Chapter 903 No One Walks Out This Door
At Trade Street intersection. The gray sports car slowly came to a stop at the traffic light. Danny’s hands rested casually on the steering wheel as he turned to Ariel with adoring eyes.
“You haven’t let go of that wedding gown ever since you laid hands on it. You must really like it a lot.”
Ariel smiled brightly. “The details on this gown are exquisite, and the material feels lovely on the skin. I have to admit that your brother truly knows what women want.”
“This is nothing. You wouldn’t be interested in this gown at all if my other sister-in-law were here,” Danny declared with pride.
Initially, he wanted to ask Elise to design a gown for Ariel, but he was afraid that he might end up causing trouble if he did, so he had no choice but to set his sights on Brendan instead.
As they chatted, Brendan’s eyes flickered out onto the street. He noticed the cafe at the corner of the street on his right.
Margaret and Edmond were coming out of the cafe with Raffle. All of them had furtive looks on their faces as if they were plotting something.
Honk!
The ear-piercing honk from the car behind snapped Danny out of his thoughts. He glanced at the traffic light, and by the time he turned to check on the trio again, they were long gone.
Danny drove off. First, he dropped Ariel back at her mother’s house before sending a text to Alexander to inform him about what he had seen earlier. Then, he drove back to Griffith Residence. He planned to check on a few things himself.
As soon as he entered the house, he saw Madeline sitting on the couch rubbing her feet. She was wincing in pain but the foot rub seemed to give her relief.
A sea of shopping bags cluttered around the couch, so much so that there was barely any space left to walk.
Danny went over and started teasing, “My dearest Mom, you’re getting up in your years, you know? Take it easy when you go shopping. Just get the store to send over anything that catches your eye. You don’t need to tire yourself out like that.”
Madeline rolled her eyes at him. “You ungrateful little brat. Why did I tire myself out like that, huh? Who do you think it’s for? It’s all for you! I wouldn’t have put myself through all this if it weren’t for the sake of getting along with your mother-in-law. I’ve never had to walk so much in heels in my life! Look, my skin is chafed now. Ouch—”
“You went out with Ariel’s mother?” Danny subconsciously lowered his voice.
“Who else could it be?” Madeline stared at her sore heel—she wasn’t sure if she should touch it—before grumbling to herself, “Why would she let you marry her daughter if I don’t butter her up first to make sure she knows her daughter will be in good hands? What if you fail to get married this time? Don’t tell me you plan on spending the rest of your life as a bachelor.”
Danny was moved beyond words.
He always thought that his mother would be very harsh toward any woman her sons dated. Who would’ve known that at the end of the day, she was still the one who always put their best interests first? She was the one who loved them the most.
“Mom,” Danny called out solemnly. “Thank you.”
“If you really want to thank me, then you better have a happy marriage with Ariel. Don’t get any of those silly ideas again!” Madeline reprimanded.
Danny was amused. “Don’t worry, Mom. I won’t do anything that’ll make you fret anymore. I’ll take you to your room.”
“Oh, you little brat. Look at you finally discovering your sense of decency.” Although Madeline appeared as if she didn’t care for Danny’s response, deep down inside, she was filled with contentment. As Danny helped her up the stairs, she kept giving him advice. “Remember what your mother tells you, okay? If you want a happy home, the man and the woman must first be good to each other…”
The next day.
A maid started knocking on Elise and Alexander’s door bright and early in the morning.
“Mr. Griffith, Mr. Thompson has come. He says he’s looking for Mrs. Griffith and won’t leave until he sees her!”
The couple had no choice but to march down the stairs weary-eyed to greet their uninvited guest.
“Mr. Thompson.” Elise stretched lazily. “You’re here early. How can I help you?”
“Good morning, Miss White. I’m here to look for you. Prince Caleb wants to see you, so please come with me.” Mack looked positively giddy in a way that tempted others to slap him.
“What for?” Alexander sounded tired, and it was most likely due to the couple’s long, strenuous night.
“I’m afraid I’m not at liberty to disclose that for now. Miss White will find out soon enough once she gets there,” Mack smirked as he retorted airily. He looked like the cat that caught the canary.
Elise leaned against Alexander and continued scrolling through her phone. She showed no sign of getting up.
“Please wait a moment, Mr. Thompson. I will get changed and come with you,” Alexander said.
“That won’t be necessary.” Mack raised his voice and called out haughtily, “Prince Caleb only wishes to meet with Miss White. You can visit him some other time, Mr. Griffith!”
Alexander’s expression darkened and his eyes turned menacing. Even the air around him turned hostile.
However, Mack looked him straight in the eye with full confidence and didn’t back down at all, to Alexander’s surprise. The air around them became tense.
Just then, Elise’s phone buzzed.
She glanced at the screen and saw that she just received a text from Princess Diana. ‘You must make sure Mr. Griffith comes with you!’
Elise was silent in thought for a second before she casually passed Alexander her phone and stood up. “So what if the prince wants to see me? I don’t want to see him, so I’m not going.”
Mack narrowed his eyes and stared at her dangerously. “Prince Caleb and Princess Diana have come from afar. They’re honored guests here at Cittadel. It seems to me that your attitude is a little too disrespectful, Miss White.”
Alexander finished reading the text and pocketed the phone before standing up and putting his arm around Elise’s waist. “So you do know that you’re guests, huh? You’re in Cittadel and you don’t have the right to restrict the freedom of Cittadelians. Anastasia is my loved one. No one gets to walk out this door in one piece after demanding to see her alone without my presence, not even the authorities here in Cittadel!”
Alexander’s imposing aura made it clear that he was not to be fought on this. Any form of provocation wouldn’t work on him.
After thinking in silence for quite some time, Mack finally gave in. “In that case, please come with us, Mr. Griffith.”
Half an hour later, Mack had brought the couple to Prince Caleb and Princess Diana’s place.
Prince Caleb and Princess Diana were sitting at the head of the grand hall, while Margaret stood beside Raffle. Her sharp eyes glinted murderously as if she was about to send someone to their death.
Elise sighed in annoyance. Margaret again. Why is she even more irritating than the Whites? She’s like dog poop that can’t seem to be scraped off the bottom of the shoe.
Elise didn’t even have to spend any time guessing. She knew that Margaret was certainly up to no good again.
Sure enough, as soon as Elise and Alexander greeted the royal couple, Raffle and Margaret began their performance.
“Mr. Griffith and Miss White, as this is a matter of great importance, please overlook the fact that I didn’t inform you in advance.” Raffle stood aside to let Margaret take the stage. “This morning, Miss Ainsley kneeled outside the Department of Commerce to protest against the injustice of the designer selection. After understanding the situation, I realized that I couldn’t make the decision myself, so I brought her here in the hopes that everyone could discuss how we could resolve this matter. Miss Ainsley, go ahead and say whatever it is you have to say in front of Prince Caleb and Princess Diana.”
Raffle was the one who brought Margaret over to lodge a complaint, but the sly fox was here acting as if he was merely doing what was right.
