The next day, when I accompanied John to a charity dinner, I ran into my half-sister—Zoe.
She was standing in the center of the event, holding a wine glass, laughing and mingling with others.
She was so accustomed to such scenes, effortlessly drawing everyone's attention to her.
Meanwhile, I sat on the sofa in the corner of the venue, and compared to Zoe, I appeared dull and insignificant.
"Anyone caught your eye?" John walked over to me and sat down beside me, handing me a list of items for the charity auction.
I had never been fond of these things.
As I looked at the auction list, unsure what to pick, John spoke up: "The organizers of this event have been long-term partners with me, I'll need to spend a little money. Don't feel burdened, if you like something, it'll be perfect for both of us."
Hah, did he think I'd be embarrassed to spend his money?
The grudge from yesterday, I'm going to get my revenge tonight!
So I pointed to the most expensive item on the list: "Then I'll take this necklace."
I noticed John's eyebrows twitch uncomfortably, but he quickly controlled his emotions: "Okay."
I watched Zoe busy in the crowd, then glanced at John, who was secretly playing with his phone beside me. I nudged his foot: "Aren't you going to expand your network? This is a good chance to meet some big names."
"Don't you want me to sit here and keep you company?"
"Hmm, I guess it's not really necessary."
John sighed, but instead of leaving, he deliberately moved a little closer to me.
The soft sofa sank slightly with his movement. His hand rested behind me, close to my back. I only had to lift my head slightly to meet John's beautiful eyes.
This action was both intimate and ambiguous. To others, we might appear as a newlywed couple madly in love, but only I knew, that John, this man, was deep and calculating. Who knew what he'd say next?
As expected, this time he wasn't as forceful as last night. His voice had a slightly flattering tone.
"But I want to be with you, can I?"
He nuzzled gently against my neck like a big dog.
I had to admit, sometimes John's occasional cute side really worked on me.
"Zoe?" It was Mckayla's voice. She seemed to have finished dealing with her guests and came over to greet me. But we had never gotten along since childhood, and her tone wasn't friendly at all, "I can't believe I ran into you here, always hanging around."
I felt John stiffen beside me.
I wanted to push him away, but he stopped me, whispering in a voice only we could hear, "Don't! Please, I need to see people!"
But those mischievous thoughts were contagious.
Right now, I just wanted to push John further away.
Not for anything else, just to hear him beg me.
In the end, I got what I wanted.
"Zoe!"
"Honey, please let me go, okay～"
My hand tightened around him as I heard his breathing grow heavier.
But Zoe, standing there, clearly showed her displeasure, completely ignoring the chaos between us.
"You know, I'd have let it slide if this was just some playful behavior, but now that you're married, you bring a host to this kind of event?" Mckayla sneered, giving me a once-over before sarcastically saying, "I really don't understand what you're thinking."
I: …
John: …
There was a brief pause between the three of us, broken only by the uncontrollable laughter that escaped me.
John pinched my waist.
I couldn't help it.
I really couldn't help it.
When I heard Mckayla refer to John as a host, my smile became even harder to suppress than a volcano about to erupt.
But Mckayla's attacks didn't stop there.
"Oh, so this host is quite thick-skinned, even after all this, he won't leave you."
"This one of the crew from last time, one of the gang? What's his name again, Andy?"
"He's just after your money and resources, do you know that? Don't get too carried away!"
I nodded like a clattering rattle, "Got it, got it."
Mckayla rolled her eyes in disbelief: "You're making my eyes dirty. I'm leaving, see you at the auction."
…
After Mckayla walked away, John slowly raised his head.
I nudged John's shoulder: "Hey, finally making an appearance?"
My laughter grew wilder as I saw John's face turn increasingly sour, until I heard him grit his teeth: "You should think about how you're going to explain to me later about the eighteen hosts she mentioned."
"…"
After great joy, there's often great sorrow.
