Chapter 97
“Layla isn’t the type to follow orders. I bet she’d throw a fit if someone tried to make her work overtime. But it’s strange, don’t you think? I hope nothing bad has
happened.”
Sean mused and turned to Austin. “Mr. Gallagher, you hang out with Layla a lot. Have you seen her lately?”
Austin’s expression immediately turned dramatic. “Do I look like I have the guts to see her? With Stephen at the Murray Group, do you think I’d just walk in there to get myself beaten up?”
“Hah, Murray Group? You guys are overestimating her. Who knows where she is right now, probably sucking up to someone,” an unfamiliar voice chimed in.
The group turned to look at the person who had spoken, someone who was also sitting on the terrace of the cafe.
Skyler asked, “Who are you?”
The woman, who had been sitting with her back to them, stood up and lifted her handbag, revealing herself to the group.
None of them recognized her. The man exchanged glances, noting the heavily altered face. “Never seen you before.”
“it seems I’ve been gone for too long, my old classmates don’t even remember me. I’m Aria Lowe.”
Kendal, the woman in a suit, was the first to react. “It’s not that we don’t remember you, but this face is completely different from before.”
Skyler nodded in agreement. “Yeah, the name sounds familiar, but the face doesn’t match”
The men spoke up in defense of Ana, “Hey come on, Kendal, Skyler. Is that how you treat pretty women? We’re all classmates here. Let’s have a drink and get acquainted,” Sean suggested, picking up a bottle of wine and handing it to Aria.
Resting her head on her hand, Kendal warned, “If you want Layla to kill you, then by all means, get acquainted with her.”
“Kendal, stop bring Layla’s lapdog. She has no place in the Murray family anymore. She’s been deceiving you, pretending she still works at Murray Group to keep up appearances and fool you into thinking she’s still the heir.
“She wants you to keep kissing up to her, but the truth is, why hasn’t she told you that she’s just a salesgirl now?”
Aria laughed mockingly. “Oh, and not even under the Murray Group.”
After making her declaration, Aria took the bottle Sean had offered. “You’d better find yourselves a new backer. Layla is going down.”
Sean, sitting beside Aria, asked incredulously, “You’re saying Layla’s selling houses now?”
Arla nodded. “Sales office of Lumina Company, You can go see for yourselves if you don’t believe me.”
The group recalled how Layla had always refused their invitations and avoided them whenever they mentioned work. She had even dodged them when they offered to pick her up after work at Murray Group.
Kendal set down her glass. “It seems you’ve found yourself a new backer, Ms. Lowe, which is why you dare show off in front of us back in Lasville.”
Aria arrogantly adjusted her shawl, exuding the air of a wealthy woman. “You don’t deserve to know who it is,
s, and if you don’t, don’t ask ”
As she prepared to leave, Sean, who had been speaking to her earlier, blocked her path. He held up the bottle of wine she had just sipped from and whistled. “Hey beautiful, you’re not leaving without finishing your drink, are you?”
Aria glanced at the wine bottle and at Sean’s unfamiliar face. “Consider it a gift to you.”
The group burst into laughter as if they’d heard some joke, making the atmosphere even more awkward for Aria. She stood there, confused and uncomfortable.
Behind her, Kendal chuckled. “Sean, drink up! The little bitch has honored you with a gift. Aren’t you going to kneel down and thank her?”
“Kendal, you!” Arta glared at her.
Sean shoved the bottle toward her again. “I’m a simple man, and I’d like a good toast. So either you drink, or you’re not going anywhere.” The tension escalated as Arla realized she was comered with people blocking her from every direction.
“Get out of my way,” she snapped.
