Lyle heard what I said and glanced at Christopher, who was standing next to me. The spark in his eyes disappeared before he sneered, “I had no idea that you cared so much about me. Please be sure to attend my wedding. I look forward to getting a wedding gift from you.”
I frowned. Why does it seem like he’s out to annoy me?
“Don’t worry, Mr. Smith. Eve and I will definitely attend your wedding. We won’t disappoint you,” Christopher said with a smile as he hooked his arm around me, and there was a hint of malice in his eyes.
“Let’s go in, Lyle. I’ve been standing too long, and the baby is kicking me inside,” Crystal whined. When no one was looking at her, she glared at me, and there was a strange smile on her face.
The dinner was more like torture for me. Not only did I have to endure Crystal and Yvette’s stupid comments, but I also had to endure Wendy and Nathan’s patronizing ways. And yet, Lyle’s eyes seemed to burn a hole in me.
Fortunately, Christopher was with me, and we carried on with our meals as we spoke softly to each other. After a while, Nathan turned to Christopher and said, “Christopher, I heard that your company won a tender recently and that you’re looking for a company to cooperate with. Instead of looking elsewhere, how about cooperating with the Tanner family?”
I plonked down my cutlery. This is the thing that Nathan wanted to tell Christopher? I knew about the tender. Christopher had put in huge effort to win it over. He even had to spend several days entertaining the parties involved and had gotten himself drunk every day in that period of time. According to him, this tender was between the Lane family and their rival, the Walker family. He mentioned that the matter had to be treated with much caution. Otherwise, a minor slip would end up in a disastrous situation.
“You must be joking, Mr. Tanner. You can give my assistant a call and discuss this. If he thinks it’s okay, then I have no problem with that at all,” Christopher said straightforwardly.
“How modest of you, Christopher. You’re in charge of the company; of course, you call the shots. I’ve drawn up the contract. How about we split fifty-fifty? Eve, show Christopher the contract,” Nathan said as he handed me the contract.
If I were to take the contract from him, it would mean that I agreed to that. I shut my eyes in disgust and quelled the disappointment in me. In the end, I’ll always be disappointed in anything that Nathan does. Unfortunately, I can’t change the fact that he’s my father.
“Fifty-fifty?” I mused with self-mockery. I’m not a fool. There has to be a catch in Nathan’s proposal. I took the contract from him, and just when Nathan beamed satisfactorily, I picked up the contract and tore it in half.
“What are you doing, Yvonne?” Nathan was stupefied.
“Nothing. It’s just that I don’t want to be treated like a fool. Do you think of me as a fool, Dad? Or is Christopher a fool to you? Perhaps you think that you’re the only smart one around here. Have you forgotten what happened after Mom left? You never even treated me as your own daughter, so why would I help you with such a thing? Fifty-fifty? Do you have any idea that Christopher spent more than two billion to win over this project? You think he had it easy?”
I was infuriated to the point of seeing red, and I couldn’t contain the rage within me. Most of the time, I would try to avoid having to deal with my father. Even when I had to deal with him, I would hold myself back whenever there was a conflict. But today, I couldn’t hold back anymore.
“I’m your father. It’s the least you could do for the Tanner family. Don’t forget that you’re part of the Tanner family too,” Nathan roared.
“I know I’m from the Tanner family. That’s why it makes me wonder why you don’t treat me as your daughter. Instead, you treat your niece like your own daughter. Take a look at the ones sitting next to you. They are your illegitimate daughter and your niece,” I said angrily before I bellowed, “If possible, I don’t wish to be part of the Tanner family!”
