Chapter 227: Chapter 227: Top-Tier Beauty
The black sedan pulled up to a conspicuous spot. The woman inside was a person of incalculable status.
As the door opened.
Aided by an attendant, the woman slowly stepped out of the car. Her teal-blue cheongsam wasn’t overly flashy, but her figure was first-rate, without a hint of excess fat, making it impossible to guess her true age.
"Winnie."
Gemma Garland called out.
Hearing the familiar voice, Wendy Jacobs looked up. Her eyes instantly crinkled into a smile when she saw who it was. "Gemma."
Drawing near, Gemma Garland reached out and took Wendy Jacobs’s wrist in a familiar gesture. "You have the nerve to smile, showing up this late."
Wendy Jacobs linked her arm through Gemma Garland’s. "I rushed over to Arden the second I was free. I was so worried I’d be late. Smiling is how I hide my guilty conscience."
Gemma Garland gently patted the back of Wendy Jacobs’s hand. "You change every year. Your silver tongue has gotten even sharper."
Wendy Jacobs adjusted the cloud collar on her dress. "Well, I learned from the best, didn’t I, Gemma?"
Gemma Garland huffed. "Stop with the sweet talk."
Wendy Jacobs giggled.
Many guests had already arrived for the evening banquet. Gemma Garland led Wendy Jacobs through the crowd, mingling and exchanging pleasantries over drinks.
"The woman with Mrs. Hawthorne, that’s her sister, right?" a guest standing at a distance asked their friend curiously.
"Her name is Wendy Jacobs, Mrs. Hawthorne’s sister." The friend picked up a glass of champagne, took a sip, and continued, "Back in the day, the Garlands were unrivaled in Washington. But Mrs. Hawthorne was always the more famous one. Her sister rarely made public appearances."
"You rarely see the two sisters together these days."
"One’s in Arden, the other’s in the Capital. They’re far apart and walk different paths. How could they have much time to get together?"
"I get that they’re far apart, but ’walk different paths’... what does that mean?"
The friend set down their champagne, smiled, and said, "Mrs. Hawthorne’s sister married a government official."
"An official? A minor one or a major one?" The person was overcome with curiosity.
The friend said mysteriously, "The one who just got promoted during the recent leadership transition in the Capital."
"Isn’t that Secretary Lan..."
"That’s right. The current Secretary Lancaster."
Every word of their conversation reached Alice York’s ears.
She had arrived a while ago, not with Felix Hawthorne, but with his secretary, Chloe Linden.
She had slipped in unnoticed. Draped in a shawl, she blended into the sea of elegant, fragrant guests, drawing no attention.
Chloe Linden had left as soon as she brought her into the banquet hall. Staying by her side for too long would attract too many curious gazes. After all, as Felix Hawthorne’s first secretary, Chloe Linden was a familiar face to many.
With no one she knew around, Alice York leaned against a railing in an inconspicuous spot, passing the time by listening to the guests chat. It was only when Mrs. Hawthorne appeared with another lady that she learned from the gossip that the woman with Mrs. Hawthorne was none other than Zeke Lancaster’s wife.
She looked in the direction the guests were discussing.
Mrs. Hawthorne and Mrs. Lancaster were walking up a short flight of stairs and heading inside, leaving only their backs in view.
’Is that her?’
’Is the wife of that high-ranking official Ian Bishop mentioned on the phone—the one who wanted to meet me—Zeke Lancaster’s wife?’
’It must be her.’
To confirm her suspicion, Alice York started walking in that direction.
"Look, the Eldest Young Master Hawthorne is here."
Alice York paused and looked in the other direction.
At the same time, guests near her were gossiping with their friends. "Hey, hey, have you seen the latest tabloid news about the Eldest Young Master Hawthorne? That woman’s got some moves. I heard she paid off the paparazzi to leak photos of them together."
Hearing this, Alice York was speechless.
"Whoa, she’s a real schemer. So desperate to climb the social ladder. But a low-class woman like that is completely beneath them. She’ll never even make it through the Hawthorne family’s front door."
"I think Felix Hawthorne must actually like her. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have let the photos get leaked without immediately doing damage control. He has a fiancée, you know. This shows a complete disregard for his fiancée’s dignity."
"I heard the Eldest Young Master Hawthorne is bringing his fiancée tonight. The woman next to him, that must be Miss Irving, right?"
Alice York looked over again.
The event was a grand affair. Felix Hawthorne was dressed in a white three-piece suit, a tassel brooch pinned to his lapel. The chain of the tassel draped across his midsection to a button, giving him an air of unrestrained elegance, like a nobleman from a bygone era.
She also noticed that the Miss Irving the guests were talking about was walking right beside Felix Hawthorne.
She was tall and slender with fair skin. Her features were so deep-set you could tell at a glance she had mixed heritage, and she exuded an innate, aristocratic aura.
’So this is Felix Hawthorne’s fiancée.’
"Bro!"
Finn Hawthorne came walking out from inside. When his gaze fell on the woman beside Felix Hawthorne, he immediately and obediently called out, "Iris."
Iris Irving’s face was devoid of a smile. She gave a noncommittal "mm" in response, neither warm nor distant.
Finn Hawthorne had wanted to ask his brother when Alice York would arrive, but with Iris Irving here, he had no choice but to swallow his words.
"Didn’t I tell you to stay with Vera? It’s crowded tonight. She’s not used to it and might get scared," Felix Hawthorne said, his tone laced with displeasure.
"Can’t I even come out for a breath of fresh air?" Finn Hawthorne muttered under his breath. "Besides, she didn’t seem that scared to me."
Iris Irving looked over. "You shouldn’t be saying things like that. She’s your own sister."
Finn Hawthorne didn’t argue. He turned on his heel. "Fine, I’ll go back in and keep her company now."
Once Finn Hawthorne was gone, Iris Irving tilted her head to ask the man beside her, "The look in Finn’s eyes when he mentioned Evelyn Hawthorne to me before, and the look in his eyes when he mentions her now that she’s back, are completely different."
A waiter approached with a tray full of champagne glasses.
Felix Hawthorne took two glasses, handing one to Iris Irving. "They haven’t seen each other in over twenty years, after all. It takes time for them to get used to each other."
"Is that so?" A cold smirk touched the corners of Iris Irving’s lips as she accepted the champagne. "He could maintain the same level of anticipation for over twenty years, but now that she’s back, you say they need time for their ’familial bond’ to adjust? That’s quite ironic."
Felix Hawthorne reached out and lightly clinked his glass against the one in Iris Irving’s hand. "Sometimes, when I think about it, it is quite ironic."
After speaking, he took a sip, his brow smoothing out.
Iris Irving quietly studied the man beside her for a moment. Not that she had ever been able to see through him.
She tilted her head back, took a sip of champagne, and fell into step with his slow pace. "Why didn’t you bring your little lover today?"
Felix Hawthorne paused in his stride and glanced sideways, a smile spreading in his eyes. "What, are you keeping tabs on my private life now too?"
"Don’t get the wrong idea. I don’t have the time to care about your private life." Iris Irving turned her face away. "The photos were taken and posted online. It’s not like I don’t use the internet. They just popped up on my screen."
Felix Hawthorne raised a hand to push up the glasses on his nose. "So what do you think?"
Iris Irving: "What do you mean, ’what do I think?’ I look with my eyes, obviously."
The air between them went quiet for a moment, followed by Felix Hawthorne’s low chuckle. Iris Irving’s composure was perfect; she maintained her usual cool and aloof expression.
Felix Hawthorne: "I wasn’t asking how you physically look at the news report."
"Oh," Iris Irving said, understanding now. "She is very beautiful. Even I have to admit her beauty is top-tier."
Felix Hawthorne looked proud, as if he were the one being complimented. "Of course she is."
