Chapter 0274

Claudia abruptly rose to her feet, her chest heaving violently as if she had been deeply wronged. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she had that same wounded look I was all too familiar with.

As soon as she made that face, Frances' heart would immediately turn to mush. The latter shot daggers at me.

"What exactly happened between you and Claudia, Ari? What could she possibly do for you to treat her this way? She's still young! Look at her! She's crying so hard she can barely breathe!"

I rolled my eyes silently. If she was having trouble breathing, why didn't she just pass out?

I rose from my seat and looked at Daniel, the only person here who still pretended to care. "I didn't make up with Nicholas. It seems I've come to the wrong place. Please carry on without me." (C) content.

As soon as my words fell, the ballroom door swung open. A chilly draft swept in, causing me to shiver. It felt as if the temperature had dropped several degrees in an instant.

Jasmine walked in, arm-in-arm with Nicholas. She flitted around the room like a butterfly, greeting everyone and acting as though she was already a member of the Hawk family.

I was surprised to see that she had completely let go of her grudge against Claudia, even going so far as to tenderly wipe her tears away.

Claudia, on the other hand, barely acknowledged her, making the whole scene rather awkward.

Had I been in her shoes, I would have been mortified. I finally realized why I could never be the mistress of the Hawk family-I lacked both her magnanimity and her ability to put up a front.

Nicholas had been watching me intently ever since he walked in, and he hadn't said a word. His expression was cold and distant, and his dark eyes held a detached, almost indifferent gaze.

I realized we were pretty much strangers now. I pulled out the check from my bag and gently placed it on the table.

*Congratulations on your engagement. I've come to offer my regards today, so I'll be taking my leave. I also hope you'll avoid reaching out to me in the future."

"Wait, what? Who's getting engaged?" Daniel, despite his frail state from being sick for so long, questioned. However, as soon as those words rolled off his tongue, he sank back into his chair, drained.

Frances explained, "Nick and Jasmine are the ones getting engaged. They've been seeing each other for a while now."

Daniel was clutching his chest, clearly in discomfort. However, Frances continued, 'It's their engagement party today. Nick wanted to give you a surprise."

I frowned and glanced at Nicholas. For some reason, I had a bad feeling about Frances, I didn't think it was safe to leave Daniel in her care. Yet, Nicholas didn't seem to notice anything amiss. He just kept his eyes on me.

"Don't go just yet," he said, pulling a ring box from his jacket pocket. "Since you're here, you might as well see everything through to the end."

He toyed with the ring box, causing my heart to race. I was very familiar with the box's design. Jasmine walked over to Nicholas' side when she noticed him pull out the ring.

With a smile, she said, "Nick wanted to keep it simple, so we're just having a small, intimate gathering. I didn't realize you'd be here, Ms. Jones. Nick said he chose this ring with a lot of thought and believes it's perfect for us."