Chapter 203

Chapter 203

Edda took Alaric into the kitchen, leaving Daphne and Lionel alone in the living room.

Edda hissed at Alaric, “What’s gotten into you today? Didn’t you see my favorite celeb sitting out there? Are you jealous or something?”

“I’ve been jealous for the past forty years.” Alaric was never one for comeback, so he shut up after one sentence, glancing in the direction of the living room. He whispered to Edda, “Look, this Lionel is a playboy, plus he’s pretty good-looking. Our daughter is not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed. She’s inherited your fangirl genes. If she gets seduced by Lionel, she’s gonna be heartbroken! Don’t you know he changes girlfriends like he changes his clothes?”

Edda was left speechless by Alaric’s words, finally mumbling, “They’re just good friends…”

“Good friends? Do you even know what ‘friends’ of the opposite sex mean to young people these days?” Alaric frowned in disgust.

Edda shouted, “You know everything! You’re always right!”

Alaric was speechless.

Living Room.

Lionel was examining a photo of Nigel in his hand. Daphne promptly covered the photo with her hand, “Lord Lion, you’ve gone out of your way to bring me the key. I’m so embarrassed. Couldn’t you just have called me?”

“Daphne.” Lionel looked up at her, his deep, beautiful eyes sparkling like a crystal-clear lake..

Daphne hurriedly closed her eyes, and when she opened them, she was determined not to be swayed by him.

“What’s this guy’s name?” he asked.

Feeling Lionel’s intense gaze, Daphne blurted out, “Nigel.”

As soon as her words fell, Lionel suddenly looked towards the kitchen and said, “Nigel, that’s a nice name.””

Who was he putting on this show for? His words clearly didn’t sound genuine.

As expected, Lionel turned back to her after saying this and whispered, “So, do you think Nigel is a nice name, or is Lionel a better one?”

With Lionel himself right in front of her, Daphne, ever the opportunist, didn’t hesitate to answer, “Of course your name is better! Lionel, Lord Lion. What a powerful

name!”

“Good.” Lionel patted Daphne on the shoulder, commending her.

Daphne was shaking in her boots.

He then looked towards the kitchen again and said loudly, “This Nigel is quite good-looking.”

Daphne’s face was completely frozen. Lionel turned back to her, lowered his voice, and said, “He is quite handsome, but not as handsome as me. What do you think, Daphne?”

“What do I think?” Daphne looked at Lionel, “All the guys better looking than you are already married. And I’m so ugly, how could I be their girlfriend?”

“I agree with that.” Lionel smiled at Daphne’s reply.

Daphne resisted the urge to throw him out. He raised his voice again towards the kitchen, “I think he’s a good guy, but I’m not sure about his financial situation. If he’s not well-off, I’m afraid he

won’t be able to support you.”

Daphne had had enough, she shook her body, “Am I handicapped? Can’t I support myself?”

“How about I support you?” Lionel said suddenly, not looking up from Nigel’s photo. His tone was serious, and it didn’t sound like he was joking.

Daphne had never imagined hearing these words from a man, let alone Lionel, a heartthrob idol and an internationally awarded actor.

More importantly, her heart was beating out of control. What was happening?

Just as she was thinking about how to respond, Lionel said again, “Forget it. I’m afraid my Daphne will get jealous.”

Lionel had a husky dog named Daphne… Daphne remembered the night she went to his house, how he happily called out ‘Daphne’ to his husky, and how the husky wagged its tail joyfully.

Daphne only found out from Julie that Albertine also had a husky. After breaking up, they couldn’t be a couple but managed to have matching dogs! Daphne didn’t understand their thinking.

But was he treating her like a dog now? All her flutters were for nothing!

“Don’t worry, I won’t fight for attention with your Daphne!” Daphne glared at Lionel.

Lionel suddenly laughed, “Do you really want me to take care of you?”

“Lord Lion, your comprehension skills…”

“Well then, I’ll reluctantly take care of you.” He cut off Daphne’s words, patting her head, “Next time you find a new date, tell me in advance. As benefits, I have a duty to help you make decisions.”

Daphne swatted his hand away, glaring at him, “How do you know my current date won’t work out?”

And what did he mean by “friend with benefits”?

Lionel looked at Daphne, “Just a hunch.

your friend with

Simpo Co.

After being turned down by Daphne, Julle had no choice but to mooch off Kieran’s lunch in his office.

Kieran seemed to have anticipated Julie’s arrival, he had prepared an extra lunch for her early on.

Sitting across from Kieran, Julle chatted while eating, “I asked Ivan last night. He said he doesn’t want to go on a trip for his birthday this year.

“What does he want to do?” This year was really strange. The kid had never shown interest in his birthday in the past, barely mentioning it. Even when Shannon threw him birthday parties, he would act indifferent, even finding them childish. But this year, he suddenly started caring about his birthday, appearing to take it very seriously.

Julie had brought it up with him before she started telling him a bedtime story last night.

“Ivan said he wants to throw a big party at home, inviting all his best mates and our friends. It has to be a grand one.” Julie said.

Not sure what he was up to, Kieran agreed right away, “I’ll get Karl on it.”

Julie nodded, “Thank you, Mr. Hernandez!”

Kieran forked a piece of potato and put it in front of Julie. The sudden affectionate gesture took Julie by surprise.

After she swallowed the potato, the man across from her said, “Since you’ve eaten my food, shouldn’t we be less formal?”

Julie glanced at Kieran and decided to continue her lunch.

Suddenly, she seemed to remember something. She looked up at Kieran and said, “Dr. Brice told me yesterday that you’ve paid for Sansa’s medical expenses…”

“It was the right thing to do.” He put down his cutlery, looking at Julie lovingly, “Dear…”

Before he could finish his sentence, the office door was suddenly pushed open, “Kerry, I need to talk to you…”

Julie felt that what Kieran was about to say was quite important, yet it was abruptly interrupted by the sudden appearance of Payne Hernandez.

“Why is my secretary so lax these days, letting people in so easily?” Mr. Hernandez showed clear displeasure at being interrupted.

Payne innocently glanced at the door, then reminded Kieran, “Kerry, your secretary went out for lunch.”

Kieran let go of Julie’s hand and gave Payne an unhappy glance, “You better have something really important to say!”

“Or else you’re going to toss me out the window, I know!” Payne laughed, saying to Julie, “Julie, you’re getting more beautiful.”

“Are you so eager to experience flying?” Kieran looked at the window, then at Payne.

Payne immediately put on a serious face, “I’m here to collect my reward.””

“Did you find who bought the ring?” Kieran asked Payne directly.

Payne immediately gave a thumbs up to Kieran, “Kerry, you’re a real mind reader.”

“Cut the crap. Get to the point!”

“After my thorough investigation, I finally found the real identity of the person who bought that ring. You guys should know him too. He is…” Payne paused, looking at Julie, “Julie, guess who?”

Kieran tossed a fork in Payne’s direction, “Spit it out or get lost!”

Payne caught the fork, only then did he say, “It’s Kyle, the one who almost became Julie’s brother-in-law.”

“Kyle?” Julie looked at Payne in shock, “Are you sure you didn’t make a mistake? How could it be him?”

In the past, Julie always saw Kyle as her future brother-in-law. He was engaged to Sansa. Everyone thought they would surely get married, but surprisingly, two years after their engagement, they still had no plans for the wedding. In the end, they slowly drifted apart.

It was said that they broke up amicably. Sansa was always more rational than Julie, understanding others better. She was never ambiguous about her own feelings. Even though they broke up, they remained friends. However, Julie could feel Sansa’s deep love for Kyle, otherwise she wouldn’t have given up her job as a lawyer to help her parents manage their company after breaking up with Kyle.

“I heard that after breaking up with Sansa, he went to Veridia and became a lawyer. We haven’t heard from him for years. It can’t be him, can it?” Julie said to Payne.