Third Person's POV
Upon being referred to as a rogue, Melinda's face turned extremely embarrassed in an instant.
She was about to retort, but Cliff quickly reached out his hand to stop her.
At that moment, Cliff's face was also gloomy and terrible, as if a storm was about to come.
Melinda was frightened by Cliff's appearance, shivering and not daring to breathe, so she could only close her mouth.
"It's Melinda who made a mistake. It's just a misunderstanding. Please forgive her. I'll pay for the meal," Cliff forcibly endured his inner displeasure, trying to make his tone sound as peaceful as possible.
"There's no need! Our Gilbert family doesn't lack this little money," Grace coldly refused Cliff's proposal, her voice cold and piercing, without a trace of warmth.
Then, she said, "I will never forget what happened today. Show them out!"
As soon as her voice fell, several burly bodyguards came forward and asked Cliff and Melinda to leave the room.
In fact, with Cliff's strength, if he really wanted to be serious, these few bodyguards were not worth fearing.
Even in a head-on conflict with these three people, he had enough confidence not to be at a disadvantage.
But this time, after all, he was in the wrong first, so he chose to let the matter rest.
After leaving that room, Cliff's face was dark and gloomy to the extreme.
"Alpha Cliff... I, I really didn't..." Melinda cautiously opened her mouth, trying to explain.
"Alright. Don't mention today's matters anymore," Cliff tried to suppress his anger and spoke to Melinda in a relatively gentle tone.
Melinda bit her lip with guilt in her heart, but she was sure that she couldn't have been wrong.
She was convinced that this must have been a trick deliberately set up by Vanya.
After Cliff and Melinda left, Vanya walked in from the adjacent private room.
She was wearing Grace's clothes and said with a smile, "I really have to thank you today, Grace."
Without a moment's hesitation, Grace replied, "Don't mention it. We're family."
"Ahem!" Derrick cleared his throat pointedly, a not-so-subtle hint for Grace to watch her words.
Vanya's face showed a flicker of confusion at this exchange.
Theodore, noticing, quickly explained, "We had planned to introduce you to my sister today, but Cliff interfered. You should head home now, and make sure Cliff doesn't find out."
"Okay," Vanya agreed, thinking the same thing.
She should have left earlier, but felt it was necessary to meet Grace.
Grace was Theodore's elder cousin by two years, an influencer in social media.
Theodore had arranged for Vanya to meet Grace, and she couldn't just slip away without making an appearance.
"Grace, see you next time," Vanya said.
Grace smiled and gave a thumbs up. "See ya."
Once Vanya left, Grace's gaze swept over the spread of dishes, and she clicked her tongue in disappointment.
"I came all this way, and there's not a single dish I like."
Derrick chuckled and said, "There was something you liked, but Cliff took it."
"The king crab soup?" Grace asked.
"Yep!" Derrick confirmed.
Grace rolled up her sleeves, feigning anger. "I should have been tougher on them!"
Theodore remained silent throughout, and Grace noticed his preoccupation.
She teased, "You really have guts. You're stealing someone else's wife now. You're quite like me back in the day."
"Come on. Just eat!" Derrick laughed, pouring wine for Grace, trying to steer the conversation elsewhere.
At that moment, Theodore's thoughts were entirely with Vanya, worried whether she could leave safely and without incident, and if she might run into any trouble on her way.
Vanya's POV
In the dead of night, all was quiet as I lay in bed in the pitch dark.
Then, I heard the sound of Cliff entering downstairs.
The noise was strikingly clear in the silence of the night, like a key sliding into a lock, followed by the soft creak of the door hinge turning.
I instinctively closed my eyes tighter, striving to keep my breathing even, pretending I hadn't heard a thing.
Time seemed to stand still, each second stretching out endlessly.
Soon, the slow, heavy footsteps climbed the stairs, each step seeming to echo in my heart, gradually making their way into my ears.
"Creakâ" the door inched open, and a dim light, like a sharp blade, sliced through the darkness in the room, casting itself sharply on the floor.
"Vanya."
Cliff's voice resonated quietly in the stillness, carrying a hint of exhaustion and what seemed to be some indescribable emotion.
I kept my eyes shut, motionless, maintaining the facade of sleep, pretending not to hear his call.
Cliff raised his voice a bit more, "Vanya!"