Chapter 10

After Ethan said that, he walked right past David and headed straight for me.

All three hundred guests stared at him.

He strode right past Olivia.

Then he walked past Helen.

Then past every last one of the Langleys.

And finally, he came to a stop right in front of me.

"Been here long?" Ethan asked.

"Not even ten minutes," I replied.

"Had anything to eat?" he asked.

"Not yet," I said.

"Come on, let's get out of here. I know a place with amazing food," he said.

The whole room went dead silent.

Olivia's smile froze, then faded right off her face.

David was rooted to the spot, his face dark as thunder.

"Mr. Cooper, you're at my engagement party," David said.

Ethan turned his head.

"Congrats, Mr. Langley. But honestly, I'm not here for you," Ethan replied.

"So, what brings you here then?" David asked.

"Ms. Sutton is my business partner. We need to talk business," Ethan said.

Business partner, he had called me.

Everyone's expression shifted at those words.

"Grace? Working with Prime Capital?" someone whispered.

"Wasn't she the ex-wife who walked away with nothing?" another person muttered.

"Prime Capital? That's a 30 billion dollar fund," someone else said.

Olivia glanced at David, who then looked at me.

I stood up.

"Mr. Cooper, the engagement party isn't over yet. It'd be rude to leave now," I said.

"Then I'll stay and keep you company," Ethan replied.

He really took the seat right beside me.

A waiter rushed over, looking flustered.

"Mr. Cooper, what can I get for you?" the waiter asked.

"Just give me whatever she's having," Ethan replied.

Helen finally snapped out of it.

"Grace, what are you doing? This is my son's engagement party, and you show up with a man on your arm!" Helen snapped.

"Helen, he came on his own," I replied.

"You—" Helen sputtered.

Emily stormed over.

"Grace, did you do this on purpose? You're just here to mess things up!" Emily yelled.

I ignored her.

Olivia finally walked over.

Her smile was back, but the hate underneath it was impossible to miss.

"Ms. Sutton, Mr. Cooper, you two can chat. But today's mine and David's big day. Would you mind waiting until the ceremony's over?" she said.

Ethan glanced at her.

"Ms. White, that necklace you've got on—" Ethan said.

Olivia instinctively reached for her necklace.

"What about it?" she asked.

"Nothing. It just looks cheap next to the one Ms. Sutton has on," Ethan replied.

Olivia's face went pale.

She had on a Swarovski crystal necklace worth barely 650 dollars, and it looked it.

The custom Cartier at my throat was worth 2.3 million dollars.

I tugged at Ethan's sleeve.

"Let it go," I said.

"Alright," Ethan replied.

The engagement ceremony went on.

They exchanged rings, made their toasts, and took congratulations from the guests.

On the surface, everything seemed normal, but the atmosphere had completely changed.

No one was watching the couple on stage anymore.

Instead, everyone's attention was on me and Ethan, sitting together in the corner.

After the ceremony, David walked over with a glass in hand.

"Grace, can we talk alone for a minute?" he asked.

"If you've got something to say, just say it here," I replied.

He gripped his glass.

"So, what's going on between you and Ethan?" David asked.