Chapter 1743

The man's words elicited a burst of laughter in the room. Avery forced a smile. Sitting there and watching everyone's merriment, she didn't actually find it noisy. She just felt out of place with them—and with Mason too now. This kind of gathering and lifestyle didn't belong to her. No matter how hard she tried to keep up with Mason, she was never going to be Juliet. Ever since returning from the balcony, Avery felt dazed. She was thinking about how she should handle all of this. After a moment, Mason came back and sat down beside her. He asked, "When did you come back inside? I didn't see you out there just now." Avery turned to look at him. "I just got back." While she had seen him, he hadn't noticed her. As she looked at Mason, Avery suddenly felt like he was so far away, as if he had never really been hers. And indeed, he never had. "Mr. Stone, that call of yours took quite a while. You owe us a drink as a penalty," someone teased. Holding Avery's hand, Mason smiled and