"Sorry we're late." The doors of the dining room creaked open and the chattering ceases.

Lillie Bai entered with her left arm looped around Ethan's biceps. She enticed everyone with her beautiful, midnight blue, evening dress that glitter under the bright lights. The bodice hugged every curves, the back of her dress stopped by her calf and the front on top of her knees, showcasing her long, smooth legs. ​​

Her ash-blonde hair was curled into soft rings that cascaded over her shoulders like waterfalls. She wore minimal jewelries, but the most eye-catchy one was the lustrous ring resting on her slender finger.

The red gem can be mistaken as a diamond, but some of the people in the room could tell it was no ordinary.

On the other hand, to match his wife, Ethan wore a black turtleneck shirt over his midnight blue blazer paired with a slim fit, black dress pants that emphasizes his long legs. His black hair was pulled back, making his piercing silver eyes and angular eyebrows stand out.

The eldest young miss of the Bai family finally arrived with her fiancee, the eldest young master Li.

Aiyo, those two are always a sight to behold.

"Thea!"

Veronica's husband almost had a heart attack when he saw his very pregnant wife run towards her cousin sister.

Lillie had to let go her hold on Ethan to welcome her cousin sister's bearhug, her bulging belly squeezing hers.

"I know it's been so long, but you need to be careful, Nica."

Veronica giggled coyly and broke the hug. She stuck her tongue out and winked, "Oops?"

Laughing softly, Lillie went back to Ethan's side and introduced him. "Veronica, I would like you to meet my fiancee,"

"Ethan Li." Ethan raised his hand for a shake.

Veronica accepted his handshake and nodded, examining him. "Hmm, not bad." She muttered to herself.

Ethan heard her, but didn't say anything.

The couple approached the dinner table where everyone had already took their seat. They gave their greetings to the two elder Bai and Lillie's parents, before acquainting Ethan to her relatives who haven't met him yet.

Despite the aloofness his demeanor portrays, Ethan Li is courteous to Lillie's relatives. He would answer their questions without the usual coldness in his tone.

"My eyes must be deceiving me, but is that really Buxia Yanjing?" Elizabeth Bai, Lillie's second aunt, squinted her eyes at the precious stone.

Lillie nodded and explained to her how Ethan successfully persuaded the museum's owner in selling it to him.

"That gem belongs to our ancestor, Empress Bai Yanjing. It's only fitting that it came back to its rightful owner." Elizabeth Bai hummed in content.

"Auntie Thea!" Luo Jiren ran as fast as his little feet can carry him to his favorite aunt.

Lillie bend her knees and swoop the little boy into her arms. The little boy hugged her neck. "Renren, how are you?"

The little boy beamed at his aunt, talking about almost everything that has happened in his days.

The adults couldn't help but chuckle at the boy's enthusiasm. He was exactly like his aunt Lillie when she was his age.

Ethan observed how Lillie interacts with the little boy, how she tenderly held him in her arms, and spoke to him with the most soothing, motherly tone. Her expression was soft and her eyes stared at the little boy as if he was the most precious thing in the world.

With a gentle smile of his own, Ethan pictured the lovely scene before him and engraved it into his mind.

He imagined the little boy as theirs, being cradled into his mother's warm embrace and coaxed by her sweet words.

"My little Renren is no longer little, auntie could barely carry you now." She mused to the boy.

"But auntie still loves Renren the most!"

Lillie chuckled and patted his mop of black hair, "En, I love Renren the most."

"Renren, you're a big boy now, you shouldn't let your aunt carry you for too long." Veronica lightly scolded her eldest son.

"It's fine, I can carry him."

"You shouldn't spoil him too much, Thea. Also, he'll put creases on your dress."

Renren pouted, but obediently listened. He's smart and mature for his age, he knew when to behave appropriately.

Lillie reluctantly put him down and watched him go back to his father's side.

"Thea, can I talk with you for a bit?" Veronica glanced at Ethan.

Ethan understood the signal and said, "I'll go talk with your parents, go on."

Veronica pulled Lillie in the balcony to have privacy. "What's wrong?"

"It's my stupid brother."

"Which one?"

"Tony."

Lillie sighed, anticipating another craziness from her eldest cousin brother. "What happened this time?"

"Could you believe what he did? He brought home a strange woman and claimed he already wanted to marry her!"

Veronica proceeds to rant about the reasons why she called her brother's girlfriend "strange".

"She has daddy issues, she appeared out of nowhere, she looks too innocent, and she's an ex-girlfriend who suddenly wanted to get back with him!"

"Alright, alright, calm down." Lillie rubbed her back. "Indeed your brother was being reckless, but I'm sure there's a reason for it."

"Yeah, maybe. But, he's being secretive. All we know is that they've dated before in college. Also, I'm certain she's just using him." Her eldest brother is the heir to their father's business. It's not a secret that many women wanted to be his wife so that they could have a share to his wealth.

His handsome features was a delightful bonus.

This strange woman he recently introduced to them was the youngest miss of a reputable family. However, she heard that the father of this woman had his company go bankrupted and had offended a big figure, thus they are being dismissed from the Elite Society.

That's why you cannot blame her for being suspicions of this strange woman's real intentions.

"Your brother is not completely naive. If that woman was really leeching off of him, he would've noticed it and ended their relationship."

"But he didn't..."

"Then there's reason behind it."

"You can judge her then. He'll bring her here." There were still some of their relatives who haven't arrived yet, one of them was her eldest brother, Anthony Bai.

"As you wish." Veronica thanked her cousin with another bearhug, which Lillie tried to be gentle with as much as possible.

"Let's go back, or else your fiancee will be reduced to ground meat if you don't save him from being surrounded by everyone." Veronica motioned her head inside.

There was Ethan, indeed, being cornered by their relatives. Poor man, his head might've been spinning from the constant questions going through his head.

"Speak of the devil, there they are!" Veronica quickly drew Lillie's head towards the dining room's entrance.

Lillie's eyes narrowed and went cold.