Ch. 2151..2160

Chapter 2151 Carefree And Unrestrained

Monica was dressed in a black suit and looked tiny among the men, but at the same time looked smart. Looking at such a scene, Francesca found it quite funny.

Why did Danrique not allow Monica to wear a gown but force her to wear a bodyguard's uniform instead? Is he worried that she will overshadow me? He's kind of cute sometimes.

Fortunately, Monica did not mind it at all. She waved to Francesca with a smile.

Mylo pulled her hand and reminded her to take care of her manners. She then quickly turned around.

Francesca retracted her gaze too. Just when she thought she still had to wait for a long time, Danrique suddenly said, “Okay, I think the ladies are hungry now. Let's have dinner!”

"Hahaha! My bad! I've been talking with you guys and have neglected Ms. Cece.” The president knew Danrique was worried that Francesca would be starving already. He hurriedly invited everyone to the table.

Danrique walked over and sat beside Francesca, holding her hand under the table.

Francesca smiled and looked at him with eyes full of love.

Danrique kissed her forehead and asked dotingly, “Are you hungry?”

“Mhm.” Francesca nodded honestly.

Danrique giggled and hurriedly cut the steak for her. “You can eat now.”

At the same time, the president raised his glass to give a toast to everyone. When he saw Danrique cutting steak for Francesca, he quickly put down the wine glass and waited until Danrique fed Francesca a mouthful of steak. Then, the president raised his glass again and said, “Welcome!” The others raised their glasses too and downed their drinks in one go.

“This is nothing but a family dinner. Just make yourself at home and don't bother about the formalities...” said the president.

Everyone finally began to enjoy their meal.

On the other hand, Francesca had already eaten several mouthfuls of steak. She suddenly realized that her behavior was a little rude and quickly stopped eating. However, Danrique gently fed her. Francesca immediately felt that she was not being rude after all.

Seeing the scene, the president and the first lady exchanged gazes with meaningful looks. Everyone was enjoying the meal.

The men's topics at the table were all about international affairs.

The ladies were carefully taking care of their other half, including the first lady. The first lady had been observing every move of the president and handed him things he needed from time to time. Francesca was an exception. She was just busy eating

Danrique would even pass her drinks and cut the steak for her.

Hazel saw all these actions in her eyes, but she acted calmly and gracefully, unmoved in the slightest.

Hazel's reaction was a little incomprehensible to Francesca. Does this woman really have nothing to do with Danrique? Even if there's nothing, shouldn't she be a little jealous? Why is she so calm? Francesca did not understand, but she could not be bothered anymore.

Since Danrique treated her so well now and even introduced her to so many people, she had no reason not to believe him.

It was a very long meal. Everyone else took their own sweet time to enjoy the food and chat with each other.

However, Francesca finished her food very quickly. She was not interested to stay at the dining table and listen to their nonsense.

She felt restless on her seat.

Noticing her uneasiness, Danrique whispered in her ear, “Let's go for a walk.”

"Okay." Francesca quickly pushed away her chair and left the table quietly.

Noticing that, the first lady quickly got up and asked, “Ms. Cece, do you need anything?”

"She needs to use the restroom,” Danrique answered on her behalf.

“Let me take you there.” The first lady was about to walk toward Francesca

“Uh, it's okay. I can go myself..." Francesca hurriedly rejected her offer.

Danrique smiled and said to the first lady, “No problem, Cece is used to being carefree and unrestrained. Just let her go by herself.”

q

Chapter 2152 Her Advice

"Yes, I won't get lost.” Francesca nodded vigorously. “All right then.” The first lady did not insist anymore. She made a gesture and instructed a maid to lead Francesca to the restroom.

Francesca turned and smiled at Danrique. Then, she took her handbag and followed the maid to the restroom. The place was huge. They took a long corridor before arriving at the restroom.

If it was not for the maid to lead the way, Francesca would really get lost.

However, she did not really want to go to the restroom. After entering, she put on lipstick in front of the mirror, and then took out her phone to reply to some messages.

Her phone kept vibrating when she was eating just now. She wanted to check her phone so badly, but it seemed rude to look at her phone on that occasion, so she bore with it.

There were a few text messages from Monica on the phone:

Ms. Felch, are you in yet? I'm at the back.

Ms. Felch, I saw you.

Ms. Felch, just take care of yourself and don't worry about me. I'm fine with the bodyguards’ team heres:

I didn't expect it to be this kind of family dinner. I thought it would be a banquet. The presidential palace is so huge and luxurious. It is exquisite and heavily guarded. It seems that you don't need my protection here at all. I think I worry too much. Haha...

Francesca felt the same way as Monica. She used to attend that kind of open banquet where there were a lot of people, and it was very easy to get into danger.

In contrast, tonight's dinner seemed a lot quieter.

There were not many guests, and there were only a few bodyguards and maids. The people were all separated, leaving the event in an orderly manner, which made it hard to have any hidden crisis. Francesca also felt that she thought too much.

Just when Francesca was typing a message to reply to Monica, a greeting suddenly came from outside. “Ms. Atkinson!”

"Mhm,” Hazel responded briefly and walked in gracefully.

Francesca raised her head and looked at Hazel in the mirror. She was dressed in a tight-fitting dress in gold which showed her nice body figure and highlighted her elegant temperament.

Besides, she was much taller than Francesca. Francesca felt a sense of oppression standing in front of Hazel

“I'm here to look for you. Shall we talk?” Hazel flashed a smile at Francesca.

"Okay." Francesca turned to look at her. “What do you want to talk about?”

“I really like Mr. Lindberg and want to marry him. However, I did not use any underhanded means to approach him nor announce any engagement news..." Hazel said bluntly, “The rumors that you have seen have nothing to do with me.”

"Oh, really?” Francesca looked at her with a sincere look and was a little puzzled. “Who would that be if it wasn't you? Who would be so free to create scandals for others?”

“This is a little complicated. You won't understand even if I explain it,” Hazel blurted out. Then, she quickly explained further, “Mr. Lindberg said you're a very naive person, and you've never been a part of a battle for power. So you may not understand...”

In fact, Francesca did not care about that at all. “I guess that's right. I really don't understand, and I don't need to understand. Actually, you don't have to tell me about all this. If there's anything, you can talk to Danrique directly. I trust him.”

Hazel chuckled. “You're indeed a naive woman!”

"What?" Francesca was dumbfounded by her words.

Hazel smirked. “Nothing. I just think that since you're so naive, I'm afraid it is difficult for you to protect yourself...”

“That's no concern of yours.”

Francesca could not be bothered to talk to her. She washed her hands and prepared to leave. Before Francesca left, Hazel added, “Actually, it's good to be a doctor who's free and easy. There's really no need to get involved in such a complicated political battle...”

Francesca was a little touched by her words. She used to think the same way back then, so she always avoided Danrique. However, she chose to follow her feelings in the end when he became unavoidable.

q

Chapter 2153 Daughter

Facing her love rival, Francesca still brought out her claws. Raising a finely plucked brow, she said coldly, “I'm certain this has nothing to do with you. On top of that, how did you know I was a doctor?”

“There are no true secrets in the world,” replied Hazel sardonically. “The truth will eventually reveal itself.”

Having said that, she turned on her heel and left.

Francesca could infer that there was a tacit implication in Hazel's words, but she could not quite put her finger on it.

She also couldn't be bothered.

After wiping her hands dry, Francesca left the restroom

That maid had disappeared despite saying she would wait for Francesca.

Francesca was rendered speechless and decided to walk back by retracing her steps. Scarcely had she moved a few steps when she could hear someone crying.

She paused. Curiosity soon got the better of her as she followed the direction of the sounds.

This led her to a room where people were talking. “Diana, be good. Danrique brought his fiancée over today. That's why your father wouldn't let you out. It'll be awkward otherwise.”

"What fiancée? Danrique’s fiancée should be me!”

The young woman spoke fluent Ustranasion. Francesca heard every word and was taken aback. Who is this woman? Hazel has just left. Do I have yet another love rival? On top of that, why does she sound so familiar?

"Stop causing a scene, all right?” A woman could be heard sighing in agitation. “You've been married once already. What makes you think Danrique will still be interested in you?”

“Back then, you all forced me into a marriage I didn't want! Do you know how unhappy I was? It's all your fault!” The younger woman was quite angry. “It was not easy to get a divorce. Now that I want to take charge of my own happiness, you're all intent on stopping me!”

“We're not trying to stop you. We also hope that you can be together with Danrique. But he doesn’t like you! He's in love with someone else...”

“It's not true! It's not!” The young woman sounded very agitated this time. “Danrique likes me! The last few times we met, he even smiled at me!”

“That was out of politeness! Won't you snap out of it?”

“No! He likes me! He bought me gifts!”

“That's because of your father. The gifts were an act of courtesy.”

“I don't believe you! You're lying to—"

“All right, that's enough!” the older woman interjected. In a grave tone, she went on, “You can't go out tonight. After the banquet, your father will explain things to you in person. Just go back to your room and stop causing a scene!”

“I want to see Danrique!”

"Why are you so stubborn?” The older woman tutted and groaned in annoyance. “You two, come here!”

"Yes, ma'am.” Two female bodyguards could be heard responding.

"Bring her back to her room!"

"Of course.”

“Mom, how could you do this to me!”

"Stop shouting!” Frantically, the mother cupped a hand over her daughter's mouth. “Listen to me. Be quiet and be a good girl.”

Francesca immediately hid behind a wall

The door to the room opened, and the older woman hurriedly came out. Two female bodyguards trailed behind her, forcefully tugging a beautiful younger woman with them.

Francesca peeked out and vaguely saw them from behind.

The young woman was not tall, but she had a decent figure. She would have been pretty. However, something about her psyche and behavior seemed a little off.

She was very agitated and did not stop struggling throughout.

The older woman gestured once, and a few more female bodyguards rushed over to help before they finally managed to take the struggling woman away.

The older woman wiped away the tears on her face and turned around.

Francesca was very shocked. Isn't that the first lady?

The woman did not notice Francesca at all. She smoothed out the wrinkles on her clothing and hurried back into the hall.

In the end, Francesca was the only one left in the corridor.

She mulled over her thoughts for a bit before coming to a gradual realization. As it turned out, the president's daughter had also fallen for Danrique. She seemed to have been married before but was now divorced, so she likely wanted to pick up where she left off with Danrique.

Her parents must have wanted to set her up with Danrique, hence the banquet.

They never imagined that Danrique would have attended with his fiancée. Thus, they had to keep their daughter locked away to prevent her from causing a scene and embarrassing them.

q

Chapter 2154 Agendas

The presidential couple seemed quite reasonable. Upon knowing that Danrique had brought his fiancée along, they held their daughter back from creating trouble.

The poor woman, on the other hand, must have suffered from some kind of shock, given how mentally unstable she seemed. That being said, the family seemed relatively reasonable.

Upon thinking about this, Francesca cared little. She turned on her heel and walked toward the hall as well.

By then, the banquet had already ended. The president suggested that they go to the hunting grounds, which was met with the approval and anticipation of the men in attendance.

“I'm not going. But please, carry on without me.”

Danrique looked at Francesca, who had just entered. She was holding her skirt up as she walked over, her face seemingly clueless and dazed. Danrique found this adorable.

“Danrique, it's only nine! Why don't you stay for a bit?" asked Harrier with a smile. “Besides, Cece is here too. You can keep her company. She must be so bored, cooped up in the castle all day.” "What's going on?” Francesca had caught wind of the conversation.

“Do you want to go hunting on the hunting grounds, Cece?” asked the president warmly.

“No thanks.”

Francesca did not like hunting animals. However, she realized she could not change anything and could only choose to stay away.

“Then we won't go hunting. Let's head to the basement parlor and play some board games!” The president smiled and continued, “There are some simple games there we can play. The women can also join in then.”

“That's right, Cece! I've asked the kitchen to prepare some Chanaean snacks and tea. You have not sampled them yet!” chimed the first lady warmly.

The presidential couple had all their attention centered on Francesca, intending on following her wishes. Thus, the rest looked at her face expectantly.

At that moment, no matter how arrogant a person Francesca was, she would have still felt somewhat embarrassed. Besides, Danrique still needed to be on good terms with them, so she had to get along with high society eventually.

Thinking of this, Francesca turned to look at Danrique. He, too, returned her gaze, as if questioning her intent.

“Very well then.” Having seen that Danrique was not insisting on leaving, she thought that he did have the desire to stay after all. She then said, “Thank you, Mr. President, Ma'am.”

“That's splendid!” Harrier clapped happily. “I can show off my card skills to Danrique tonight!” "Didn“t you lose enough the last time?” quipped Kevin.

“You're talking as if you've never lost,” retorted Harrier, rolling his eyes.

"Haha!" The president was all smiles. “I didn't realize that Danrique was skilled at playing cards too!" "He's got a photographic memory. It helps him remember where the cards are!” chortled Gerard. “We three constantly lose terribly to him!”

“Then I must see this for myself!”

Having said that, the president ushered everyone to the basement.

The first lady was also ushering the female guests to the basement. From the corner of her eye, Francesca noticed that the bodyguards remained in the hall. Apart from Sean, nobody else followed. Monica then waved at her from afar.

Francesca felt a little embarrassed. Monica had specifically asked her if she could come along, but she ended up staying with the other bodyguards. It was as if she barely participated.

The group of people filed into the basement. The men started to gather around a table to play cards while conversations about both banal and important things began to flow.

Francesca thought that the game was just a distraction since they were actually discussing crucial matters

The president seemed genial, but his sharp eyes did not miss anything. He was carefully observing everyone's words and deeds.

He seemed to be assessing everyone's capabilities while he had the chance.

Danrique did not say much, but he was concise. Everyone present was observing his demeanor, including the president himself.

Where the women gathered, everyone seemed to have their own agendas. Everyone was carefully currying favor with the first lady, yet at the same time, they dared not offend Francesca. Instead, they observed her every move in secret.

This time, Sean did not join the men at the table. Instead, he stayed to chat with the women, leaving them dazzled by his impeccable eloquence.

Chapter 2155 Pretty Woman

Francesca found it difficult to fit into this environment. She decided to find a quiet corner and busied herself with playing darts alone. “Not a bad technique!”

Just then, a voice came from behind her. Francesca turned around and saw that it was Harrier who spoke.

He held a glass of wine and gracefully strolled over, eyeing the darts on the board. With a smile, he said, “You've hit a number of tens. You've got some skill, Ms. Cece!”

“It's all right.”

Francesca glanced at Danrique. He was betting against the president under the watchful eyes of everyone else. It was quite a tense and heated round.

As such, Danrique wasn't paying attention to her.

“I heard Prince William mention that you're loyal to your friends and quite skilled too. I'm glad I got to see this today.”

Harrier stood about a meter away with a smile etched on his face, speaking in a hushed tone. Francesca was slightly taken aback. She turned around and asked, “You know William?”

“Prince William's conglomerate had worked with Lindberg Corporation before. There have been business dealings, and he even attended Mr. Adams's banquet. Have you forgotten?”

Harrier smiled gently at her.

“Oh, you appear to be right.”

Upon hearing him bring up the subject of William, Francesca could not help but feel guilty. She thought of how she initially came to Xendale to rally soldiers to save him, but she was so focused on her relationship with Danrique that this matter soon slipped through the cracks of her mind.

She wondered how he was at the moment.

“I've heard that Prince William was captured and is being held at the palace. His situation is unclear...” Harrier inched closer to Francesca and sighed. “It's a shame. He's a good prince and an exemplary person...”

"What do you mean by his situation is unclear?” asked Francesca, clearly shocked by the revelation. “Think about it.” Harrier brought the glass to his lips and murmured, “Prince William's cousins have always wanted him dead. This is the perfect opportunity to do so. Why wouldn't they act?”

Harrier took another sip and continued, “I heard something else. Before he was placed under house arrest, he went to plead his case before King Federico. However, old wounds run deep. I think they have venom deep in their hearts. I fear that Prince William won't live past Christmas.”

Hearing this, Francesca trembled. Christmas was a mere seven days away...

She had truly not considered this at all. Now that Harrier had brought this up, she suddenly realized that the longer she tarried here, the closer William inched toward danger.

“Mr. Harrington!” Just then, Sean suddenly walked over. “Mr. Lindberg has summoned you.”

Harrier immediately stepped back, bowed toward Francesca, then hurried back to the cards table. In a low voice, Sean asked, “Ms. Felch, is everything all right? Did he behave indecently?”

“I'm fine.” Francesca turned to look at Danrique. He returned her gaze, and she beamed at him before turning to look at Sean again. “I'm going to the restroom. You go ahead and have fun. There's no need to worry about me.”

“I'll ask Monica to accompany you then.”

Sean was not too keen on Francesca going alone, so he went upstairs to fetch Monica.

As Francesca made her way to the restroom, thoughts of William weighed heavily on her mind. I have to find a way to save him, but how can I manage this alone? I cant possibly pull this off by myself. Also, how am I going to convince Danrique?

She was deep in thought when suddenly, a figure emerged from the storage room in the restroom. Francesca was startled. When she turned around, she found herself face to face with a beautiful young woman.

She had milky white skin, beautiful features, and a pair of bright eyes. Her beauty was so surreal that she could have walked out of an oil painting.

Dressed in resplendent clothing, she seemed quite frantic as her hair was ruffled. Nervously, she apologized to Francesca, saying, “I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I did not mean to frighten you. I was worried Mom would find me, so I hid here.”

Francesca gave the woman a once over, thinking that she looked like the person she had seen outside the banquet hall. Is this the president's daughter?

q

Chapter 2156 Despair

"Are you here to attend the banquet?” A pair of lovely eyes were affixed onto Francesca as the woman asked again, “Have you seen Danrique?”

“Uh...” Francesca sputtered. “Y-yes!” “Is he outside?” The woman frantically pointed toward the door. “Yes.” Francesca nodded. “You...”

“I'm going to see him.” The woman lifted her skirt and was about to run out. Just then, the door to the restroom opened, and a tall, slender figure blocked the entryway. “Ms. Riker!"

“Hazel!” The woman held Hazel's hands and happily said, “Bring me to Danrique! Isn't he outside?” “He is outside, but...” Hazel stopped herself from saying anything further. With a pointed look at Francesca, she gently went on, “Be good and stay here. I'll bring your mother over.”

“No! I don't want to see Mom! I want to see Danrique!”

The woman immediately became agitated again, wanting to burst into the hall to seek out Danrique. However, Hazel held her in a vice-like grip and refused to let her out. Hurriedly, she said, “Ms. Riker, be good and stop causing a scene. Otherwise, your parents will be displeased.”

“Let go! Let go of me!”

The president's daughter pushed and struggled with all her might before finally becoming enraged. “I remember now! You were constantly competing with me over Danrique! You did awful things and tried to sabotage our relationship! If not for you, I would not have ruined my relationship with Danrique, nor would I have married that wretched man!”

“It's not that...” Hazel was about to explain, but the other woman suddenly gave Hazel a hard slap. “I said, let go!”

The sound of the slap reverberated through the corridor, and a red mark soon appeared on Hazel's pale skin. Soon, her cheek turned red, but she simply tilted her head aside and refused to fight back, managing to keep her cool

“Ms. Riker, please calm down! I'm going to fetch your mother!”

Having said this, she looked at Francesca, pushed the unstable woman into the restroom, and hurried away after closing the door.

A clicking sound could be heard from the other side of the door, indicating it had either been locked or barred. With all her might, the woman pushed and tugged in vain, but the door did not budge.

However, this series of actions, which only lasted a minute or two, had happened very quickly. Seeing how fast Hazel acted, one could tell that Hazel was used to doing such things.

"Let me out! Let me out!”

In her agitation, the woman started banging against the door while screaming, “Hazel Atkinson! You vile, shameless, coward! Back then, you were the one who locked Steve and me in the same room! You set me up! It was you!"

Francesca looked upon all this in astonishment, her mind completely blank.

From what she could infer, this woman and Hazel both liked Danrique back then.

In order to have Danrique to herself, Hazel played a dirty trick to have this woman and another man locked in the same room. Perhaps this resulted in the woman losing her virginity and being separated from Danrique, and she was then married off to Dartan

However, the marriage did not work out, and she came back.

If this was true, then Hazel was truly a terrifying person. This woman was simply a poor victim of Hazel's schemes.

However, there was something Francesca did not understand. As the president's daughter, her status was much higher than that of Hazel. How could Hazel do such things to her and get away with it?

On the other hand, it was not impossible. Hazel was deeply manipulative, while this woman seemed quite innocent. It could be that she was indeed framed.

Even so, if this woman was telling the truth, why did the president and first lady not deal with Hazel? In fact, they seemed to get along quite amiably.

As such, the finer details of the situation remained unclear.

As Francesca pondered this, the woman suddenly slumped to the ground, crying in despair. Francesca felt so sorry for the woman in this state that she could not help but want to comfort her. However, the woman suddenly took out a blade and sliced a part of her hand.

Chapter 2157 Scary

Francesca was instantly scared out of her wits and rushed over to stop her. However, the woman's actions were quicker as she slashed at her wrist.

In a split second, Francesca grabbed the woman's hand, wrestled the knife away from her, and ripped off part of her dress to bandage the cut. “Let go! Let go of me!”

The woman was struggling so hard that the blade cut Francesca’s hand. Even so, Francesca could not be bothered about it as she tried to hold the woman down so she could treat the wound. “Diana...”

Just then, frantic voices were heard from outside the door. “Hurry up! Open the door!” Very quickly, someone opened the door of the restroom. When they saw what had happened, they were shocked. The first lady came in with a shout, asking her subordinates to subdue her daughter before frantically asking if Francesca was okay.

This confused Francesca. Shouldn't the first lady be more concerned about her daughter? Why does she seem more worried about me instead?

“Let go of me. Let me go! Mom!”

The woman was kicking and screaming for dear life, but suddenly, a man’s voice could be heard yelling, “What the blazes is happening here? Take her away!”

It was the president.

His reaction seemed to be out of anger rather than pity toward his own daughter.

Very quickly, the anger dissipated to concern as he shifted his gaze to Francesca. “Ms. Cece, are you all right?”

Francesca shook her head, her expression wary.

Just then, a pair of hands reached out from behind to hug her. Subconsciously, she turned around, only to come face to face with Danrique’s gentle expression. “Are you okay?"

“Danrique! Danrique...”

Francesca barely had time to speak when the woman wrenched herself free from the maids and lunged at Danrique. Her hands were soaked with blood as she reached up to gently touch his face. “Danrique...”

“Seize her!”

At the president's orders, a few bodyguards stepped forward to promptly drag the woman away. She seemed like she wanted to scream, but she was then gagged.

Suddenly, silence befell the scene.

Francesca stared blankly at the woman, her eyes full of astonishment.

“I apologize for causing you distress, Ms. Cece.” The first lady did not excuse herself to pacify her daughter but instead tried to calm Francesca down. “I've sent for a doctor. He'll be here soon to take care of your wound. Are you all right?”

“I'm fine, Ma'am.” Francesca returned to her senses and immediately said, “There's no need for a doctor. I can take care of myself. You should see to Ms. Riker instead.”

“Go on,” said the president.

The first lady nodded at both Francesca and Danrique before leaving with an entourage.

“I want her watched!” hissed the president, his expression full of fury.

When he turned around, the anger was replaced by warmth and remorse. “You have my most heartfelt apology, Ms. Cece, Danrique. It must have been distressing.”

“It's a small matter.” Danrique held onto Francesca and said, “Why does Diana's condition seem to be worsening? I think she should see a specialist.”

“You're right. She was fine all this time. Two days ago, however..." The president let out a deep sigh, and his expression turned grave. “How did a simple banquet turn out this way?”

“It's understandable. She is family, after all,” said Danrique warmly. “We'll make our way home first. I think you should see to Diana. She needs urgent care.”

"Her mother is with her now, so it will be all right.” The president let out another sigh and said, “Let me escort you out.”

It was only as they left that Francesca realized the guests from the three great families, Hazel included, had not shown up. She reckoned that they had stayed in the recreation room to avoid seeing Diana in her current state and also to save the dignities of the presidential couple.

When the president brought Danrique past the recreation room, the guests then came over as if nothing had happened, still discussing the card game from earlier.

Hazel was also unusually calm, as if the incident earlier had nothing to do with her.

This made Francesca feel very afraid. Are the upper classes such cold-blooded and unfeeling people?

Chapter 2158 Not So Bad

Francesca felt uneasy up until she got in the car. It was only when Danrique tended to her injury that she came back to her senses.

“When you encounter something like this, don't just throw yourself into it,” said Danrique unhappily. “Did the Chrono incident teach you nothing? Why do you like being a busybody?"

Having heard this, Francesca trembled, thinking of what had happened with Chrono and Candice. It had brought upon her much trouble.

She still had lingering fears whenever she thought about it.

Francesca had constantly been reminding herself not to stick her nose where it did not belong, but every time someone was in danger, she could not resist the urge to help.

Like with what happened earlier—she had never considered how complicated the issue was.

Diana had slit her wrist in front of her. As a doctor, how could Francesca stand idly by?

“Scared out of your wits?” asked Danrique as he gently pinched Francesca's cheek.

“Not quite.” Francesca came back to her senses again. “That woman... Did she like you before?”

“I guess so," replied Danrique mildly.

“And then she married someone else?" Francesca continued. “But is now divorced?”

“Yes.” Danrique nodded and said, “Not too long ago, the first lady brought her back from Dartan. After coming back, however, her psyche seemed to be abnormal. I heard that she did not have a good life and that things were complicated there.”

After a pause, Danrique said, “It's nothing to do with you, however. There's no need to dwell on it.” “I'd assumed that the person who put me under house arrest after bribing King Federico was the president himself,” Francesca blurted out. “I guess it's not him.”

“Ha!” Danrique laughed. “So you were thinking about this all this while? I've underestimated you.” “I'm not an idiot,” said Francesca, rolling her eyes. “I'm just not fond of playing games of intrigue. I know what's happening, all right? William had mentioned that the King only socializes with people that befit his station. Since the three great families are not quite of the same rank, the only person who could possibly have a connection with both you and the King was the president.”

Francesca paused briefly before continuing to speak. “Since you brought me to the banquet, I've been quietly observing everyone. Given how the presidential couple is so genial, I think that your status must be higher than that of the president himself. As such, I thought the president wanted to win you over by betrothing his daughter to you, so he bribed the king to keep me in Danontand. But seeing the current state of his daughter dispelled my concerns.”

Danrique nodded and hummed in response. “I arrived at the same conclusion you did after mulling over this. Tonight was, in fact, meant for recon.”

“You thought the same?” said Francesca hurriedly. “I mean, Diana is already like this, so surely they wouldn't dare to wed you two even if they wanted to? Based on their behavior today, I think they had no such intentions at all.”

“I think that was their intention initially.” Danrique had nothing else to say on this.

“I guess you're taking this with a grain of salt.” Francesca did not understand. “Unless you think something else was up?”

“I'm just used to having reservations.” Danrique smiled mildly and said, “A lot of things don't really reveal themselves until the very end.”

"What do you mean?” Francesca still did not understand.

“Don't fret.” Danrique reached over to pat her on the head. “You can just be your happy, jovial self by my side. I'll take care of the rest.”

“But I have other questions.” Francesca thought of what Diana had said earlier and asked, “What does Diana's marriage have to do with Hazel?"

"Diana is the president's daughter, which means her status is not average. What right does Hazel have to interfere with her marriage?” retorted Danrique. “That being said, Hazel was in M Nation studying when Diana married. She only came back to attend the ceremony.”

“But I heard Diana say—"

“Things between women are complicated. You should not get involved.” Danrique immediately cut short was Francesca was about to say. “Also, Hazel Atkinson is not that bad!”

Chapter 2159 Dull Love

Francesca had processed everything Danrique said earlier, except for that last bit. She refused to hear a word of it. On top of that, she was disgusted.

From the moment Francesca and Hazel met, the latter had behaved like a leech, latching onto them and following them like a shadow that refused to depart.

Moreover, Francesca had personally heard what Diana had to say about Hazel. How could Danrique still defend Hazel in good faith, saying that she was not that bad?

This made Francesca feel ill. She also thought that Danrique was protecting Hazel. “How is your injury? Let me take a look.”

Danrique reached over to look at Francesca’s injury, but Francesca immediately retracted her hand like a scalded cat. With a huff, she turned around to ignore him. Stunned, he asked, “What is it? Are you angry at me now?”

Is this not obvious enough? Displeasure is written all over my face now. Why does he still need to ask?

This, of course, made Francesca angrier. “You were fine before. Why are you suddenly angry at me now? What did I do wrong?” Danrique was confused.

Francesca remained silent. She appeared to be seething, like a ticking time bomb that was about to explode. Danrique was rendered speechless and kicked the passenger seat ahead of him.

At that, Sean, who had been afraid to speak this whole time, had to step in for his employer. “Err, Ms. Felch, I don't think that's what Mr. Lindberg meant. Please don't misunderstand.”

"Oh? Then what did he mean?” demanded Francesca angrily.

"Yes. What was it then?”

Danrique still did not understand what it was he said to have upset Francesca like this.

“Mr. Lindberg was only trying to say that Ms. Atkinson was likely not involved in certain matters. Besides, it's not likely that she'd dare to cause a scene in front of Mr. Lindberg or have ill intentions toward you. He was not praising her.”

Sean had understood it from the start, but it was a shame that his dull employer had not realized it. As such, realization finally dawned upon Danrique as to why Francesca was angry.

Immediately, he pointed at Sean and said, “He's right.”

"You..." Francesca was truly at her wits’ end.

Does that mean that every time we fight, someone else has to listen and interpret it for him? Is he completely incapable of understanding me and communicating with me properly? Does he need an underling for this, of all things?

Francesca huffed. No wonder he had Sean call and explain when we were previously giving each other the silent treatment. He didn't even bother to apologize to me in person!

“You're still mad?”

Danrique was puzzled and kicked Sean's seat again.

“Ms. Felch.” Sean naturally understood what was happening and continued to explain, “Mr. Lindberg has never been in love. This is his first experience of being in a relationship. As such, certain things are quite foreign to him. I hope you understand.”

“Ah. Yes.” Danrique immediately nodded.

Francesca let out a deep sigh and massaged her throbbing temples. She truly had no words to reply to that.

This relationship is such a pain.

"Ms. Felch, please stop being angry. Mr. Lindberg is—"

“Shut up!” Francesca was tired of hearing this.

“Yes.” Sean immediately fell silent, not daring to speak further.

"You've said too much.” Danrique kicked Sean's seat once more and reached over to touch Francesca's shoulder. “It's all right. Don't be mad anymore.”

Sean was rendered speechless. What on earth? Why is he making it look like I'm the one who angered Ms. Felch?

After roughly half an hour in the car, they finally reached the castle.

When they got out of the car, Monica finally had the chance to approach Francesca. “Ms. Felch, are you all right?”

“I'm fine,” said Francesca guiltily. “I'm so sorry about today. I brought you over, but you didn't even get to have fun. All you could do was linger with the other men.”

“It's all right; this is no different from what I normally do,” replied Monica with a smile. “Is your hand better? I heard you got injured.

q

Chapter 2160 Huffy

"A small matter.” Francesca waved her heavily bandaged hand. “As long as you're safe. You gave me quite a fright!” tittered Monica as she patted her chest. “Maybe you should rest early. I won't disturb you anymore.”

Having said that, she rushed off to the other courtyard. Francesca watched her retreating back, thinking of how carefully Monica treated her to get in her good books. She could not help but feel guilty.

Monica was actually a member of Interpol. There was no need for her to pay too much attention to William's affairs. Out of camaraderie and concern for William, however, she was urging Francesca to take action sooner.

However, Danrique had made arrangements to have her sleep in a different courtyard, not allowing her to sleep in the same area. He even made her dress like a bodyguard.

This series of actions served as a warning to Monica, telling her not to intervene.

Francesca thought of what Harrier had said to her earlier. When she dwelled on William's current condition, she became even more distressed.

Even if Harrier had ill-intentions, there was truth to this matter.

If anything happened to William, Francesca could not live with herself.

“What is it? Are you still mad?” Danrique had noticed how morose she looked and assumed that Francesca was still upset over the Hazel incident.

"I..." Francesca looked up to gaze at Danrique. “I wish to have a chat with you.”

Seeing how grave her expression was, Danrique knew what she was about to say. With an arched brow, he asked, “Is it about William?"

Francesca nodded.

Danrique could not be bothered to have this conversation and turned around to enter the bathroom.

“Danrique...”

Francesca called out to him but received no response in return. All she could do was lie on the couch and wait for him to finish bathing.

After a while, Danrique finally emerged from the bathroom clad in nothing but his towel. His hair was still dripping wet.

Francesca saw that the window wasn’t shut and that Danrique was not properly dressed. Worried he would catch a cold, she brought him a bathrobe to cover himself with and went to shut the window. This was an act of kindness and warmth, which should have incited similar feelings. However, the opposite happened instead. “You're usually carefree and unbothered about people. Are you now taking care of me for William's sake?" asked Danrique icily.

Francesca was rendered speechless. “Danrique Lindberg, did the water go into your brain when you took your shower?”

Danrique arched a brow and looked at her coldly.

“What are you looking at me like that for?” Francesca was incensed. “I'm taking care of you out of concern, and you have to ruin it by speaking like this? Fine. I won't give a d*mn about you anymore!”

Danrique could not be bothered to deal with the outburst. He had been so patient all this while, coaxing her, coddling her... Yet all she could think about was William.

This upset Danrique greatly.

After blow-drying his hair, he lay on the bed to read.

Francesca was still sulking on the sofa and glaring at him. Upon noticing that he was ignoring her, her temper only worsened.

If she were to act as she normally did, they would have a massive argument that resulted in screaming and one leaving the room after slamming the door. Thinking about how they were now together, Francesca resolved to be better at communicating with him.

Thinking of Layla’s advice to her, Francesca suppressed her anger and entered the bathroom to take a shower.

Danrique heard the sound of the door closing and looked up. Her temper had improved somewhat, but he thought that it was for no other reason than William

Is she going to behave just to plead her case?

The more he thought of this, the more irked Danrique became. He then decided to turn off the nightlight and go to sleep.

When Francesca came out of the bathroom, she noticed that the lights were out and that Danrique was fast asleep. His back was facing her, as if he was hell-bent on ignoring her.

This brought her anger to new heights.

She had tried very hard to control her emotions and talk to him nicely. Not only did he not cajole her, but he also became arrogant and cold.

What's with his attitude?