Chapter 16 Marry Christopher Unwillingly

The sky darkened as day gave way to night, and the family gathered under the pretense of a harmonious meal, though each harbored their own thoughts. Lloyd had wanted to throw Leonard a grand birthday celebration, but Leonard preferred simplicity, so they decided on a modest dinner at home instead. Adeline ruffled Leonard's soft, short hair as she smiled. "Leonard, I had Mr. Quigley place your birthday gift in your room." Leonard's face brightened with excitement as he nodded eagerly. However, catching Emma and Alicia's glances, he immediately lowered his head and quietly focused on his meal. Lloyd was in a good mood and asked Gordon to pour him some wine. "Darling, you really shouldn't drink too much," Emma reminded him with concern. "The doctor said it's bad for your high blood pressure." Hearing that, Adeline froze for a moment with her fork mid-air, but she soon resumed eating as if nothing had happened. "I'm in a good mood today." Lloyd lifted his glass to toast Christopher. "It's rare to have you join us, Christopher." Christopher responded with a faint smile and elegantly sipped his wine. Adeline noticed a piece of fish had been placed on her plate. She looked up and caught Christopher's teasing yet knowing look. She smiled faintly, thinking to herself that he was doing quite well at maintaining his perfect husband act. Sitting across the table, Alicia watched the subtle interactions between the two, and an unpleasant feeling bubbled up inside her. She nudged Emma under the table with her foot. Emma immediately caught on. As she served Leonard more food, she spoke up. "Watching Christopher and Adeline so in love really puts us older folks at ease. Fate is truly unpredictable. Back then, it was Alicia who had the engagement with Christopher. Who would have thought she wouldn't have the luck to marry him, and it was Adeline who ended up the lucky one instead?" With that, she chuckled and placed the food onto Lloyd's plate. Smiling, she asked, "Don't you think this is a peculiar stroke of fate, darling?" At her words, Alicia immediately glanced toward Christopher to catch his reaction. Christopher, however, just turned his head slightly, smiling faintly as he fixed his gaze on Adeline. His expression was unreadable. Meanwhile, Adeline curled her lips into a slight smirk and continued eating in silence. Noticing the tense atmosphere, Lloyd shot Emma a glare. "Can't you keep quiet while we're eating? It has been years. Why are you still bringing it up?" Emma, slightly caught off guard, responded with a hint of grievance, "I'm just happy for her. Even though Adeline has never really liked me, I've always seen her as my own daughter. With everything going so well for her now, how could I not be happy?" Her voice trembled slightly as she continued, "They say being a stepmother is never easy. It feels like everything I do or say gets misunderstood." "That's right, Dad," Alicia chimed in, sounding just as aggrieved. "It's fine if Adeline misunderstands her, but could you please not misunderstand my mom's good intentions?" Hearing that, Adeline couldn't help but scoff inwardly at the theatrics of the mother-daughter duo. She focused on her meal, eager to finish and leave before she got an upset stomach. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain on her thigh. Frowning slightly, she turned her gaze toward the culprit. With a calm demeanor, Christopher placed a slice of bitter melon onto her plate. His eyes held an unreadable smile. His other hand was hidden under the table, lingering on her fair, smooth thigh. He was pinching her! Adeline was livid. She shot Christopher a sharp glare and slammed her fork down on the table. The impact was so forceful that the dishes on the table rattled. The sudden noise startled everyone at the table. With a faint smile at the corner of his mouth, Christopher observed Adeline in silence. His brows were slightly raised. "W-What's wrong?" Emma's face turned anxious as she quickly covered Leonard's eyes. She feared that Adeline might do something outrageous in front of Lloyd. "Emma." Adeline glanced at her coldly, saying slowly and deliberately, "That engagement happened seven years ago. Your memory is surprisingly good. Since mine isn't bad either, shall I help you recall a few things too?" Alicia's face darkened. "Adeline, what are you trying to say?" She then cast a pitiful look at Lloyd. "Dad, you see? Adeline is losing it again." Lloyd's expression was grim, and he remained silent. Adeline sneered and cast Alicia a cold glance. "What is it? Feeling guilty?" Alicia straightened up and crossed her arms as she muttered under her breath, "What do I have to feel guilty about? Christopher was engaged to me first. You were the one who begged to marry him. Now you've got what you wanted and still pretend to be above it all." Her voice was just loud enough for Adeline to hear. She sneered faintly, reached for her fork, and resumed eating at a leisurely pace. Her gaze shifted to Lloyd. "Seven years ago, the Lambert and Keller families arranged a marriage alliance. It was such a golden opportunity to connect with the Lambert family, a financial giant. Naturally, as Alicia is your favorite, your first thought was to have her marry into the family, isn't that right, Dad?" Before Lloyd could say a word, her gaze shifted to Alicia. "But you didn't want to, did you?" "I..." Alicia was left speechless for a moment. Adeline smiled as she helped her recall. "You said that the son of the Lambert family was frail and sickly, and you feared that he might die any day." Christopher raised his glass, took a sip of wine, and nodded with a smile. "Oh, so I'm frail and sickly." "I didn't!" Alicia's face turned pale. She didn't expect Adeline to remember those events so clearly after all these years. She hurriedly looked at Christopher and explained, "That was just gossip from the outside. After all, you rarely appeared in public back then. I only heard it from others." Adeline remained composed and added, "You also said that he had a hidden illness, and you were worried he might have some incurable disease that could infect you, right?" Christopher raised an eyebrow and smiled without saying a word. Alicia quickly protested, "That was what the rumors said!" "Right. You also said he was horribly unattractive and had an awful look." Adeline raised an eyebrow and slightly curved her lips. "You said that if you married him, you wouldn't have the appetite to eat because you'd have to look at such a face every day." Christopher turned his gaze back to Adeline. He raised an eyebrow and asked casually, "Do I look horribly unattractive?" A hint of delight flashed across Adeline's face. She stared at his ridiculously handsome face and teasingly remarked, "It's not that bad." "Those were just rumors I heard from others. I never said that!" Alicia bit her lip, and her face was full of distress. Seeing Alicia in distress, Emma immediately interjected, "Adeline, those were just baseless rumors. How could you say it was Alicia who said that?" "Didn't you believe it too?" Adeline smiled faintly. Her expression was innocent. "Emma, I recall that it was you who cried, caused a scene, and even threatened to hang yourself over this, which made my dad change his mind about letting Alicia marry Christopher." "Well, I remember that you married Christopher unwillingly as well," Emma said nonchalantly as if it were nothing. "You said back then that as long as he was a man with money, you didn't care who you married. If things didn't work out, you'd just get a divorce. Right, Adeline?" Adeline's fork paused in midair, and she instinctively bit her lip. She hadn't expected Emma to bring that up. She had indeed said those words back then. A hint of mockery flashed in her eyes. Christopher nonchalantly looked up, fixed his gaze on Adeline intently, and asked in a soft voice, "Is that so?"