The Billionaire's Promise
Chapter 196: At The Banquet

Chapter 196: At The Banquet

Erik was speechless. Wasn’t she the one who did not want his help? Why was she complaining now?

"Are you jealous, my wife?" Erik whispered in her ear.

"Heh, why should I be?" Aryana stepped sideways to create more distance between them.

"I just feel like you are jealous. Come on. Just admit it." Erik teased her.

"If I am jealous then want will you do?" Aryana looked at him with a pouting lip.

Erik was in a good mood. "Okay, I will not tease you anymore."

Soon, they arrived at the Polaris Hotel. The moment the Rolls Royce stopped at the hotel’s drop-off, a lot of onlookers could not help but gawk at the luxurious car. They could not wait to see who will get down from such a high-profile car.

"I am so lucky to have booked at this hotel today. I have never seen so many luxurious cars in my life." A teenager who was wearing a white shirt and a baseball cap uttered in an exciting voice. When people heard him, they also looked outside and saw a queue of expensive cars waiting for their turn to drop off their passengers.

Erik alighted from the car. He looked dignified in a black Armani suit. He was oozing confidence. He hurried to the other side of the car for he knew that if he was late a little bit, the woman inside would get down on her own.

The crowd that gathered in the lobby started murmuring.

"What a lovely couple."

"Look at the gown. What a unique design. Can you guess what is the inspiration behind the dress?"

"An erupting volcano?"

"No. She looked like she is on fire!"

"Yeah, her dress looked like a bonfire against the dark night. Look at the ingenious design of the sleeves. A black lace overlaid with beads that looked like flickering embers." The man who spoke was himself a designer. He raised his cell phone and took a photo.

Aryana held onto Erik’s left arm as he escorted her inside the hotel.

Meanwhile, amongst the cars that were yet to drop off their passengers were Jax Lee, Cassie Lopez, and Katherine Lustre who came with her father. The only reason she came was that she heard that Erik will be attending the event.

When Cassie get off her Porche, she caught a glimpse of a tall man whose air of superiority was apparent even from his back view. Of course, it was Erik! But who was the woman walking beside him? Her back was straight and she walked like a queen. Her gown looked conservative as her back was fully covered but the soft material of the fabric hugged her body and showed her beautiful curves. The color of the upper back was light yellow while the upper skirt was a hue of yellow orange and the lower part of the skirt was reddish orange. The back of the gown was long and part of the fabric touched the floor and formed like a flickering flame.

Cassie was taken aback by the sight before her. In her professional career as a model, she has never seen such a fascinating design. The designer must be a genius. She was envious of the woman who was wearing the gown. If the back was this beautiful, what would the frontal view look like?

"Why are you still standing there looking lost?"

A magnetic male voice pulled Cassie from her stupor. She looked up at the man who suddenly stood beside her. He offered the crook of his arm to her.

"Since we don’t have escorts, why don’t we go in together?" Jax Lee winked at Cassie and gave her a flirtatious smile. He then looked at the couple who was climbing the spiral staircase. "I didn’t realize that someone fully dressed without showing any flesh could look so alluring. Don’t you think Aryana Jones looked lovely in that dress?"

Cassie stiffened. "What? Is that Aryana?" She asked stupidly.

Jax chuckled. He led Cassie inside the hotel and they headed toward the grand staircase. The banquet hall was on the second floor.

"Why? You can’t believe that’s Aryana?"

"I..." Cassie stammered. Indeed she can’t believe that the woman who walked confidently beside Erik was Aryana. How could it be her? She changed so much. She exuded a kind of elegance that frightened her.

"I am quite surprised to see her today. Did she come here as Erik’s date or as someone else?" Jax was asking himself rather than Cassie. The event was arranged by the Chamber of Commerce and only people with invitations can come so Aryana must have gotten an invitation.

Cassie was absentminded. She let Jax drag her along the stairs and inside the banquet hall.

Earlier, when Erik and Aryana entered, a sudden hush filled the entire hall as all eyes turned toward the entrance. Everyone recognized Erik Lee. Who would not know the young CEO who always won the most outstanding award every year? But who was the woman with a dazzling smile and cute dimples standing beside him?

Erik and Aryana handed their invitations to the ushers who gracefully led them to their designated tables. Erik Lee was escorted to table no. 1, while Aryana’s table was at the left wing and further at the back.

Her table was far away from the entrance. She walked regally beside the usher and many eyes followed her. She saw Clark Ham stand from his table and walked toward her like a dashing debonair.

Clark felt a fierce gaze coming from the VIP table. He disregarded it and continued walking lazily until he was beside Aryana.

"I can accompany her. You can go back to your post at the entrance." He was speaking to the usher who nodded and hurried back to the door to receive other guests.

"I almost did not recognize you. What a lovely dress. It suits you well." He complimented Aryana and matched his steps with hers.

"Thank you for the nice words, Clark." Aryana looked back at the table where Clark came from and find Gram Ham smiling at her. She waved and smiled back.

"Uncle Gram looks better. It is nice to see that he already recovered."

"Yes. My mother is taking care of him and is very strict with his diet and forced him to exercise." He glanced at the woman walking beside him. "I am surprised to see you here. I thought you are with Erik." He could not help but glance toward the table strategically located at the center front of the stage. As he anticipated, a certain someone was glaring at him while talking to a middle-aged man in a dark blue suit.

"I am here for CoChi." Aryana said in a casual manner.

Clark frowned. He didn’t know that the event organizer extended the invitation to the company’s spokesperson. They reached Aryana’s table and Clark pulled a chair for her. He nodded to the three other people seated around the table.

"I like your gown. I assume this is from CoChi?" Clark sat on a chair beside Aryana.

"Yes. This is Vince’s latest creation. You know Vince right?" She said as she pointed to the man sitting opposite her.

Vince bowed slightly to acknowledge Clark.

"I think I remember him." Clark thought about the scene at the Galaxy Theme Park construction a few months ago. He went with the police who barged into one of the rooms of the admin building where Aryana was taken hostage only to find her unscathed while the two kidnappers were badly wounded and sprawled on the floor. She was standing tall and beautiful in front of the young man with arms crossed over her chest. The man who was sitting on the floor and leaning against the wall was tied with several layers of rope.

"He is the man at the theme park, right?" He wanted to say ’He is the man that kidnapped you at the construction,’ but changed his question in the end. He looked at Aryana with raised eyebrows.

Aryana was silent. Clark did not delve further and considered her silence as a ’yes.’ He sized up Vince. He looked dignified and there was no trace of the construction worker that he used to be. His gaze traveled to the young woman who was beside him who smiled shyly at him when their eyes met. That must be his wife who was hospitalized at that time.

"My parents will be celebrating their golden year next month. Their birthdays are a week apart. Dad decided to celebrate it on Mom’s birthday. I hope that your friend can design a couple of outfit for their 50th birthday." His gaze shifted between Aryana and Vince.

"Of course. Vince can do that." Aryana answered without hesitating.

"That’s great! Who do I contact?"

Elaine took her cell phone and showed Clark her QR code. He scanned it and saved the contact info on his cellphone.

"I’ll ask my secretary to contact you." He told Elaine before standing up and bade Aryana and the rest goodbye.

"Is he pursuing you?" Elaine asked when Clark was out of earshot.

Aryana could read mischief in her eyes. "We are just friends."

"Really? How come I feel that he wants to be more than just a friend? Do you know how he looks at you?"

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