Chapter 8: The Wedding Banquet

Seren Thorne and Arthur Vane returned to the manor together. It wasn't until evening that they had the driver pick up Alaric Vane from his office, and the three of them headed to the hotel where the wedding was being held.

Dominic Vane’s first wife had passed away seventeen years ago, but the Vane family had maintained a relationship with her side of the family, informing each other of holidays, weddings, and funerals.

The car pulled up at the hotel entrance. Just as Seren and the others stepped out, another car pulled up behind them, and Dominic’s family of three stepped out.

Upon exiting the car, Vivienne Vane leaned into Dominic’s arm, a gentle smile on her face.

Although Dominic’s expression was somewhat cold, he didn't push her away, acting as if their heated argument about divorce that morning had never happened.

Seren raised an eyebrow.

{Vivienne certainly has some tricks up her sleeve to coax him back so quickly.}

Arthur, however, frowned deeply. He hadn't expected that even with the evidence of infidelity presented before his eyes, his second son would still appear in public arm-in-arm with her as if nothing had occurred.

"Dominic," Arthur said with a stern face. "Didn't you say this morning that you were divorcing Vivienne? Why did you bring her to the White family's wedding?"

Dominic replied, "Dad, we misunderstood Vivienne this morning. Jasper already told me that those things in the trash can were placed there by him as a prank. It has nothing to do with Vivienne."

Jasper Vane was the son of Dominic and his late wife, currently seventeen years old.

Arthur never imagined that Jasper would lie for his stepmother. He looked coldly at the handsome young man standing nearby.

"Jasper, Vivienne not only cheated but was also planning to abscond with the funds with her lover. Why would you lie for such a malicious woman?"

Jasper curled his lip and said, "I’m not lying. It’s clearly you, Grandpa, who is lying and slandering Mom. Mom is wonderful to both me and Dad. It’s impossible for her to cheat. Stop trying to drive a wedge between us."

As soon as Jasper finished speaking, a female voice rang in his ear: {Tsk, this is the legendary case of being sold and helping the seller count the money.}

Aside from Vivienne, Seren was the only other female present. Jasper quickly identified the source and looked toward her.

Seren’s mouth hadn't moved, but he could clearly hear her voice.

{This young master actually thinks Vivienne is good to him. If it weren't to get closer to his father, why would Vivienne waste any effort on the son left behind by a former wife?}

{He probably doesn't know that Vivienne puts chronic poison in his milk every day. She's just waiting for him to kick the bucket so her own biological son can inherit the family estate.}

Hearing this, Jasper was instantly enraged.

His sister-in-law’s thoughts were far too dark, actually slandering his mother like that behind her back! He saw with his own eyes how his mother treated him; could an outsider possibly know his mother better than he did?

"Seren Thorne, stop talking nonsense! My mom isn't a bad person!"

Seren: "?"

"What did I say? Why are you throwing a fit?"

Jasper realized belatedly that Seren indeed hadn't spoken, so even if he wanted to argue, he had no grounds.

He gritted his teeth and swallowed his retort, only saying angrily, "Anyway, I know exactly what kind of person my mother is. No outsiders are allowed to spread rumors!"

{Tsk, it seems this young master has been completely brainwashed by Vivienne. No wonder he gets poisoned into an idiot later on, thrown into a mental asylum, and ends up being mauled to death by dogs arranged by Vivienne.}

Hearing the image of himself being mauled to death by dogs, Jasper couldn't help but shudder.

This sister-in-law was truly too wicked, actually cursing him like that!

Seren ignored the way Jasper was glaring at her and took another look at Dominic’s face.

{Ooh, Dominic’s fate has shifted. It looks like he doesn't plan on divorcing anymore. Starting today, Vivienne is going to start drugging him too.}

{Before long, both father and son will be poisoned into idiots. They’ll be checking into the asylum together. Vivienne is using chronic poison; they’ll slowly lose their minds, and no toxins will be detectable in their systems.}

{Once they’re both incapacitated, all of Dominic’s assets will be inherited by Vivienne and her lover. This father and son won't even leave behind an intact corpse. How pitiful.}

Jasper was nearly driven mad by Seren’s inner voice.

It was one thing for this malicious woman to curse him, but she wouldn't even spare his father! He opened his mouth to curse her out, only to be held back by his father.

He turned back to yell at his father to let go, but he saw that Dominic’s face was slightly pale, and the look he gave Seren was tinged with terror.

That morning, Dominic had only discovered the items in the master bedroom trash can after hearing Seren’s thoughts, and facts had proven those thoughts correct.

Although Jasper later claimed the items were a prank, Dominic had actually remained skeptical. Now that Seren was saying both he and his son would be killed by Vivienne, could this also be true?

Jasper noticed his father's expression was off and soon realized that his father could also hear Seren’s thoughts.

Only Vivienne could hear nothing. Seeing Dominic hold Jasper back, she followed suit and tried to play the peacemaker.

"Jasper, your sister-in-law hasn't offended us. Don't make things difficult for her."

Jasper realized that only the Vane family members could hear Seren’s thoughts, which he found incredibly strange.

What exactly was going on? Did Seren really have a special ability to not only let them hear her thoughts but also predict the future?

Jasper’s mind was in a mess. Arthur spoke up, "The banquet is about to start. Let's head in. We can discuss other matters later."

Arthur had already made up his mind that no matter how unwilling his second son and grandson were, he had to get this menace, Vivienne, out of the Vane family. However, the setting wasn't right; family matters had to wait until they got home.

Everyone agreed and followed Arthur into the hotel.

The banquet had already begun, and many guests were already eating. Arthur had the juniors take their seats while he took Alaric to greet the White family.

Dominic’s family sat down with Seren.

Vivienne helped Dominic and Jasper unwrap their utensils and poured tea to rinse their bowls, acting incredibly considerate and gentle.

Seeing her so attentive, the expressions of both father and son softened slightly. They began to wonder if Seren had just been talking nonsense earlier. After all, Vivienne was so refined and virtuous; she didn't look like someone capable of doing evil, let alone poisoning them.

After rinsing the bowls, Vivienne poured a glass of a beverage for each of them.

"Jasper, have some juice to tide you over. We’ll eat once your grandpa and big brother return."

Jasper nodded, picked up the glass, and was about to drink.

Seren warned, "You two better not drink that."

Vivienne’s eyelid flickered. She shot a sideways glance at Seren, unsure if her small movements had been noticed.

Jasper, however, gave a huff, deliberately acting against her. "You say don't drink, so I shouldn't? I’m going to drink it!"

With that, he downed the entire glass of juice.

Seren felt helpless.

{Drink up then. Both your glasses were poisoned.}

{Then again, this young master has already consumed so much of what Vivienne has given him; one more glass won't make much difference. Better to die early and be reincarnated sooner.}

Jasper’s expression froze. Terrified, he immediately spat the juice out. Saliva and juice sprayed all over the table, and he drenched Vivienne, who was sitting diagonally across from him, entirely.