Chapter 530 He Hates the Color Red More Than Anything Else!
As the pair came downstairs together, David tried to have a heart-to-heart talk with Celina. “By the way, you’ve turned 22 this year. Time to find me a good son-in-law, don’t you think? Got anyone in your mind yet?”
“What’s the hurry, Dad? It’s not like I’ve ever been short of admirers,” Celina replied shyly.
However, David said earnestly in a grave tone, “No, you’d better hurry, Celina. If you keep on being choosy, you’ll end up becoming an old spinster. The older a lady gets, the less worthy she becomes. If you keep playing for time, you’ll only get to choose from whoever is left. The guy you mentioned last time—Kenneth Bailey—I think he’s pretty nice. I’d rest assured if you could marry him.”
“Oh, Dad, you’re making fun of me again!”
“No, I’m not making fun of you at all. If you’re determined to marry no one else but him, I’ll go to him on your behalf and ask him if he’d like to marry you. Whoever takes the initiative doesn’t matter. If you don’t grab the opportunity when a good candidate for a husband comes across, someone else’s gonna steal him from you.”
Celina pursed her lips bashfully before leaning her head on David’s shoulder. “Okay, okay, I’ll try my best to get you the best son-in-law in town, but that’ll be tomorrow. For now, Dad, let’s think about what to say later to the guests, okay?”
David couldn’t do anything with her, so he dropped the subject.
With that, Celina finally managed to drag David downstairs. While he was delivering his speech on stage, she went to Regina, a domestic helper for the Saunders Family, and had the latter keep a close eye on the Saunders Residence’s entrance in case someone wearing a red dress was denied entry.
Meanwhile, Faye was stopped at the entrance by the Saunders Family’s servants just as she was about to register her attendance. At first, she was still able to keep smiling, but after being denied entry twice, she felt like a laughingstock in front of the guests who had entered. Consequently, she forgot her manners and threatened the servants right away, saying, “Are you guys f*cking blind or something? How dare you even bar me from going in? In case you didn’t know, I’m the eldest daughter of the Anderson Family, as well as a close friend of your young lady. Can any of you bear the responsibility if I end up being late for celebrating your young lady’s birthday?”
The servants looked at each other upon hearing Faye’s words. It’s enough for us to be a doormat for Miss Celina at the Saunders Residence. Are we gonna let an outsider insult us as well? they thought. Having reached a tacit agreement, they resolutely refused to let Faye in. Even if Master David or Miss Celina is here, we can pass the buck by saying that we’re denying her entry for the sake of the party’s safety. It’s difficult to punish anyone for doing something when everybody’s doing it, so there’s no way they’re gonna fire all of us.
One of the servants—a man—said in a defiant manner, “Please don’t scare us by saying that, Miss Anderson. On an occasion like today’s, even if Master David or Miss Celina’s here, there’s no way you could go in. I’d say you’d better follow our kind advice and leave of your own accord as soon as you can. If not, then don’t blame us for being rather unpleasant with you!”
“Unpleasant?” Faye let out a sneer as though she had heard an outrageous joke. Holding her head up high, she continued, “Well then, let me see how you’re gonna be unpleasant with me!” Talk about bad luck! Not only is Celina unable to take cues from people, but even her servants are so badly-behaved!
On the other hand, the male servant didn’t mean to lay a hand on Faye; he was merely trying to scare her off. After all, the Saunders Family’s guests were either rich or respectable, so he couldn’t afford to mess with any of them. “That’s enough. Just go back and stop wasting our time here. Otherwise, if Master David sees you—”
Just then, however, they were interrupted by a thick female voice. “Hold on!”
Everyone turned to look at where the voice had come from. At the sight of the person to whom the voice belonged, the servants in charge of guarding the entrance immediately restrained themselves. “Ms. Regina.”
Regina was a distant relative of the Saunders Family who had been working at the Saunders Residence ever since the Saunders Family went up in the world. She was closer to David and Celina than the other servants were, so all the servants treated her with respect.
Even though Faye was on friendly terms with Celina, this was the first time that the former had ever come to the Saunders Residence, so Regina wasn’t familiar with her. “What’s with all that racket, huh? How could you all make a scene over here while the classical music’s playing? Do you wanna get fired for ruining Miss Celina’s party?” she said, reprimanding the servants before throwing Faye a meaningful look.
The servants gesticulated at Faye while saying in chorus, “We had nothing to do with this! It was this woman who…”
Upon hearing their words, Regina realized with hindsight what had happened, and her eyes instantly widened with stupefaction. To think that this woman’s coming to the party in a red dress! Her red dress stuck out to me like a sore thumb while I was coming all the way here just now, but I had totally forgotten about it! Isn’t this obviously an attempt on Master David’s life? But Miss Celina had me come out to… Sigh. In any case, Miss Celina is Master David’s own daughter, so there’s no way she’s gonna do him any harm. Perhaps she’s got another surprise. It’s not my turn to worry about it, anyway, she thought.
Recovering herself inwardly, she plucked up her courage, determined to follow Celina’s orders thoroughly. “Shut up!” she said, scolding the servants guarding the entrance before turning to face Faye with a frown. Then, forcing a weak smile, she said, “I’m sorry for what has happened to you just now, young lady. Please forgive the servants for being rude. Miss Celina had me welcome you personally, and she and the others have been waiting for you for quite a while. This way, please!”
Faye didn’t really make a fuss about what had happened since Regina’s honeyed words dispelled most of her anger. Lifting the skirt of her dress with her chin up high, she swaggered openly into the Saunders Residence after Regina in the presence of the servants guarding the entrance.
After watching the woman in red sail into the Saunders Residence, the servants began gossiping about what had happened. “Ms. Regina’s eyes have always been sharp, no? How come she didn’t notice it and even let that woman in today? This is gonna cause huge trouble!”
“You can say that again! I think we’re gonna get a roasting for this.”
“I’m not gonna take the blame for this. We’ve got to speak along the same lines, everyone. Remember that it was Ms. Regina who let that woman in. We can’t let ourselves be blamed for this!”
Meanwhile, David was standing on stage at the residence as his speech was nearing its end. “…I’m a bit of a boor, so forgive me if I sound blunt. My only wish is for my precious daughter to be happy all her life. I know many of the guests who are present here today are single, so let me remind you that my daughter is much sought after by suitors. If you want to be my son-in-law, you’d have to grab today’s opportunity and be on your best behavior in front of her! Haha…”
Upon hearing his words, Celina blushed with shyness offstage.
One of the guests shouted, “Eager to have a grandson, eh, Mr. Saunders? Haha…”
In an instant, the entire room broke into laughter, which livened things up a lot.
Just then, however, David suddenly looked straight ahead, his smile frozen.
“Why so serious, Mr. Saunders? It’s just a joke,” joked a guest who didn’t realize what had happened.
However, as David’s face grew darker and darker, everyone soon realized that something was wrong. When they followed his gaze, they saw someone dressed in bright red standing near the door.
Faye stood where she was with an innocent look on her face. She didn’t know what was going on. Why would David stare at her with a look of hatred in his eyes as soon as she entered? Also, the guests’ faces showed looks of fright.
She vaguely sensed that something was wrong. After a while, she finally recalled what Celina had mentioned to her before—David hated the color red more than anything else!
This was because David’s wife died in a car accident on her way to a rendezvous with her lover while wearing a red evening dress David had bought for her. Faye had been busy dealing with the police these days, plus the dress was delivered by Celina herself, so she didn’t get suspicious of the dress at all!
