Chapter 271
“What kind of talk is that?” Xenia retorted coldly. “What’s wrong with Reyna? The Fischer family is respectable…”
Cedric scoffed as he grabbed his phone, quickly swiped through his photos, and found the one he sought. He forwarded it to Xenia.
“A respectable family?” he sneered. “Take a good look. This is the daughter-in-law you meticulously chose.” He abruptly turned and left.
“Cedric, where are you going? The Fischer family is coming for dinner tonight!” Xenia rubbed her forehead, looking at her husband. “What should we do now?”
Evan frowned and reminded her to check her phone. “Did Cedric send you something?”
“What? Oh!” Xenia suddenly realized and grabbed her phone. Her face paled as she opened the message. “Oh my God!” She felt dizzy and swayed.
“Xenia!” Evan quickly helped his wife up, his expression grim as he glanced at her phone. “That damned Fischer family.”
“Humph,” Xenia steadied herself, gritting her teeth. “A respectable family, huh? Impressive.” She ordered the servants, “Stop everything. Don’t bother with this,” then dashed upstairs, returning moments later in a different outfit.
Evan looked worried. “What are you planning to do?”
“Never mind that,” Xenia sneered. “You know what kind of family the Brawne family is. How dare the Fischers pull something so shameless! I won’t let this pass.”
Since Tania had given the servants the night off, Xenia found Tania herself answering the door. “Mrs. Brawne…”
A smile spread across Tania’s face, but her confusion was evident. “Why are you here at this hour? We’re coming to visit you later tonight.”
Xenia offered a mocking smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Where’s Reyna? Get her out here.”
Tania frowned, sensing trouble. It seemed Xenia was here to cause a scene.
Tania chuckled nervously. “Reyna went out early this morning. Don’t worry, Mrs. Brawne. It won’t affect tonight’s dinner.”
“Tonight’s dinner? What dinner?” Xenia asked dismissively, her eyelids drooping.
Tania was taken aback. “What do you mean? You’ve been sarcastic since you arrived.”
“What do I mean!” Xenia opened her purse, pulling out a printed photo. With a flick of her wrist, she tossed it at Tania’s face.
Tania, a wealthy housewife accustomed to a certain level of respect, reflexively caught the photo but hesitated to look. She said, “Mrs. Brawne, don’t push people too far. Our family may not be as fancy as the Brawne family, but we’re not pushovers either.”
“You’re good at barking,” Xenia sneered, “like a dog in our house.”
Tania’s face paled. Before she could respond, Xenia slapped the photo against her face. “Take a good look at your shameless daughter!”
Tania picked up the photo, her face turning ashen. She had told Reyna to break up with that man, but not only had she refused, she’d also been photographed with him by the Brawne family.
“Mrs. Brawne…” Tania began.
Xenia spat on the ground. “My poor son is really unlucky to be dealing with this.”
Tania insisted, “Mrs. Brawne, there must be some misunderstanding…”
“Misunderstanding my ass!” Xenia couldn’t stand the thought of her son being cheated on. “I’ve already printed a stack of your daughter’s embarrassing photos, and they’ve been sent to your neighbors.”
Tania was shocked and angry. “How could you do this?” If these photos got out, it would be a disaster.
“Are you scared?” Xenia hissed, her voice full of hate. “Your family is not to get involved with the Brawne family ever again. Keep Reyna away from my son, especially…”
“If you dare to play tricks, I’ll post those photos online.”
Tania pleaded, her tone softening in desperation. “Mrs. Brawne, please don’t…”
Having achieved her goal, Xenia left. Tania’s knees buckled, and she collapsed.
Reyna’s voice called out, “Mom, what’s going on? Why is the door open! What if a thief comes in…”
Reyna found her mother on the ground. “Mom, what’s wrong?”
Seeing Reyna fueled Tania’s fury. She slapped Reyna across the face.
“Mom, why did you hit me?” Reyna gasped.
“I’m going to teach you a lesson today!” Tania snapped.
Cedric went straight to the dance crew, but Sienna had been temporarily assigned to the station. He hesitated before going to see her, his mind filled with the image of her in tears. He was the one who had let her down. Finally, he approached the station's front entrance.
Sienna was busy, so Cedric waited outside the rehearsal room. This afternoon, Yvette had arrived on time, and Chelsea was unusually quiet. Sienna slipped into the rest area for water when Shannon approached.
“Ms. Shaw, your friend has been waiting outside. I invited him in, but he insisted on waiting.”
“I told him to wait in the next room. Do you have time to see him now?”
Sienna, confused, answered, “Sure. Thanks for letting me know.”
“You’re welcome,” Shannon said gossipingly. “Your friend is really handsome. Does he have a girlfriend?”
Sienna’s heart skipped a beat. She knew who it was. She smiled. “As far as I know, yes.”
“Oh…” Shannon pouted. “How could a guy that good-looking be single?”
Sienna left for the archive room.
“Oh, her friend came to see her,” Shannon sighed. “He’s so cute! It’s too bad he has a girlfriend.”
Yvette raised an eyebrow, curious about Sienna’s visitor.
After finishing her water, Sienna went to the archive room and found Cedric sitting quietly.
“Cedric,” Sienna said softly.
“Sienna,” he replied, standing.
Their eyes met, a long silence hanging between them. A faint, sad smile played on his lips.
At the door, Yvette curled her lips. So it was him. With a smirk, she photographed them and sent the picture to someone.