Chapter 364 A Toast Taken\u00a0<\/p>\n
Vincent had finished his drink. Watching Scarlett hold her glass motionless, he guessed it contained the same clear liquor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan had also downed his whiskey. Setting his glass down, he noticed Scarlett\u2019s hesitation and was puzzled.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He had dined with her several times and knew she could hold her liquor quite well\u2013it wouldn\u2019t be an exaggeration to say she could handle her share.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Yet at the moment, her glass held only a standard pour, and she hadn\u2019t touched it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Everyone else had finished and resumed their seats, but Scarlett remained standing, glass in hand.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She understood enough about social etiquette to know that when a respected figure like Thomas toasted the group, refusing to drink could be seen as a slight. No matter what, it seemed she would have to drink tonight.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Steeling herself, Scarlett closed her eyes and prepared to down the whiskey.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But just then, Vincent spoke up from across the table, \u201cMr. Newman, she is a woman, after all. If she really can\u2019t drink, it\u2019s perfectly fine.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Thomas glanced at Scarlett but said nothing. Vincent continued, \u201cIf needed, I\u2019ll drink this for her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
As he said this, Vincent began refilling his own glass. Seeing this, Scarlett was about to insist she could manage when Nolan suddenly reached over and took the glass from her hand. \u201cMr. Newman,\u201d he said smoothly, \u201cScarlett isn\u2019t feeling her best today. Allow me to drink this on her behalf.\u201d With that, he finished the whiskey in her glass.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Thomas smiled genially. \u201cIt\u2019s all in good spirits. The important thing is everyone enjoys themselves.\u201d Though he said this, had no one intervened, his impression of Scarlett might have cooled.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After this small interlude, the guests began toasting Thomas one by one, followed by toasts among themselves.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Vincent wasn\u2019t truly part of this professional circle, so he only raised his glass when Sabrina prompted him to.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After Sabrina toasted Thomas, she began making her way around the table. When she reached Nolan, the chatter in the private room noticeably quieted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
20:15 Wed, Jan 14\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 364 A Toast Taken\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u0f40\u0fb3\u0f7c (63)\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
Everyone who knew Nolan well remembered how thick as thieves he and Sabrina had once been. Then, out of nowhere, all trace of their closeness had vanished without a trace.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now that they were face\u2013to\u2013face again, every pair of eyes in the room was silently glued to them, hungry for a front\u2013row seat to the drama.\u00a0<\/p>\n
No one breathed a word, but an unspoken understanding hung in the air\u2013every single person was watching, waiting, their curiosity piqued. After all, neither of them had come alone tonight; each had arrived with a new companion in tow.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As the atmosphere grew still, Sabrina, well aware of the watching eyes, maintained her smile.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She raised her glass to Nolan. \u201cNolan, thank you for your guidance and for helping me narrow down my doctoral research topic. This toast is for you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
After Vincent\u2019s earlier pressure on Thomas, Nolan had indeed assisted Sabrina with her research direction.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Though reluctant, he had complied out of respect for Thomas.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the past, Nolan had often answered Sabrina\u2019s academic questions, but he had never harbored romantic feelings for her. She had been persistent, and Nolan, not one to easily refuse a reasonable request within his expertise, had helped.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With few other women around him at the time, speculation about their relationship had naturally arisen, though there was never any truth to it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Later, after learning more about Sabrina\u2019s character from Scarlett, Nolan\u2019s regard for her had diminished further.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So now, as Sabrina toasted him, Nolan felt a distinct lack of enthusiasm. But with Vincent present, he knew refusing would cause a scene.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If his actions made the entire gathering a target for Vincent\u2019s displeasure, Nolan would feel responsible.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After a brief internal debate, he picked up his glass and clinked it lightly against hers. With a polite but distant smile, he said, \u201cNo need for thanks. You earned it through your own merits.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The word \u201cmerits\u201d sent a subtle ripple through the room. Sabrina caught the slight edge in his tone but forced a smile and drank her whiskey. Nolan followed suit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As he set his glass down, someone nearby asked casually, \u201cSo, Nolan, does she have any notable publications yet?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan gave a small, noncommittal laugh. \u201cYou\u2019d have to ask Ms. Monroe about that,\u201d he said, glancing up at Sabrina and deftly passing the question to her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
63\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
The attention of most at the table shifted to Sabrina. She remained composed, offering a faint smile. \u201cNo significant publications yet,\u201d she replied smoothly. \u201cThe research is still in\u00a0<\/p>\n
progress.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
20:15 Wed, Jan 14\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 364 A Toast Taken\u00a0<\/p>\n
1.1K\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 364 Chapter 364 A Toast Taken\u00a0 Vincent had finished his drink. Watching […]<\/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-27728","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\/27728","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=27728"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27728\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}