa had warned him in advance not to kick up a fuss at his grandson’s banquet, he did not say much.
The banquet soon began.
The main character of the birthday banquet, as well as his family members, naturally would have to greet and tend to the guests.
Therefore, the atmosphere in the banquet was rather peaceful for a while.
Elliot and the two others helped to entertain the guests as well.
Although Myra could not hold her drink, she still had to more or less drink a little at an occasion like today. Fortunately, due to the Hart Family’s status and position, nobody dared to put her on the spot and Tony also drank a few glasses on her behalf, so she really did not drink much.
After one round of pleasantries, she seemed a little exhausted. Tony held her waist and asked in a whisper, “Are you tired?”
“I’m fine.” She shook her head, not wanting to give him trouble on a formal occasion like this.
Nevertheless, she obviously had underestimated his protectiveness over her. With an arm wrapped around her waist, he led her toward the rest area with a domineering attitude that allowed no room for rejection. “Take a rest. We have greeted everyone once, and Grandpa and the others will continue to handle the guests.”
And so, Myra had no choice but to follow Tony to the rest area.
What they did not notice was that a group of people entered the hall at that moment.
The Walton Family was late because Old Master Walton and Gideon and Gemma’s parents had just arrived at Bradfort City. Therefore, they did not know about the incident that happened earlier.
The moment they entered the hall, the group of people naturally spotted the woman, who was sitting next to Tony, at the rest area.
“Gemma, is that the Young Lady of the Stark Family that you mentioned?” Old Master Walton struck his cane on the floor. When he saw Tony hugging a strange woman intimately, his expression instantly fell.
Gemma, who also saw how affectionate Tony and Myra were together, clenched her fists tightly and replied with a long face, “It’s her, Grandpa.”
“Hmph! She is merely a pretentious vixen! I wonder if Tony is blind; otherwise, why is he not interested in Gemma, but instead is cherishing a piece of trash instead? Today, I thought that the Hart Family would at least send someone to pick us up at the airport, but it turned out that they were nowhere to be seen—”
“Mom—” Shelly was interrupted by Gideon before she could finish grumbling. When he noticed the guests around them were eavesdropping on their conversation, he narrowed his eyes and muttered, “Mom, the Hart Family is busy today so it’s only natural for them to miss a thing or two.”
“You are his best friend! Tony’s action shows that he does not hold you in high regard. In fact, he wouldn’t have been able to make his Hartwell Group a success without your help back then!” It was obvious that Shelly had been holding a grudge over that incident. “In the end, he only gave you 10% of the Hartwell Group’s share! Looks like he really doesn’t take the Walton Family seriously!”
“Shut up! We are here at Bradfort City to seek the help of the Hart Family.” Samuel quietly admonished her with his brows knitted. That statement finally silenced her but her eyes were filled with dissatisfaction.
“Let’s go over there. Let me see how the Hart Family is going to give us an explanation.” Old Master Walton pulled a long face because Walton Group’s products were not selling well in Bradfort City as planned. This time, the entire Walton Family returned to Bradfort City in advance solely to deal with this matter.
