Chapter 340: house party X

Chapter 340: Chapter 340: house party X

Vivienne couldn’t stop smiling.

Christopher.

Here.

At William’s party.

He hadn’t said anything about coming here.

She looked at him again.

He was talking to several people.

Why was he here?

Was it just coincidence?

Or...

Did he come here because of me?

She blinked.

How would he even know where she was going?

Maybe it was completely coincidental.

Maybe he had already planned to come.

Maybe—

No.

There was no surprise when he looked at her.

And that small smile.

He knew she was here.

Vivienne’s heart fluttered.

He came for me, right?

She glanced at him again.

Should she approach him?

But...

Well, why not?

He was her boyfriend.

And he had come here.

To see her.

Okay, maybe that was a little presumptuous.

But...

Hehe.

–

William was still looking across the room.

Christopher Archibald.

He hadn’t attended the party last year.

And now he was here.

William’s expression became more interested.

Christopher was the Prime Minister’s son.

That mattered.

William’s family had plenty of business interests, and in their world, knowing the right people could make things considerably easier.

Government approvals.

Projects.

Future opportunities.

There were always things that benefited from having the right connection.

In any case, he should welcome his guest properly.

Then perhaps, establish a relationship.

Christopher was someone worth getting close to.

He was just about to excuse himself from the group when—

"Ah..."

Vivienne spoke.

Everyone looked at her.

She smiled, almost sheepishly.

"Please excuse me for a while."

Vivienne glanced toward the other side of the room.

"I just need to go greet someone."

She gave a small laugh.

"Sorry. I’ll be right back."

And before anyone could respond—

Vivienne stepped away from the group.

It was so abrupt that everyone watched her as she went.

–

Vivienne walked across the room.

Her heart was still beating far too quickly.

But then she realized that Christopher was still talking to someone.

She slowed a little.

Would she be disturbing him?

Should she wait?

Then Christopher glanced in her direction.

His eyes found hers.

For a moment, he looked surprised.

Vivienne smiled at him.

And Christopher smiled back.

–

Christopher had only glanced over to see what Vivienne was doing.

Instead, he found her already walking toward him.

He had thought she might wait for him to approach.

But apparently, she had decided to come to him herself.

He smiled.

Come to think of it, he shouldn’t be surprised at all.

In any case, he excused himself from the conversation.

Then he turned toward her.

Vivienne had stopped where she was, as if waiting for a signal from him that it was okay to come over.

He shook his head affectionately, then crossed the remaining distance.

–

When they finally stood face to face, Vivienne suddenly didn’t know what to say.

She was just smiling.

Christopher looked at her fondly.

Vivienne bit her lip, suddenly embarrassed.

"What are you doing here?"

She paused.

"Uh... that didn’t sound right."

She laughed awkwardly.

"Are you perhaps here... for me?"

Then she looked away.

She immediately realized how presumptuous that sounded.

But she was still secretly hoping the answer was yes.

Christopher saw her reaction.

For a moment, he couldn’t help wanting to tease her.

"This is a party hosted by someone from the Political Governance department."

He said it very seriously.

"I have been invited."

Vivienne became even more embarrassed.

"Oh..."

She laughed.

"Sorry. I just thought..."

She shook her head.

"Ugh. Never mind."

Christopher smiled, clearly amused.

"Actually..."

Vivienne looked at him.

"I had already declined the invitation."

Her eyes widened slightly.

"Until I learned my girlfriend was apparently attending said party."

He smiled.

"So, here I am."

Vivienne’s heart soared.

So he had come because of her.

At the same time, she realized exactly what he had been doing.

He had teased her.

She narrowed her eyes playfully.

"You..."

She tried to look offended.

"You... you’re so..."

She struggled to find the right word.

"Bad..."

Christopher couldn’t help himself.

He laughed softly.

Then he asked.

"So, how have you been finding the party so far?"

Then he glanced around.

"And where are your friends?"

Vivienne was reminded of them.

"Ah, right."

She pointed behind her.

"They’re just over there."

Both of them looked in that direction.

And immediately, Vivienne realized something.

Everyone was watching them.

Claire.

Eleanor.

Amelia.

William.

Anthony.

Damian.

Evelyn.

And the rest.

Vivienne blinked.

Oh.

Right.

She had completely forgotten.

She had been so happy to see Christopher that she hadn’t thought about what was happening behind her.

Then she remembered.

Earlier, William had jokingly assumed that Damian was her boyfriend.

And Damian had said they were just friends.

Which was true.

They were just friends.

Well...

Friends with benefits.

But that was different.

And now Christopher was here.

Her boyfriend.

Vivienne suddenly didn’t want Christopher to hear about the earlier misunderstanding from someone else.

She glanced toward Damian.

He was still standing with the others.

Had he known already?

Perhaps that was why he had wanted to speak to her privately earlier.

Maybe Julian or Adrian had told him.

Maybe he already knew about Christopher.

Regardless—

She would apologize to Damian later.

She really would.

But right now, perhaps the simplest thing was to make everything clear.

There was no reason for anyone to misunderstand.

And, honestly...

Wouldn’t it be better if everyone knew?

Especially with Damian standing right there.

Vivienne looked back at Christopher.

"Would you like to join us for a bit?"

Christopher looked at her.

Then he looked toward the group.

He recognized most of the people there.

Damian Blackwood.

His classmate, and the man who was rumored to be in some sort of relationship with Vivienne. Vivienne had told him they were only friends, although Christopher knew Damian had feelings for her.

Anthony Ashford.

Her former fiancé.

And a few others.

It was complicated.

Christopher normally preferred to avoid complications.

But he had already agreed to be Vivienne’s boyfriend.

"I haven’t greeted the host yet."

He glanced toward William.

"So I might as well."

Vivienne smiled.

"Okay."

She turned toward the group.

Then, as if remembering something, she reached out for Christopher’s hand.

He looked down at their now-intertwined hands.

Then he looked at her.

Vivienne blushed slightly.

But she didn’t let go.

"Let’s go?" she asked.

Christopher looked at their hands once more.

Then he gave hers a gentle squeeze.

"All right."

—

Tbc