Chapter 24

Marie paused for a moment before saying, "Go ahead and have lunch. Just… pretend that I was never here." Before Neal and Hestia could respond, she got out and headed toward the door. When she disappeared completely from view, Hestia asked nonchalantly, "What did she want?" Neal took the lunchbox from her. He laughed when he saw her trying her best to look unconcerned. Instead of hiding Marie's purpose, he told her everything, even embellishing the details a little. Hestia looked more and more jealous as he spoke. Finally, Neal decided to stop teasing her. "I didn't agree to see Joyce. There's no need to be jealous." Unexpectedly, Hestia perked up at that. "Why not? No, you should go see her. I'm going too! We're getting engaged soon, right? Let's invite her to the engagement." Neal was wondering why she had become so generous all of a sudden during the first part of the speech, but when he heard the second part, he realized what she was planning. Then again, he adored her, so he