CHAPTER 174

Daniella came forward and led them into the house.

Inside the house, there was already tons of food on the dining table. There was a mixture of vegetables and meat, so it was a well-balanced meal. Besides, there was also a bottle of wine on the table.

“Mr. Murphy, I need to go outside and get something.” After Matthew had said that, he turned around and walked out.

After Matthew had gone out to the courtyard, Crayson rapped the cigarette pipe in his hand on the table and glared at Veronica. “Does he like you?”

IN

ED

“What?! Master, what are you on about?! He has a fiancée.” Veronica brushed him off by waving her hands as she thought that he was being quite indecent.

“Alright, that’s great to know.” Crayson nodded his head solemnly just then.

“What’s great to know?” Meanwhile, Veronica, who was quite confused by his words, couldn’t help asking.

“It’s nothing. I just think that this guy is dressed in expensive-looking clothes and he has a noble air to him, so he would be way out of your league.”

“Yeah, that’s right. Your master’s quite right.” Tony agreed with Crayson too.

Veronica was at a loss for words upon hearing that. “What’s going on in your brains? Gosh!” She shook her head and responded, “Dad, today’s your birthday and it’s also his birthday coincidentally, so he came over to celebrate your birthdays together.”

D

As soon as Veronica said that, she also realized how ridiculous the reason sounded and she quickly explained, “This was his grandmother’s idea. Actually, my god grandmother instructed him to come here.”

“Is that so? That does sound reasonable.” At that point, Tony nodded his head and he could finally heave a sigh of relief. Property © of .

Shortly after that, Matthew came back from outside and he had in his hands a crate of whisky. He carried it into the house and placed it by a corner.

“Oh no! T-This must cost so much!” Although Daniella didn’t drink much alcohol, she knew the cost of it was surely exorbitant.

However, Matthew instantly responded by saying, “Someone else gave it to my family as a gift and we couldn’t finish it, so I just brought it along anyway.”

Subsequently, he oflhandedly took out a bottle of whisky from the crate and placed it on the table with a warm smile. “Mr. and Mrs. Murphy, Master Crayson, I’m sorry for keeping you guys waiting.”

The lot of them couldn’t tell the difference between different types of alcohol but Veronica had worked at the Twilight Bar as a security personnel for so long, so she naturally knew that this whisky was very expensive. This was a top-quality aged whisky and the price of it in the market was as expected.

However, Veronica didn’t want her adopted parents to feel any unnecessary burden, so she came up with a feeble excuse. “Mom, there’s plenty of alcohol at theirs and it’s not expensive. Let’s start on our meal, or the food will grow cold soon.”

Subsequently, everyone started eating. It was just some simple home-cooked food and yet Matthew, who was used to delicacies, found that the food actually tasted exceptionally better. He savored them slowly, as it was filled with the taste of a mother’s love.

Everyone enjoyed themselves chit-chatting while they drank some alcohol. The conversation flowed and the vibe was very enjoyable.

Just then, Tony was seated on Veronica’s left while Crayson was on her right. She behaved like a daddy’s girl in front of the two of them and she reached out to tug at

Crayson’s goatee from time to time. “Master, you’re so unfair! You came over to visit my dad on his birthday but you didn’t even turn up on my birthday! As punishment, you must down a glass of whisky!”

“Okay, okay. Fine. I’ll finish off this glass as punishment. I promise to come during spring next year for your birthday.”

“Ha! Okay! You have to keep your word, then!”

“You little brat, how can you behave so disrespectfully! He’s your master, so how dare you tug on his goatee?”

“Dad, this is between me and my master, so don’t interfere. Come on-it’s your birthday today, so here’s a toast to you. Happy birthday!” As Veronica spoke, she suddenly remembered Matthew, who was sitting across from her. “Hey, Matthew, it’s your birthday too. Thank you for sending me back home today, and here’s a toast to you too. Happy birthday!”

Veronica was truly very happy and thankful for Matthew’s help.

Meanwhile, he nodded slightly before standing up to propose a toast to Tony. “Happy birthday, Mr. Murphy. Wishing you health and happiness

“Ha! Thank you.”

They sat together and everyone was quite at ease. Their happy and joyful moment created a warm and inviting vibe that surrounded them. Meanwhile, Matthew, who was engrossed in such a pleasant environment couldn’t help feeling quite relaxed somehow.

Compared to the Kings Family, such harmony and happiness were something only in his wildest dreams and it was something that he had never ever experienced before.

He did drink socially and it was either as he partied wildly with his bunch of buddies or during gatherings with his business partners, but he was usually forced to drink on those occasions. Perhaps, to be more accurate, he couldn’t avoid drinking at all. However, right now, he truly felt very happy and he was even quite envious of Veronica.

He envied her for being so carefree and she could let loose of herself so easily. He also envied the simple and happy life that she had with an ordinary family.

After their drinking session, Veronica and Daniella cleared the table together before bringing out the two cakes. They placed the cakes on the table and then added candles to them.

Just then, Veronica lit the candles before turning to Matthew and Tony, “There you go-make your wishes. Uh... Hold on!”

One of the cakes was ordered by Veronica and it was a ‘family-themed’ cake, while the other one was ordered by Matthew and there were auspicious birthday wishes on that cake. Just then, Matthew and

Tony stood side by side with each other. Meanwhile, the cake ordered by Veronica was placed in front of Matthew, so she had intended to switch the positions of the cake.

“This is the cake I bought for my dad, so it has to be in front of him.” She said that while reaching out to shift the position of the cake.

Unfortunately, as soon as she touched the sides of the cake, Matthew slapped the back of her hand. “It’s your dad’s birthday, so those auspicious birthday wishes on the

cake suit him better.”

“Yeah, that’s right. What’s on your mind anyway?” Tony couldn’t help interjecting,

Meanwhile, Veronica pouted. “Alright, then.”

She was kind of displeased as she started to sing the birthday song, “Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you-”

At that moment, Daniella sang along too. As for Crayson, he continued to puff on his cigarette pipe and he turned his dark eyes to stare at Matthew from time to time, but he didn’t say a word.

Matthew and Tony both had birthday hats on their heads as they leaned forward to make a wish

Meanwhile, Veronica took photos of the two of them using her phone as she sang loudly.

“Come here, Roni. Let me take a photo of you with them.” Daniella turned to speak to Veronica.

“Alright.” Veronica handed over her phone to Daniella and then she walked to stand in between Matthew and Tony for a group photo.

Finally, they also took a group photo of all five of them using the timer mode on the phone.

With all of that done, they finally blew out the candles and enjoyed the cakes. However, everyone was quite full from all the alcohol and dinner, so they didn’t eat much of the cake.

After dinner, they sat in the courtyard and chatted with each other while enjoying the starry skies.

“Matthew, Roni mentioned that you have a fiancée. Which family does she come from?” Daniella tried to make conversation and she suddenly recalled that so she asked in passing

As soon as she said that, Veronica felt her heart sink and she instantly lifted her head to glance at Matthew. With an awkward chuckle, she muttered, “Mom, why are you asking about that? You wouldn’t know her anyway.” Veronica was afraid that her mom would kick Matthew out right away if she knew that he was engaged to Tiffany.

“Gosh, it doesn’t matter even if I don’t know her! I’m just trying to strike up a conversation. What do you think, Matthew?”

After their dinner together, they had naturally become much closer and Daniella no longer referred to Matthew like a stranger by addressing him as ‘Young Master Matthew

“It’s just a political marriage,” Matthew replied perfunctorily and instantly changed the topic. “Roni, you never told me that you had a master.”

It was no wonder that Veronica fought so well-it was all because she had a master to guide her. However, for some reason, as soon as Matthew caught sight of Crayson, he felt that this man had a domineering aura and the latter didn’t seem like an ordinary person.

“Tsk! There are a lot of things that you’re unaware of.” Veronica suddenly wrapped her hands around Crayson’s neck. “Master, he keeps bullying me. You must teach him a lesson on my behalf later on. I keep losing to him when we fight, so it’s quite upsetting!”