Bride of Retribution: Aloof Billionaire's Dominant Game

Charlotte and Annie walked a bit fast, hurriedly leaving that long red carpet behind, letting the cameras focus on the celebrities instead.

”Will there be food at this dinner party?” Charlotte frowned slightly, feeling a bit hungry. She had just eaten a cookie and drank a sip of water before rushing out from home, afraid she’d be late.

Being punctual is a fundamental principle of hers.

Two beautiful women naturally attracted a lot of attention.

”Who is that? It looks like Atlas Hallow’s ex-wife, and the former assistant to Joseph Shaw. She used to handle business at our company. How come the two are together now...?”

”You probably didn’t know, but Atlas Hallow’s ex-wife has returned to work at her own company in the country. I just found out too, Annie has been working for her for several years now...”

Charlotte ignored the whispers and headed towards Table Three with Annie.

She glanced at it and found it strange that although the invitation clearly stated Table Three, none of the cards on the backs of the chairs bore their names.

Every chair here had a small exquisite card affixed to it, showing the names of the guests for each corresponding seat, yet she couldn’t find her name, only Annie’s. What was going on?

Just at that moment, a hostess in a high-slit cheongsam elegantly walked over and softly explained with a smile, ”President Miller, we’ve just made a small adjustment to your seat. It’s at Table One now, with the best view. Please follow me.”

After saying this, she made a very standard beckoning gesture, indicating Charlotte to follow her.

Table One?

She had just returned, so why was she sitting at Table One?

In such occasions, it wasn’t convenient to say much about it. It was merely a change of seats, but sitting in such an obvious spot meant she couldn’t properly eat as she pleased. After all, she couldn’t be caught on camera eating with her head down, could she?

Honestly, it bothered her because she had put on a non-smudging lipstick to avoid worry about it while eating today.

When she reached the spot the hostess pointed out, Charlotte understood immediately.

This must have been arranged by Atlas Hallow, because next to where she was meant to sit, there was a place card with his name on it, making it quite obvious to Charlotte.

She was wondering how she suddenly had such influence to be placed at the center, after all.

All thanks to that man.

Charlotte sat down, noticing the beautifully arranged set of glasses and dishes on the table, and the fruits and hors d’oeuvres that were invitingly laid out.

She had arrived a bit early. There weren’t many people at this table yet, the important figures seemed likely to make their entrance later.

Charlotte thought she might eat a bite or two to stave off the hunger, knowing that when more people arrived, it would become inappropriate to eat freely, so she’d just have to endure it then.

Picking up her chopsticks, she took a piece of intricately designed butterfly pastry. It looked beautiful, but truthfully, she was not particularly fond of it. Such puff pastries were greasy and could easily make one choke.

True enough, while thinking about it, she started coughing.

She coughed twice, her cheeks flushing. How embarrassing to choke while eating, it was truly vexing.

Her throat felt terribly dry and itchy, likely from the pastry crumbs stuck there, when suddenly a cup of warm water appeared in front of her. Charlotte quickly took it, thanked the person while drinking a sip, and then looked up.

She saw Atlas Hallow bending down, his eyes on her face filled with concern, and quietly asked, ”Are you alright?”

Charlotte shook her head, feeling a bit annoyed. If he hadn’t rearranged her seat without consulting her, none of this would have happened.

”Where is your escort?” Atlas Hallow observed Charlotte in her black velvet suit, which made her look exceptionally stunning. In such a dinner party, she was undoubtedly the most beautiful woman.

Wasn’t that a rhetorical question?

Charlotte glared at Atlas, not wanting to continue the conversation with him.

Atlas’s eyes fell on the moon-white silk blouse beneath her black velvet suit. When did she start liking such styles? The shirt buttons were undone, allowing him to catch glimpses of the fair pink rise of her chest, perfect enough to make him feel a bit heated all over.

He leaned slightly towards Charlotte and softly whispered in her ear, ”Button your shirt up.”

Even though his voice was gentle and deep, Charlotte could hear the commanding intent within it.

Charlotte still didn’t say anything, but her hand had already reached up to the buttons of her blouse.

Atlas’s mouth curved into a sexy smile, like an alluring arc that seemed to send an electric shock, almost making the nearby hostess’s legs go weak.

What was he smiling about? Charlotte snorted internally with dissatisfaction. They had been divorced for so many years, yet he still wanted to concern himself with such things?

Her delicate fingers moved down slightly, undoing the fourth button. The silk blouse laid softly against her body, and when the button was undone, it offered a very clear view of the deep cleavage and the lace edge of her undergarment peeking out.

”Charlotte, are you doing this on purpose?” Atlas’s voice carried a hint of displeasure as he pulled Charlotte’s hand away, undoing her buttons one by one himself until he fastened even the very top one.

”It’s my freedom, why do you care?” Charlotte’s face flushed red, and as they sat very close, she couldn’t resist his strength.

And by this time, people had already started to sit down one by one. Raising a dispute at this moment would undoubtedly be inappropriate.

The dinner party commenced, featuring the well-known host Eleanor Davis. It was often said that Eleanor had notably high IQ and EQ, smoothly advancing to a principal position. Of course, she was beautiful as well. When her gaze swept over Charlotte’s seating area, Charlotte distinctly felt Eleanor’s eyes flicker with interest.

Yet another woman misled by appearances, Charlotte regarded Atlas. The side profile of this man still bore sharp contours, but she knew that a handsome man like this was truly toxic. Luckily, she was gradually managing to wean herself off.

The banquet commenced, with items showcased for auction on stage, and steaming hot delicacies served on the table.

At events of this caliber, a hotel chef was employed, so the quality of dishes was assuredly good, but given her seat at the center, she felt embarrassed to even pick up her chopsticks.

”Aren’t you hungry?” Atlas calmly picked up a knife and fork, deftly separating the lobster meat from the shell on his own plate, cutting it into small pieces, and setting it in front of Charlotte, while taking the whole one in front of her away.

What did he intend to do?

Charlotte realized some people were not paying attention to the stage anymore, instead, watching Atlas leisurely prepare food for her.

”Why aren’t you eating? Don’t you like it?” Atlas observed that nothing had been touched on her plate. Based on his understanding of Charlotte, her stomach must have been famished, yet she stubbornly refused to eat.

Could anyone eat under such circumstances?

”Thank you, President Hallow, I’m not hungry.” Charlotte replied with a smile, even she realized her smile felt a bit stiff.

She knew she would inevitably have interactions with Atlas upon returning to the country, but such exchanges seemed a bit too intense, didn’t they?

Atlas seemed to act as though he hadn’t heard her, slicing a tiny piece of foie gras and bringing it to her lips, ”You’re clearly hungry. I’d bet you haven’t had dinner before coming out tonight.”

Initially, everyone was stealing glances, but Atlas’s actions were just too obvious. All eyes were glued to the delicate foie gras on the fork, nearly causing their eyes to pop out.

When had anyone seen Atlas behaving in such a way? Were they seeing a fake Atlas Hallow?

Was he really shameless enough to publicly display affection, even going so far as to feed a woman in such a setting?

Charlotte felt utterly defeated inside, wishing a bolt of lightning would strike her unconscious at that moment.

Eating seemed impossible, but not eating would only allow him to hold it out like that, making it worse.

With a light parting of her lips, she consumed the foie gras, which now tasted hard to swallow despite its usual richness.

”I really don’t want to eat, please stop,” Charlotte having no other recourse, leaned towards Atlas and whispered in his ear.

If he kept this up, she really wouldn’t last until the end of the banquet without going crazy.

Atlas put down his knife and fork, his gaze resting on the brilliant white diamond on her hand, still a top-grade diamond ring of the best clarity and fire, flashing painfully in his eyes.

”How is Mia?” Charlotte disliked him going to the apartment to see Mia, but he genuinely missed that little angel.