Chapter 5

David heard Alice wanted to keep their engagement on the down-low, and he gripped the steering wheel tighter, looking like he just bit into a lemon.

He hadn't planned on going public with their engagement either. To him, Alice was just a kid.

If folks found out his fiancée was still a child, they'd roast him.

But keeping it quiet was one thing; Alice's insistence was another, like she didn't even see him as her fiancé.

David didn't say a word, but his face said it all.

He pulled into the parking lot next to a restaurant.

Alice shot him a suspicious look. David explained, "Got some business to handle, and it clashes with your school pickup. So, I brought you along. I'll get you a private room, and you can eat solo. Cool?"

Alice was all for it. She didn't want to be around David right now; otherwise, she'd get an earful during dinner. She nodded quickly and followed him into the restaurant.

She got a private room next to where David was handling his business.

The waiter handed her the menu. As Alice was ordering, a loud voice boomed from outside, "No private rooms left? What about this one?"

The door to Alice's room swung open.

Alice looked up.

Celeste didn't expect to see Alice. After a moment of surprise, she felt a bit awkward.

Celeste was with her friend, Elodie Jones.

Elodie knew Alice. Seeing her alone in such a big private room, she sneered, "Well, isn't it Alice? Hogging a big room all by yourself, what a waste. Why don't you let us have it and go eat in the main hall?"

Alice closed the menu, leaned back, and said slowly, "If I don't, you gonna drag me out? Like you used to drag me out of my room and lock me in the storage room all night?"

Elodie's face twisted, and she forced a smile, "I was young and dumb back then. Didn't I apologize?"

Elodie was fuming when Alice brought it up. It was the first time she'd been slapped, and by Lucas himself!

She couldn't get why Lucas treated this illegitimate daughter like gold while being cold to Celeste, his own granddaughter. Alice seemed like the Bailey family's princess.

Alice shrugged, "Don't remember accepting your apology. Not giving up this room. If you wanna eat, go to the main hall. If not, find another spot."

Alice thought, 'Uncle Tudor reserved this room. Giving it up would be an insult to him. No way.'

Elodie tugged at Celeste's sleeve, "Celeste, say something!"

Celeste glared at Alice, her face darkening. Thinking of how Lucas doted on Alice, she clenched her fists and sneered, "Alice, got money to eat here? Your allowance comes from grandpa. Now that he's in a nursing home, you still got cash for this place? Or did you hook up with some rich guy to bring you here? If grandpa knew, he'd be pissed."

Alice shot back, "None of your business. The guy grandpa found to take care of me is super attentive. He's handsome, got a great personality, and most importantly, he's very, very patient with me!"

Alice raised an eyebrow and smiled at Celeste, "Celeste, take your friend to somewhere else. If I give up this room, I got a hundred ways to make sure you can't eat here. Believe it or not?"

When Alice was brought back to the Bailey family as a kid, she was scared and lonely, looking for a friend.

Back then, Celeste extended her hand. Alice, young and naive, happily took it, only to be bullied by her every day.

As Alice got older, she figured out she needed to keep her distance from everyone in the Bailey family. Only Lucas was genuinely good to her and truly doted on her.

Seeing Alice's demeanor, Celeste seemed to remember something. Her face suddenly changed, and she glared at Alice fiercely before pulling Elodie and turning to leave.

Elodie looked shocked, glanced back at Alice, and followed Celeste out, totally confused.

Elodie asked, "Celeste, Mr. Bailey's in a nursing home now. No one can protect Alice. Why are you afraid of her? We can ask the restaurant manager to force Alice to give up the private room."

"Enough."

Celeste, with a sullen face, glanced back. Just as she was about to head to the main hall, the door to the private room in front of them suddenly opened.

David and a middle-aged man walked out.

The middle-aged man was all smiles, said a few polite words to David, and then left the restaurant with his secretary.

Seeing David, Celeste paused, her eyes lighting up, and she quickly stepped forward.

Celeste asked, "Excuse me, are you Mr. Tudor?"

David replied, "There are many Mr. Tudors. If you're looking for Mr. Tudor from Apex Technologies Group, sorry, that's not me."

"No, no, no!" Celeste quickly shook her head and waved her hands, "Are you Mr. David Tudor?"

David wondered if Alice had finished eating and wanted to go to the private room to find her, but Celeste and Elodie were blocking his way. He patiently nodded, "I am. What's the matter?"

"Great!"

Celeste couldn't contain her excitement. Looking at David's handsome face, she blushed, "Mr. Tudor, I'm Marcus Bailey's daughter, Celeste. My grandfather Lucas and your grandfather Mr. Gavin Tudor were comrades-in-arms. Our families are old friends."

David impatiently interrupted Celeste, "Ms. Bailey, what exactly do you want to say?"

Elodie, who had never seen Celeste so excited, sized David up from head to toe, getting a sense of him and preparing to help her friend.

Elodie said politely, "Mr. Tudor, don't be so harsh. We just want to invite you to dinner. How about it?"

"No." Alice walked out of the private room, wrapped her arms around David's, and smiled at Celeste and Elodie, "He's mine."

With that, Alice pulled David into the private room and closed the door.

Celeste's smile completely disappeared, and Elodie looked at Celeste in disbelief, "Alice has hooked up with the Tudor family?"

Celeste clenched her fists, trembling with anger.

Inside the private room, as soon as Alice closed the door, she let go of David's arm and patted his arm with a smile, "David, sorry about that."

Even if Alice hadn't said anything, David could guess from the scene just now that she was using him and then only discarded him. But how could he hold it against her?

He gently patted Alice on the back of her head, "Let's eat first."

Alice hadn't ordered much, just enough for herself.

Celeste's appearance didn't affect Alice's appetite. Looking at the food she liked, she began to savor it.

Only David sat in his chair without eating, his expression unreadable.

David had long known about Celeste bullying Alice from Lucas.

David stared thoughtfully at Alice for a while, then got up and said, "I'm going outside to make a call."

"Okay."

David walked out of the private room. Celeste and Elodie already left. He stood in the hallway and dialed Marcus's number.

Although the Bailey family and the Tudor family had a marriage agreement, David never contacted Marcus. When Marcus received David's call, he immediately assumed it was about Alice.

Regarding David and Alice's marriage agreement, besides Lucas, only Marcus knew about it in the Bailey family.

Originally, Marcus wanted to give this marriage agreement to Celeste, but Lucas insisted on Alice. He tried to persuade Lucas for a long time but he still couldn't move him. Finally, when Lucas talked to Gavin Tudor, the Tudor family recognized Alice as David's fiancée.