Chapter 31

Dustin drove to the Nicholsons' home at noon. The villa was in a secluded neighborhood, with flowers and hedges decorating the front yard. Dahlia was outside. Dustin tried to avoid her but was spotted.

“Stop right there! I need to talk to you!”

“What is it?” Dustin asked. Their backs were to each other as they spoke.

“I haven’t told Granddad about our divorce because of his condition.”

“Do you think we can keep him from finding out?”

“I’ll find a chance to tell him later, just not today.”

“Alright. Anything else?”

“Nope.” Dahlia turned and went inside without another word. They never once looked at each other, acting like complete strangers.

Dustin took a deep breath and went inside as well, wine in hand. The living room was filled with people, including most of the Nicholsons. Only John, Dahlia’s father, was absent; he was still away on his trip. However, someone was sitting in his usual seat—an outsider: Chris Nolan.

“How rude to have us elders wait on him like this,” Florence sneered, her expression mean.

“Shh, Mom. He might get upset and hurt you!” James chirped loudly. He hadn’t let go of what had happened yesterday. The bruises were still visible on his face.

“Alright, now that everyone’s here, let’s have dinner,” Henry Nicholson announced, beaming at Dustin. “Come and sit beside me, kid.”

“Sure.” Dustin smiled and helped the old man to his seat.

James scowled, his eyes burning with jealousy. “Kiss-ass!” He had never understood why his grandfather doted on Dustin. James was the old man’s grandson by blood!

“Come, let us all drink!” Henry toasted.

James pulled out a decorated box of wine. “Granddad, look at this. Chris brought this beautiful wine, a fine Grand Cru from La Romanée-Conti. We should all toast with this!”

“La Romanée-Conti? That’s a really expensive wine, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is. It was $100,000 a bottle!” Chris boasted.

“What? $100,000 a bottle?!” everyone exclaimed in shock. The sky-high price was far beyond their expectations. The Harmons were quite well-off, but even they hadn’t had a chance to try something this expensive.

“Why’d you spend all that money on this, Chris? It’s too much, isn’t it?” Florence questioned, though pride laced her tone. After all, Chris was her first choice for a son-in-law.

“$100,000 isn’t much. I have another barrel of this at home, so please, you all enjoy,” Chris grinned. The pride was evident on his face.

“Mr. Nolan, you’re really generous.”

“Yeah, we’re really in for a treat tonight!”

The family began praising Chris for his wine, further feeding his ego.

“Hey, boy, look at how sincere James is. His wine costs $100,000. But what about yours, hm? You bought them from the dollar store, didn’t you? Cheapskate!” Florence sneered and even kicked James in the calf.

“Why don’t we have a look?” James proposed with a conspiring smile. He swiftly opened Dustin’s box of wine.