Chapter 42: Chapter 42: A Good Time to Gloat
Zane Keller threw a celebration party for Jude Sheridan, organizing a dinner and inviting many of his cronies.
When Jude Sheridan arrived, they had already started drinking.
Seeing him arrive alone, the others began to ask questions.
"Where’s our sister-in-law?"
Jude Sheridan’s eyes darkened, a flash of impatience in their depths.
"She’s not here."
Zane Keller hurried over to greet Jude Sheridan and, smiling, said to the one who had asked the question.
"You need to be more specific. Which sister-in-law are you asking about?"
A few of them burst out laughing.
Zane Keller continued.
"The ’big’ sister-in-law has always looked down on us brothers. She’d never come to a dinner like this. If she did, she’d probably just give us all dirty looks and make everyone uncomfortable. Now, if the ’little’ sister-in-law came, that would make everyone happy."
Jude Sheridan shot him a look, a hint of anger hidden in his eyes.
"Shut up."
Zane Keller symbolically slapped his own mouth.
"My bad, I talked too much. I’ll punish myself with three drinks in a bit."
"But I don’t think I was wrong. The ’big’ sister-in-law has a truly foul temper. Only you, Jude, could put up with a personality like that."
Jude Sheridan’s face hardened.
"If you keep putting her down like this, don’t blame me for disregarding our friendship and cutting you off."
Zane Keller pouted.
Jude Sheridan ignored his expression, walked over, and took a seat.
A few of the guys crowded around him, toasting him and flattering him with their words.
Jude Sheridan enjoyed it.
After a few drinks, Jude Sheridan said in a heavy voice.
"After we hang out today, I probably won’t have time to get together with you guys anymore."
Everyone expressed their understanding.
Having been told off by Jude Sheridan earlier, Zane Keller sat to one side, drinking sullenly.
A hint of resentment in his eyes, he spoke up.
"Jude, is it because our sister-in-law won’t let you hang out with us?"
Jude Sheridan didn’t answer. It was, indeed, one of the main reasons.
Seeing this, Zane Keller cursed.
"Jude, you should teach her a little lesson! Make her understand who’s in charge in this world, men or women!"
"She humiliated you in front of all those business partners yesterday. If it were me, I wouldn’t have stood for it! I’ve got my own ways of handling women. Look at mine—no matter how much I go out and party, she doesn’t dare say a peep at home."
"Just do what I say, Jude, and I guarantee our sister-in-law will be completely obedient to you! Even if you brought the ’little’ sister-in-law right in front of her, she wouldn’t dare make a sound."
Jude Sheridan’s expression was grim as he spoke in a low, heavy voice.
"How do I teach her a lesson?"
Giselle Sullivan had specially invited Cecilia Croft to a private dinner today to thank her for helping secure an investment from Sebastian Hawthorne.
As the two of them passed by the private room Jude Sheridan was in, they naturally overheard some of the conversation.
Giselle Sullivan looked at Cecilia Croft with worried eyes.
Cecilia Croft, however, appeared calm and stopped in her tracks.
Zane Keller lowered his voice, and a waiter was also walking over to close the door.
Cecilia Croft raised a hand to block the door and strode inside.
"I’d also like to know how President Keller plans to teach me a lesson."
She crossed her arms, leaning slightly against the private room’s doorframe. Her beautiful eyes held a smile, but it was utterly devoid of warmth.
The others broke out in a cold sweat when they saw her. They silently lowered their heads and pretended to be busy picking up food.
Zane Keller’s expression froze, and he gave an awkward smile.
"Sister-in-law, I’ve had too much to drink. I was just talking nonsense."
Jude Sheridan frowned and shot him a glare, then stood up and walked toward Cecilia Croft.
"Cecilia, what are you doing here?"
He reached out to take her hand, but Cecilia Croft immediately raised her own and slapped his outstretched hand away.
"If I hadn’t come, how else would I have heard my own fiancé asking his good friend for advice on how to teach me a lesson?"
Jude Sheridan’s brow furrowed.
In front of those business partners, he could tolerate Cecilia Croft humiliating him however she pleased.
But in front of these people, he would not allow Cecilia Croft to walk all over him.
Jude Sheridan lowered his voice, his eyes filled with impatience.
"That’s not what I meant. This is all a misunderstanding. I’ll explain it to you when we get back. I’ll take you home now."
A smile played on Cecilia Croft’s lips.
"Why the rush? President Keller hasn’t shared his brilliant idea yet."
Zane Keller swallowed hard and said with a fawning smile, "Sister-in-law, I was just talking big. I’ll slap myself."
Cecilia Croft casually grabbed a glass from a service counter and hurled it at Zane Keller.
Caught off guard, the glass hit Zane Keller right on the corner of his eye.
"AGH!" he cried out, quickly covering his eye.
The glass fell to the floor with a sharp, crisp shattering sound. No one dared to breathe.
Jude Sheridan took a deep breath, his chest heaving.
"Zane Keller already admitted he was wrong. You..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Cecilia Croft raised her hand and slapped him across the face. The air fell instantly silent.
Jude Sheridan’s head tilted slightly. He stared at Cecilia Croft with a sinister gaze, a monstrous rage churning in his eyes.
Seeing this, Giselle Sullivan quickly stepped forward and pulled Cecilia Croft back, afraid that Jude Sheridan, in his fit of anger, would strike Cecilia.
’The difference in strength between a man and a woman was too great; if they came to blows, she would ultimately be the one at a disadvantage.’
Someone in the private room went over to try and calm Jude Sheridan down.
The two were pulled apart, and someone—no one knew who—closed the door to the private room, separating Cecilia Croft and Jude Sheridan.
Giselle Sullivan let out a huge sigh of relief and quickly patted her chest.
"That scared me to death."
"President Croft, you shouldn’t have been so impulsive. There were so many big guys in that room just now! We’re just two helpless women. If a real fight broke out, I could swing my high heels until they started smoking and I still wouldn’t be able to hit all those heads."
Giselle Sullivan’s description was so vivid that Cecilia Croft couldn’t help but chuckle, her composure returning.
"Sorry, I almost got you dragged into it."
A moment ago, when she heard Jude Sheridan ask Zane Keller how to teach her a lesson, her anger had suddenly overwhelmed her reason.
Perhaps it was because she had never imagined Jude Sheridan would turn against her.
A man like Zane Keller, whose methods were so despicable... and Jude had actually stooped to asking him for advice.
Jude Sheridan had once again redefined Cecilia Croft’s understanding of him.
In that moment, she’d really had the urge to just throw caution to the wind.
She felt her seven years with him were a waste.
Thank goodness she discovered his infidelity before the wedding.
They had no children, no ties binding them. She still had a chance to get out in time.
Giselle Sullivan was in no mood to eat at this restaurant. She was also worried that Jude Sheridan’s group, fueled by alcohol, might do something outrageous. So, she took the initiative and suggested they go to another restaurant.
Cecilia Croft nodded in agreement, saying she hadn’t had street food in a long time and wanted to try some roadside barbecue.
Giselle Sullivan was, of course, happy to accompany her.
Cecilia Croft normally never drank, but tonight she felt the urge to.
After a few drinks, the two of them began to open up.
Giselle Sullivan asked Cecilia Croft what her plans were now.
Cecilia Croft shook her head, not revealing her plans.
Giselle Sullivan sighed softly. She knew just how difficult it was to let go of a seven-year relationship, especially since they had founded Vantage together.
Somehow, the topic shifted to Sebastian Hawthorne.
"President Croft, you and Mr. Hawthorne seem to have a good relationship. Have you known each other for a long time?"
Giselle Sullivan had always been curious: since Cecilia Croft and Jude Sheridan both came from humble beginnings, how had she managed to not only get to know someone as distinguished as Sebastian Hawthorne, the ’Crown Prince’, but also convince him to invest on such short notice?
Cecilia Croft nodded. "A very long time."
She grew despondent at the thought that her relationship with Jude Sheridan had left a lifelong stain on her.
"Karma came way too fast. Now he gets the perfect chance to laugh at me. His mouth is so venomous, I bet he’s going to be mocking me for a good long while."
