As the dog barked, Peter looked up and caught sight of bus /bstanding in the doorway. His face immediately furned a shade of crimson. He quickly bet gevaa Michelle, who was still scolding him.

    “You’re so naughty, old man,” Michelle muttered, yfully twisting Peter’s ear.

    Peter raised an eyebrow but kept his voice low. “Zoe’s here.”

    Michelle didn’t believe him at first, swatting him again. “Stop trying to fool me with Zoe, I don’t believe you.”

    “Michelle.” I called out to her.

    Her body stiffened. When she turned around and saw me, her eyes lit up in surprise, but then quickly turned to embarrassment when she realized I had witnessed her and Peter’s little intimate moment. Her cheeks flushed red.

    She quickly broke free from Peter’s grip and walked over to me. “Zoe, you’re here! Have you eaten? I’ll ask Aryana to…”

    “I’ve already eaten, Michelle,” I lied. In fact, I how anything yet. It was only now that I realized I hadn’t even asked Josh if he had eaten.

    “Why didn’t youe home for dinner?” Michelle scolded yfully.

    She acted like she didn’t see Josh standing beside me.

    point.

    This was her way of showing disapproval of Josh.

    Sho

    spoke only to me, intentionally ignoring him. I knew she wasn’t blind–she was making ba /b

    Still, Michelle was thedy of the house, so after a long pause, she finally turned her gaze to him. “So, you’re Zoe’s friend?”

    1 squeezed Josh’s arm gently, and he took the cue. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Dolton.”

    Michelle nodded. “You’re Zoe’s friend, not an outsider. Come in,e in.“/

    Peter stood up and smiled at me. I walked over and handed him the gift with both hands. “Happy birthday, Peter.”

    “Zoe, you’re always so thoughtful,” Peter said, epting the gift with a grin before ncing at Josh.

    “Mr. Dolton,” Josh greeted him politely.

    Peter gave a small nod. “Take a seat.”

    Michelle, ever the gracious hostb, /bsignaled to Aryana, who immediately brought coffee and fruit. As we sat down, Michelle’s eyes never left me and Josh. She spoke up with a yful but pointed tone. “Zoe, don’t think iyou /ican win me over with a gift and then not show up at the party. Peter and I won’t let you off that easily.”

    It was as if she had read my mind, and her words left me with no way out.

    I smiled back, undeterred. “Of course, we’ll both be there.”

    It was my way of saying, if iyou /iwant me to attend, you’ll have to ept Josh as well.

    Michelle’s smile faltered for a split second, but then she quickly recovered. “Well, there will be plenty of talented young people at the party. bIt’s /bba /bgood chance for you two towork and get to know each other.”

    It was obvious now–she was warning Josh that there would be many wealthy young heirs there. She wanted him it /i

    to know that bhe didn’t stand /bba /bbc /b

    To people like them, Josh was just another regr guy working a job. And by extension, they were looking down on both him and me.

    bChapter /b155

    bBut /bbi /bbwasn’t /bbnning /bon bdefending /bbJosh/b. I wanted bto /bsee bhow /bhe bwould /bbhandle /bbthis/bb–/bhow he would bassert /bhimsell bwithout /blosing fact, in bCounter /bMichelle’s disdainb. /b

    I nced at bJosh/b, and bsaw /bbthat /bhe waspletelyposed. “I’d love to meet more of Seastone’s elite, After all, I n to stay here blong /bbterm/b, h. Cr bwith /ba bcalm /bconfidence.

    I bcouldn’t /bhelp but smile inwardly. His subtle brilliance was undeniable.

    Michelle’s smile tightened at his words, though she masked it quickly. “You n to stay in Seastone?”

    Josh took my hand, his grip strong. “Yes. Zoey is here, so I’ll be here too.”

    Zoey again. This time, I heard him call my name clearly. The change in tone didn’t escape Peter and Michelle. Their expressions froze for a bmoment/bb, /bbas /bthough Josh had just dropped a bombshell..

    Michelle, ever so direct, shifted her gaze back to Josh. “Mr. Hayward, you’re with Zoe. What exactly can you offer her?”

    Her tone was no different from my own mother’s when she questioned someone. She stared at Joshb, /bwaiting for him to respond.

    I looked at Josh too, suddenly curious how he would answer.

    AD