A Moment in Destiny

Chapter 317 Charity Auction

“You came alone?” Vincent frowned as he asked Arthur, who did not have a female accompanying him.

“Yeah, I’m not like you, I’m not married yet, so I’ve got no one to bring!” Arthur said with a smirk, “Oh right, where’s your mother? I don’t see her anywhere.”

“She’ll be here soon!” Vincent looked out at the hall and didn’t see anyone. It might take a lot longer.

Suddenly, Vincent caught sight of someone familiar and said to Leila and Arthur, “I gotta do something. You guys wait for me here!”

Leila nodded, “Oh, alright!”

Vincent gave a quick nod to Arthur and left.

For a while, it was just Leila and Arthur left alone in the corner.

Leila lowered her head and felt more uneasy. After Vincent left, Leila said in a low voice, “I’m sorry, Arthur.”

“For what?” Arthur asked.

“I shouldn’t have lied to you and gave you my maiden name… Well, actually, I didn’t lie to you. My name is Lexi before…… Can I ask you for a favor?”

“Oh?!” Arthur’s eyes grew wide with playfulness. “And what’s this favor, Leila!?”

Leila’s face was filled with embarrassment, but she mustered up courage and quietly said, “Can you keep the fact I’m learning Taekwondo a secret from Vincent?”

Arthur’s eyes widened, and he said, “Leila, I…”

He deliberately trailed off and stopped there.

Leila looked at him with watery eyes to beg him.

Arthur blinked, “Why should I?”

… Leila said nothing; her eyes were also filled with confusion.

“What’s in it for me?” He asked.

…

“Hahahah…” Arthur suddenly burst into laughter, which drew the attention of those around.

Vincent was speaking with a distinguished guest, then he turned to look at Arthur laughing and Leila’s embarrassed expression. To him, it looked as though the two only met for ten minutes and were already getting along too close for comfort! He felt an uneasiness in his heart, which became a menacing aura around him.

His body turned cold, and his eyes were sharp like daggers, frightening the guest who he was speaking to. “Mr. White?”

“Oh! Please excuse me for a bit!” Vincent returned to his senses, smiled gently, and took his leave.

Vincent stepped out and lit a cigarette before a tall window that stretched from the floor to the ceiling. Staring at the huge crowd, a strange, unspeakable feeling of irritation began to form inside him. He didn’t even understand what caused him to feel this way.

The smoke shrouded around his face; the glittering tip of the cigarette came and went, and his face looked eerie. He gave off a dangerous aura that scared people away.

"What are you laughing at?" Leila quietly asked Arthur.

“I’m laughing at you, silly! You’re too naive. Alright, I’ll keep your little secret from Vincent. But you gotta tell me why you are hiding this from him?”

“Well-”

“Are you learning to defend against him?” Arthur froze and he had never been more surprised.

“Not at all!” She flushed and lowered her head.

Arthur blinked and seemed to realize something. Then he laughed again. Looking at the way Leila behaved, he knew there was something between her and Vincent. Arthur then said seriously, “Don’t worry, this will be our secret. I won’t tell him! I know you’re learning to defend against him. Poor Vincent!”

Vincent flicked his unfinished cigarette to the floor, which made a soft “tap” sound. He said nothing, but made his way toward Arthur and Leila.

Arthur was quick to survey the situation and decided to leave in a hurry. “Leila, Vincent’s coming; I’m going to the restroom. Good luck!”

“Oh, OK!” Leila nodded. The second she turned around, she saw Vincent’s looming figure headed her way with a gloomy face.

Vincent was on a sleek white suit today which made him appear quite noble. He headed towards her, with his eyes crinkling against the lights and the night.

By the time Vincent arrived, Leila was still in a daze. He grabbed her wrist and said through a hiss, “Looks like you were having a great time with my VP?”

Leila was confused; she replied softly, “Mr. Arthur seems to have a great sense of humor.”

Vincent’s gaze turned cold, and he said with a hint of anger, “Are you trying to say that I’m too dull?”

Hearing him say this, she shut her mouth and looked at him dumbfounded. It took her a while to recover and said, “No, no, you’re great!”

“I’m great?” Vincent pressed on, “What’s so great about me?”

Leila wanted to bite her tongue off, “You, you’re mature, handsome, capable of planning far ahead, and kind…”

So what does he had got to do with kindness?

Vincent still had his doubts in mind, but Leila’s words had some effect, and Vincent’s tone relaxed a bit, “What were you two discussing?”

“Nothing much, he just asked me whether you had treated me well.” As she spoke, Leila raised her head and looked at Vincent.

“What did you say?”

“I said you treat you quite well!”

Vincent’s eyebrows cringed but he said nothing; he just looked at her silently.

Leila started to get nervous again. Today, her mother-in-law and Vincent said they were going to introduce her to everyone. This meant that, from now on, she’d appear before everyone as Mrs. White. She didn’t like that, since it meant she’d have less personal freedom.

“You’d better not make me lose face today.” He said in an icy tone only audible for Leila. “Come, I’m going to introduce someone to you!”

Leila took a deep breath; she knew this so well in her heart, so she chose to say nothing. She put on her charming smile, lifted her eyes, and nodded, “Alright, I understand.”

Facing the crowd, Vincent had also put on a smile as he introduced Leila to everyone.

A wave of gasps and ruckus rang out from the entrance. Leila raised her head and saw Nora and Pippa dressed in extravagance as they entered. All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

Leila looked on in awe at Pippa, who was in a white dress that covered above her chest and was decorated with a silver tulip decor, which made her body even more attractive.

Pippa held Nora’s arm, and two staff members guided them into the grand hall, to the resounding awe of the audience. “Look, that’s Nora! She’s back!”

“Oh my, that’s really her! She hasn’t shown up in years!”

“So she’s Vincent’s mother!”

“And that woman, isn’t that the mother of Vincent’s child?”

…

“Isn’t that President White’s mistress? Then who’s that next to him?” Already people were gossiping as they looked at Vincent and Leila.

Nora had put on a smile, and she nodded politely at the guests.

“Mom, let’s go there, Vincent’s there!” Pippa held her and guided her toward the center, where Vincent and Leila were.

“Alright! It seems they’re all here already.” Nora nodded and continued to smile brilliantly. But as she glanced around the room, her eyes gave off a cold stare for a split second as she looked at Leila.

Leila pressed her pale lips together; it was as though she had taken some strong but bitter alcohol. Her heart was now an aching mess. It seemed like her mother-in-law could smile kindly to everyone, except her.

Leila thought, it must be due to some hatred she still harbored against her, Vincent, and the entire White family.

Nora walked over, her expression looking majestic and powerful. She had her chin slightly lifted as she looked at Leila. The charity auction was about to start.

“Mother!” Vincent stepped up to greet her.

Leila followed his lead, “Mom, you’re here!”

Nora acted high and mighty. She continued to look at Leila with indifference, meanwhile smiling radiantly at the guests and reporters. “So, the auction’s about to start, right? Vincent, did you prepare what I asked for?”

“I donated five million of jewelry in your name, and another five in Leila’s name, totaling ten million.” Vincent said.

Leila was taken aback; was she involved in all this as well?

“Good!” Nora nodded, then glared over at Leila and said in a low voice. “You’ve seen what kind of occasion today is; Behave yourself. Don’t act like a fool! Say something, but don’t say anything unnecessary.”

“Yes!” Leila looked down.

Everyone took to their seats.

The lights continued to flicker, as the auctioneer took to the stage and announced the start of the auction.

“Next up, let’s start with the first piece of jewelry for today, donated by Ms. Leila White, the wife of President Vincent White…”

Leila’s heart skipped a beat as she suddenly became the focus of the reporter’s flashes from their cameras.

Vincent said nothing and looked emotionless.

A hint of light glimmered in Nora’s eyes, though there was no telling what she had planned.

There was a gleam of worry on Pippa’s face; she looked like she wanted to say something but couldn’t. She merely exchanged looks with Vincent.

In the living room of the Hunter family, Brian and Mabel sat before the TV, watching the live feed of the auction. Mabel said with worry, “Brian, the reporters said, Nora is Vincent’s mother? How could she possibly be his mother?! Won’t that make her Eric’s…”

Mabel seemed to realize something as she said, “Oh god! No wonder his last name is White; he’s the son of Eric and Nora!”

Brian, on the other hand, was exceptionally silent. He seemed to have caught sight of a hint of pride in the eyes of Nora. It had been so many years, yet she hadn’t really changed much! “Today, they officially acknowledged their relationship with Leila.”

“Right! Oh god, how come I didn’t think of that? Will our family still be able to find peace from now on?” Mabel asked confusedly.

Unlike Mabel, Brian was still calm and said, “It’s not something you can escape.”

“Is Vincent in love with Leila? Or why they introduce Leila to everyone in such a hurry?” Mabel asked in confusion.

Brian kept his gaze fixed to the TV. “Nora’s back on; since we’re family, they should have invited us.”

“Hm, that’s right. Tomorrow, I’ll give Vincent a call!”

There was noticeable worry on Brian’s face; he stopped talking.

Mabel sat quietly next to him, also staring at the TV. Looking at Leila’s nervous expression, she began to worry again as a mother, “Leila looks so scared; she always liked to keep a low profile. What’s going to happen to her now?”