Chapter 698 Estranged
Isabella glanced at Carol, who was standing on the stage, talking eloquently. She then walked toward Oscar graciously.
“Oscar, Amelia, let me raise a toast to the both of you,” Isabella said with a smile. She was not acting frivolously, and thus Amelia and Oscar did not have any reason to reject her.
Amelia clinked her glass with Isabella’s and said, “You look exceptionally beautiful today, Ms. Walker. I think that you will catch a lot of bachelors’ attention today.”
Isabella studied Amelia discreetly and swiftly concealed the jealousy in her eyes. “You are definitely the most beautiful woman in the room, Amelia. With Oscar by your side, both of you look absolutely stunning together. Even I, as a woman, admire your beauty.”
“You’re too generous with your words, Ms. Walker. Both of us are beautiful in our own way. However, no matter how much effort I put into my appearance, I am still married with a child. I have long lost my value, but you are well in your prime. When you walked over just now, you have already caught the attention of many men,” Amelia replied somewhat nonchalantly.
Isabella, on the other hand, felt stung by her words.
She gripped her glass tightly as annoyance rose in her heart.
Stephanie and Noah then walked over to the group as well. Stephanie nodded politely to her older brother. “You look handsome today, Oscar.”
All Oscar did was to nod in response.
Stephanie bit her lip, but Noah looked at Amelia gently. “Just call for the waiters if you would like to have something to eat, Amelia. Please, make yourself at home. I’m sure that Oscar will take good care of you.”
Amelia nodded. “Got it.”
Suddenly, a commotion erupted near the entrance. Amelia turned and looked in the direction of where the sound was coming from, only to notice that June, Jennifer, and Carter appeared at the same time.
Jennifer was holding June’s hand as they walked toward Carol and Matthew, who had already exited the stage. They gave the older couple a fancy gift and chatted with them politely before walking over to where Amelia and the others were.
As Amelia stared at Jennifer and June walking hand-in-hand, she could not help but find it weird.
“It’s been a while, Amelia. How have you been?” June asked politely. “I have been caught up with a lot of bothersome matters recently. That’s why it’s been so long since I’ve gone to look for you.”
His strange choice of words was strange and seemed to give off an ambiguous feeling to others.
Oscar possessively wrapped an arm around Amelia’s waist as he replied, “Your video with Ms. Larson is still circulating the internet. Both of you have become quite famous in Tayhaven, and yet you still dare to attend such a big event like this. Aren’t you afraid of getting embarrassed again?”
Jennifer’s expression darkened at Oscar’s words.
“However, I find that both of you are a perfect match for each other. Not only are you two the stars of that tape, both of you even dared to appear at the event holding hands. I guess the universe is really trying to matchmake the both of you,” Oscar continued. “Both you and Jennifer can produce similar tapes to upload online for the world to enjoy. I think that Ms. Larson’s status will definitely attract the attention of men who are trying to climb up the social ladder. It’s not every day you can catch a glimpse of the body of the Larsons’ daughter.”
As soon as Oscar’s words fell, Jennifer’s face was as dark as thunder.
Amelia tugged Oscar’s hand and shook her head at him, signaling for him to watch his words. As the tape had been circulating the entire city, Jennifer’s reputation was damaged badly. Furthermore, Larson Group’s share prices had plummeted. Jennifer probably was not having a good time recently.
June, however, smiled unhesitatingly. “What a good suggestion, Mr. Clinton. However, if you managed to come up with such an idea, I guess that you had probably made the same videos with Amelia, right? Why don’t you take the lead and upload them, too? I’ll take note of the results. If those men are interested in Amelia’s body, I don’t mind taking more of Jennifer and I’s.”
Oscar’s expression darkened as he looked at June maliciously.
Noah quickly stepped forward to be the mediator. “Mr. Wick, I hope that you will let this go on behalf of the Walker family. I’m sure that Oscar doesn’t mean any harm,” he said.
He knew that both June and Oscar were not people that the Walker family could afford to mess with. The family had purposely invited June because they knew about his family, the Adertons. If the Walker family could form a good relationship with such a powerful family like the Adertons, they would definitely have an advantage in the international market.
“Of course, I will, Mr. Walker. All right, I’ll get off my own high horse and apologize to Mr. Clinton,” June replied politely.
Upon speaking, he even feigned sincerity as he bowed to Oscar.
June then looked at Jennifer before speaking. “Let’s go over there, Jennifer. These people don’t particularly seem to welcome us.”
Jennifer nodded in response.
The both of them then proceeded and made their way to speak with other businessmen.
However, all the businessmen were definitely just as shrewd. They saw the video as well. Therefore, their gazes toward Jennifer did not sit well, which led to the latter feeling frustrated.
“June, I’ll head out for a while. It’s too stuffy in here,” she said as she tried to suppress her anger.
June nodded.
Jennifer then left the hall and walked out of the building. Carter, who was talking to Amelia, immediately spotted Jennifer’s absence. He soon got distracted by it.
Amelia obviously noticed it as well.
“Go and check if she’s doing all right, Carter. It must’ve been hard for Ms. Larson as well, after going through that scandal. I think she must be feeling terrible deep down,” Amelia said.
Carter thought about it for a moment before agreeing, “I’ll excuse myself for now. We’ll talk later.”
Upon speaking, he turned to leave.
Amelia stared at his retreating back and turned to look at Oscar. “Oscar, do you think Carter and Jennifer make a good couple?”
“Just all right,” Oscar replied.
Amelia shook her head with a slight smile. “You should be a tad friendlier toward Jennifer in the future. It must be hard for her as a lady. You’ll only make things worse for her by scrutinizing and targeting her,” she said as she glanced back at him.
Oscar’s eyes darkened. “If she did not try to sabotage you in the past, I would not even spare her a single glance,” he replied.
Amelia held onto his arm. “Let’s go over there now.”
Oscar walked along with her.
Meanwhile, Carter walked out of the hall and searched around the area before spotting Jennifer by a small scrub.
When his eyes landed on her slim figure, Carter stopped in his tracks.
“Who is it?” Jennifer called out.
Carter took a deep breath before replying, “It’s me.”
Jennifer turned around to look at him. “What are you doing here?”
Carter walked over to her and noticed that her eyes were slightly red. His heart could not help but ache, but he quickly pushed that feeling away.
“Are you crying?” he asked.
Jennifer looked at him with an unreadable look before she scoffed. “Why should I cry? There’s nothing to cry about. Today’s Mr. and Mrs. Walker’s thirtieth wedding anniversary. I still have to congratulate them with a smile.”
“Could you be a little kinder with your words, Jennifer?” Carter replied with a frown.
The said lady crossed her arms in front of her chest as she answered, “Are you complaining that my words are hurtful? If so, don’t listen to me then. I’ll be leaving now.” She resembled a hedgehog that had its quills spread out in defense.
Carter reached out to stop Jennifer, who was about to brush past him. “Jennifer, even if we can’t be lovers, we can still be friends. Don’t treat me like your enemy.”
“I have no interest in being your friend. There are still a ton of issues for me to deal with back at Larson Group. If you’re trying to get something out of me as Amelia’s spy, I apologize, for I have nothing to give.”
Carter’s eyebrows seemed to knit themselves into a tight knot. “Jennifer, I came out here just to ask if you’re all right. I don’t have any other motives. Moreover, my actions have nothing to do with Amelia at all. Can’t we just talk properly? There’s no reason for us to become enemies,” he said as he tried to suppress his annoyance.
“No. I’ve been chasing after you for two years but to no avail. My mother even ended up in this state. I have no plans on being friends with you anymore.” Jennifer shook Carter’s hands off her. “Don’t follow me. I want to be alone.”
Carter stared at her retreating figure as the forgotten ache in his heart could be felt once again.
His lips quivered, but he did not know what to say.
He had never expected that he and Jennifer would end up splitting ways. Never had he thought that they would become so estranged from each other and that the words that they exchanged would be filled with thorns. Upon that thought, his heart seemed to ache even more.
