Chapter 443
Chapter 443
Austin was sharp and quick- witted. He immediately helped Andrea sit down, ordered our food with a
smile, and got us some alcohol as well.
Hendrix had always been a man of few words. He sat beside me with a blank look in his face as he
chatted with Josiah.
When all the food and drinks were served, Austin stood up solemnly. He held a cup of white wine in his
hand and looked at me as he said, "Arianna, I'd like to make a toast to you. I was too rash in the past.
Now that you're with Hendrix, I'll treat you as family in the future."
After he finished his toast, he raised his head and downed the wine. NôvelDrama.Org owns © this.
I glanced at Hendrix and saw his expressionless face. I couldn't tell how he was feeling at the moment.
Josiah looked at me and explained after a pause, "We came up with a set of rules before. If someone
ever makes a mistake, they'll have to drink ten glasses of wine as a show of apology."
I couldn't help but look at the ten glasses of white wine in front of Austin. Suddenly, I remembered that I
had done the same thing before.
The difference was that back then, I was the one who had poured them for Austin.
I laughed. Were these people really that big of a drunkard? It was ten glasses of wine were were
talking about here. Of course, this was no big deal for those with good alcohol tolerance. But for those
who can't hold their liqour well, their life might be in danger after the tenth glass.
Seeing Austin drinking a second glass of wine, I stood up abruptly, looked at him plainly, and said, "If
we're not eating dinner, I'll leave first."
Andrea was probably already angry before. When she saw me stand up to leave, she immediately
spoke up. "Arianna, what are you doing? Have your parents taught you nothing?"
She looked at me with an especially displeased expression and said, "They've already set their dignity
aside to apologize to you, but you're still unwilling to let things go. Is breaking them apart the only way
you can be at peace?"
I couldn't help but frown as I looked at her agitated face. "Are you trying to fight for justice, or are you
just venting your frustration here, Miss Burton?"
"You..."
I didn't give her the chance to speak. I quickly interjected her, "I don't have parents, so I wouldn't know
how my parents could teach me anything. But, Miss Burton, since you have parents, they should've
taught you not to meddle in others' business. It's bad manners to poke your nose into things that have
nothing to do with you."
"Arianna, who are you calling ill-mannered?" Seeing that she was no match for me when it came to
verbal battles, a pitiful, wronged expression made its way to Andrea's face. She looked at Hendrix and
said, "Hendrix, are you just going to let your wife bully me like this?"
How boring!
Hendrix frowned and glanced at her coldly, but he didn't say anything. Obviously, he was on to what
she was trying to do.
Austin's face fell as well as he looked at Andrea, "Andrea, enough. Don't get yourself involved in this."
"Why not? These rules were set when my brother was around. I was there too, at the time. So, why
can't I be a part of this?"
"It wasn't stated anywhere in the rules that people are free to poke their nose into others' business.
Don't you know this, Andrea?" Josiah said with a particularly cold and somewhat irritated look in his
eyes.
Andrea was stunned for a moment, and then tears began to flow down the side of her face.
I could feel myself getting annoyed. Looking at Austin, I said solemnly, "I don't know what kind of rules
you guys established before, but I've accepted your apology. Thank you for the meal, but there's no
need to drink. Since you've already apologized, you don't have to do this anymore."
After a pause, I continued, "Everyone has their own way of handling problems. You have your own
rules, and I have my own opinions, so there's no need to drink any more wine."
Austin was surprised. He looked at Hendrix in confusion.
Hendrix, who hadn't voiced out his opinion from the start, finally got up and gave Austin a bland look as
he said, "If Arianna says there's no need to drink, then just go with it. It's getting late, and she's tired.
Let's get together another day."
After that, he pulled me away in preparation to leave.
Andrea suddenly stood in front of us and looked at us dead in the eye. No, to be exact, she looked at
Hendrix, her eyes red and tear-filled as she said, "Who are you to break the rules he set just because
you feel like it? Is our decade- old relationship nothing compared to a single woman?"