Chapter 1299:
“Thank you,” Millie said to Babette.
Since they were all in Crobert now, there was no point in holding grudges with Watson Group. Even so, Millie didn’t ask Babette to stay. Keeping the peace didn’t mean she wanted to be friends with her.
Babette seemed to read the room and gave a small nod. She let out a sigh of relief, then lifted her eyes to Millie.
“I would like to speak with you alone. Is that all right?” she asked.
Alexia shot to her feet before Millie could reply. She glared at Babette and snapped, “Now you’re going too far. We all know exactly what you’ve done to Millie these past few days. Today is her engagement party. If you’re here to ruin her day, I will never let that happen.”
Giffard tugged gently at his sister’s arm, trying to calm her, but Babette remained focused on Millie.
“It’s about Egbert,” Babette said.
Alexia’s anger only flared higher.
Babette had already shown up uninvited, and now—of all days—she was making demands at Millie’s engagement party. What was she scheming? Why bring up Egbert now?
Alexia looked ready to charge forward, but Millie caught her hand before she could move.
“I’ll take care of it,” Millie said calmly.
She needed to soothe both sides, and she already saw a solution.
“We can talk over there.” Millie pointed toward a conservatory, then said to the others, “You’ll be able to see everything from here.”
She leaned toward Alexia and whispered, “I’ll hear her out. She’s clearly fixated on Egbert. Even if we avoid her today, she’ll just come find me another time. It doesn’t change anything.”
Millie nodded toward one of the special-effects devices inside the conservatory.
“I’ll make her sit by the sprayer. If she…”
𝘿𝙤 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙥𝙞𝙚𝙨 — 𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬 𝙖𝙩 𝙜ⲁ𝗅𝗇𝗈ν𝖊𝗅𝘀﹒𝗰𝗈𝗺
…tries anything, I’ll press the button and let out the mist.”
Alexia nodded. She remembered how they had accidentally set the sprayer off earlier in the afternoon, startling everyone. Millie squeezed her friend’s hand, then rose and walked with Babette into the conservatory.
They sat across from each other while the group outside watched through the glass with growing unease. Myron narrowed his eyes, his gaze fixed on Babette. Meanwhile, Brandon had dropped his binoculars and was rushing toward the venue.
Inside the conservatory, clusters of balloons were arranged around a large display that read, “Happy Engagement, Millie and Myron!”
Fresh flowers filled every corner. Earlier in the day, sunlight must have poured through the glass walls, making the place look magnificent. Now, only the overhead lights illuminated the room.
Millie looked at Babette.
“What would you like to talk about?” she asked.
Babette intertwined her fingers. She hesitated for a while before finally speaking.
“Egbert told me that back when he saved me in Flesta, it was actually a mistake. He thought it was you, and he meant to save you—but he saved me instead.”
Millie said nothing, giving Babette room to continue.
.
.
.