Chapter 16 Invite Her Himself

• “Sure. I hope to see you at the banquet, Julianna!”
• With that, Fabio placed the invitation on the table and left, a cold smirk on his face.
• After he left, he immediately informed Jared about what had happened earlier. “Mr. Cordrington, Christopher will be attending the banquet. Should we make some preparations beforehand?”
• “There's no need for that. He's just a lowly soldier. I can't believe he has the gall to act so arrogantly. If he tries to cause a scene, I'll have my men break his legs,” came Jared's scoffing reply. He did not perceive Christopher as a threat at all. Plus, the banquet took place on his turf, and he was confident that Christopher would surely lie low.
• Jared had two reasons for holding the banquet at such a time. Firstly, he was determined to get his hands on the Murrays' land in Dragon Valley. Second to that was his desire to sleep with Julianna.
• Naturally, he would never marry Julianna. Cordrington Corporation could never allow their heir to marry a divorcée, not even if Julianna was a virgin.
• Nonetheless, that did not mean Jared would not attempt to make the woman his lover.
• A sneer appeared on Jared's face as he vowed, “You're destined to become my lover, Julianna.” As for Christopher, he had already thought of a way to deal with the troublesome soldier. Ever since the day Christopher suddenly appeared and wrecked his plans, Jared had been itching to cripple the man for good.
• Jadeborough was brightly lit come six thirty in the evening. Cars bustled about the city as Christopher and Julianna arrived at Wyvern Hotel.
• Julianna was understandably nervous about the event. She shot Christopher an uneasy look. He turned around to meet her gaze at the same time, and he quickly comforted her, “Don't worry, and just head in. No one will dare to hurt you!”
• Christopher's smile reassured Julianna to no end. Even if he was a retired and powerless soldier, she felt that he was her strongest pillar of support.
• Wyvern Hotel was decked out in lavish decorations. It was the most prestigious venue in all of Jadeborough. Jared's banquet took place in the magnificent ballroom on the sixth floor. All the attendees were Jared's friends, and they were all rich people.
• After all, Cordrington Corporation had a valuation worth hundreds of billions, and the family behind it naturally possessed a vast and influential network.
• Every man and woman in the ballroom was dressed to the nines. Consequently, Christopher's old camo uniform and Julianna's head-turning beauty immediately captured the crowd's attention.
• A woman wearing a maroon evening gown jeered, “My, my, isn't that Julianna?”
• “Minerva?” Julianna exclaimed once she turned around and recognized the woman.
• Once a smug Minerva ascertained Julianna's identity, she mocked the latter, “This must be that missing husband of yours, Julianna. I can't believe you haven't divorced him!”
• The two women used to be university classmates. Though Minerva was pretty, her beauty paled in comparison with Julianna, who was considered the most beautiful woman in the entire faculty. Minerva spent four years living in Julianna's shadow, losing out on her classmate in both academic performance and appearance. Even Minerva's current husband used to have a crush on Julianna.
• Minerva thought Julianna would outshine her for the rest of their lives. No one had expected Julianna to get married shortly after graduating from university. Judging by Christopher's garb, Minerva automatically assumed that he worked as a laborer, and she was not about to let go of a golden opportunity to belittle her rival.
• Sensing her ex-classmate's animosity, Julianna declared curtly, “We're busy, so we shall take our leave.”
• Just as she was about to leave with Christopher, Minerva called out, “Andrew, come over here. Julianna is here with her husband.”
• Minerva's husband, Andrew Jervis, had just come out of the restroom. When he heard his wife's call, he quickly looked over and immediately spotted Julianna and the shabbily dressed Christopher beside her. A hint of smugness flashed through his eyes, and he smirked. I bet you didn't think you'd end up marrying some poor laborer when you rejected me years ago, Julianna! You must be sorely regretting your decision now!
• Like his wife, Andrew would not pass up an opportunity to flaunt himself before Julianna and show her how stupid her decision was then.
• Smiling, he stretched his hand out and offered Christopher a handshake. “Ah, how nice it is to finally meet Julianna's husband. My wife and I were Julianna's university classmates. My name is Andrew Jervis. It's a pleasure to meet you.” He also shot Christopher a patronizing look for good measure.
• Dressed in an Armani suit and a pair of polished leather shoes, Andrew was the spitting image of a successful businessman. On the other hand, Christopher's garbs hardly cost two hundred. It was a camo uniform, after all.
• The two men made for an extreme comparison, and Minerva was pleased as punch. It soothed some of the bitterness she had been harboring over the years.
• Still, Minerva went one step further and held Andrew back, cautioning, “Don't shake his hand, Darling. He probably just came from the construction site; it must be full of germs. Don't catch a cold from doing that.”
• Julianna's face immediately soured upon hearing Minerva's nasty words. She used to be the darling of their faculty, and her pride did not allow anyone to humiliate her husband, Christopher as it was no different from humiliating her.
• Right as she was about to drag Christopher away with her, the voice of a middle-aged man rang out behind her.
• “Are you Ms. Julianna Murray?”
• Julianna whirled around to the polite expression of a man. He seemed somewhat familiar, and she wondered if she had met him before.
• Andrew turned around as well and froze in surprise. He did not expect to meet his company's superior at the banquet. Andrew sputtered, “M-Mr. Cadwell, y-you're attending Mr. Cordrington's banquet as well!”
• “Ah, Andrew, is it?”
• Ford shot Andrew a half-hearted smile. He was not about to entertain one of his many subordinates at the banquet.
• Then, he turned his attention to Christopher. His expression instantly changed when he recognized the man in a camouflage suit.
• Ford hastily stretched both his hands out to clasp Christopher's, and he uttered frantically, “Ah, Mr. Yaeger. I'm Ford Cadwell. My younger brother, Stanley, offended your family last time, and I thank you for showing him mercy. Mr. Santos has lectured me and instructed me to be at your service. I'm ready to assist you anytime. Just give me a call.”
• Instantly, Andrew and Minerva's jaws dropped to the floor.
• Mr. Cadwell is a manager in Celestial Fox Corporation. He's considered a bigshot in our company! Here, he is buttering Christopher up! Plus, it sounds as though Christopher knows Mr. Santos. That's the general manager and the top dog of our company! What on earth is happening? Why does Christopher know so many important people?
• The couple's faces burned with embarrassment.
• Meanwhile, Christopher quickly understood Ford's words. Truman must've scolded Ford's ears off for Stanley's little stunt, so he's here to suck up to me after realizing my relationship with Truman.
• Christopher replied lightly, “I guess I do have something for you to do.”
• “Anything, Mr. Yaeger!” Ford eagerly anticipated his chance at ingratiating himself with Christopher.
• Christopher ordered coolly, “Do help to chase away these two annoying flies. We're occupied with other business. Oh, you should leave too. You don't deserve to attend tonight's banquet.” His patience to deal with Andrew and Minerva had run dry.
• Ford promptly read between the lines and understood that the couple had offended Christopher. He was not amused. How dare they offend Mr. Yaeger! Do they have a death wish or something?
• The manager patted his chest and promised, “Don't worry, Mr. Yaeger.” Then, he said to the stupid couple, “You two, follow me.”
• He turned and headed off. Pale-faced, Minerva and Andrew hurriedly caught up to him to explain themselves.
• Christopher knew what would happen next, but he did not pity them for a consequence they deserved.
• Julianna and Christopher had barely taken a step when Fabio approached them.
• In truth, Jared knew exactly when the couple had arrived at the banquet. He was now drinking in a private room, waiting to pressure Julianna into indulging his fancies.
• Fabio greeted the couple with condescending instructions. “Julianna, you've been summoned by Mr. Cordrington. As for you, Christopher, stay here at the banquet and enjoy the free food! I'm sure you've never been to an event like this.”
• His words filled Julianna with panic, and she quickly tossed Christopher a frantic glance.
• “Oh? Why the rush?” Christopher's eyes glinted dangerously as he asked.
• “Stop wasting time, Julianna. Come with me, or you know what will happen later!” Fabio could not be bothered to spare Christopher an extra glance. After all, they were on Jared's turf, and any attempt to cause trouble was merely a death wish.
• Julianna paled and trembled in fear.
• She knew what would happen if she agreed to meet Jared; she was practically offering herself to make a deal.
• I'm on Jared's turf, though! How can I refuse him?
• Just then, Christopher declared coldly, “Have Jared come out and invite her himself.”