Chapter 242 The Birthday Banquet\u00a0<\/p>\n
67\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
Vincent didn\u2019t return until six in the evening. Scarlett had been ready and waiting for about half an hour by then.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When Vincent saw her, he stopped in his tracks, visibly stunned. In their five years of marriage, he had never realized his wife could look so breathtaking.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was naturally slender, and with professional styling, she had transformed into someone radiantly beautiful. Even Vincent, who had encountered countless beautiful women in social circles, was momentarily taken aback.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ignoring his gaze, Scarlett remained seated quietly, waiting for his next move.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Vincent also had his hair styled. By the time he was finished, it was already 6:30 p.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As he stood up, Scarlett rose as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As they were leaving, Scarlett\u2019s sharp eyes caught a faint, light\u2013colored smudge on the collar of Vincent\u2019s dress shirt. She recognized it immediately as foundation\u2013a subtle mark, but noticeable to someone looking closely.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlett guessed Sabrina must have accidentally transferred it while being close to Vincent earlier.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The car was parked outside. Out of habit, Scarlett moved toward the back seat. But when she opened the door, she found the seat occupied by gift bags and boxes of various sizes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Noticing her hesitation, Vincent stepped closer. \u201cThose are birthday gifts for Mr. Warren. You\u2019d better sit up front.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlett didn\u2019t argue. She simply walked around the car and settled into the passenger seat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The drive to Warren Villa took less than half an hour.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After parking, Vincent directed the household staff to unload the gifts from the vehicle.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Once everything was carried inside, he returned to open the car door for Scarlett, extending his hand to assist her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Looking at his offered hand, Scarlett ignored it. She stepped out on her own, gathered the hem of her gown, and walked toward the main entrance in her high heels.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Vincent watched her for a moment before following.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They had just reached the entrance when Ethan Warren, alerted by a servant, emerged from\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
19:58 Wed, Jan 14\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 242 The Birthday Banquet\u00a0<\/p>\n
the house.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Seeing Vincent, he hurried forward to shake his hand and offered him a cigar.\u00a0<\/p>\n
667\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ethan lit Vincent\u2019s cigar with a warm smile. \u201cVincent, you\u2019re quite the rare guest! We don\u2019t see you often enough.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Vincent returned a faint smile. \u201cYou\u2019re too kind, Mr. Warren.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Ethan finally noticed the woman accompanying Vincent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Remembering Xavier\u2019s message that Vincent would bring his wife to the banquet, he asked cautiously, \u201cVincent, is this your\u2014\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
11\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before he could finish, Vincent quickly interjected, \u201cMr. Warren, this is Scarlett. She\u2019s my\u2026\u201d He gestured toward Scarlett as he spoke, but hesitated when defining their relationship.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Seeing his reluctance to acknowledge their marriage, Scarlett stepped forward and finished for him, \u201cExecutive assistant.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ethan was visibly taken aback. But since neither Scarlett nor Vincent seemed willing to elaborate, he didn\u2019t press the matter.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Vincent, too, seemed surprised by her response.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before anyone could say more, a bold, arrogant voice sounded from the entrance. \u201cI\u2019ve heard Mr. Stewart is a generous man. I wonder if I, Damian, might have the honor of asking you for a small favor?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Damian\u2019s car had pulled up to the curb. As he stepped out, he undid the button of his suit jacket.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dressed in a black suit worn open, hands in his pockets, he walked out of the shadows with a carefree, confident swagger.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Despite his notorious reputation, he was undeniably handsome\u2013every movement carried a natural charisma that, while rakish, was unexpectedly captivating.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Everyone at the entrance turned toward the voice as Damian approached.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Stopping before the group, he smiled at Ethan. \u201cMr. Warren, since it\u2019s your birthday, would you be so kind as to bear witness to a small request?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Damian had arrived empty\u2013handed, though Ethan knew his gift had been delivered that afternoon.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While both were prominent families in their social circles, the Langley family outranked the\u00a0<\/p>\n
212\u00a0<\/p>\n
19:58 Wed, Jan 14\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 242 The Birthday Banquet\u00a0<\/p>\n
La 667\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
Warrens. Ethan was tempted to agree immediately, but being a seasoned businessman, he sensed Damian was targeting Vincent. He also knew the Langleys and Stewarts were longstanding rivals.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ethan laughed off the request diplomatically. \u201cDamian, I\u2019m an old man now. I don\u2019t get involved in you young people\u2019s games.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Understanding Ethan\u2019s difficult position, Vincent addressed Damian directly. \u201cWhat is it you want? Let\u2019s hear it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlett stood to the side, sensing Damian\u2019s hostile intent. But she had no standing to speak among these people. Besides, Damian might not even be here for her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So she remained silent, quietly observing the situation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Damian didn\u2019t press Ethan further. Seeing Vincent\u2019s directness, he replied equally bluntly, \u201cMr. Stewart, as you know, I have a certain reputation. A day without beautiful company feels like a day my heart is dying. So I\u2019m asking you, as a favor\u2013let this lovely assistant here keep me company for a while.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1.1K\u00a0<\/p>\n
B\u00a0<\/p>\n
3\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Editorial Board: Our editorial team works behind the scenes to refine each chapter, maintain consistency, and deliver the best reading experience.<\/p>\n
Silent Dreams Never Die \u2014 Author: John Miller 242 Chapter 242 The Birthday Banquet\u00a0 67\u00a0 Finished\u00a0 Vincent didn\u2019t return until […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[81],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-impossible-condition-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27606"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27606\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}