Eva balled her hand into a fist and grit her teeth when she noticed that the majority of the guests' attention was on her and Audrey.
Audrey turned to leave but only for her to feel a hand grab her from behind.
"What do you want to do now?" Audrey grimaced, not able to hide her annoyance this time around.
"Since you made it here, the first thing you should have done was present your gift to the celebrant and give her your best wishes so where are you going huh?" Eva asked.
A triumphant smile appeared on her face after she looked at Audrey's hands and saw that she was holding nothing.
[She has embarrassed me. I guessed it's time to return the favour]
Eva released Audrey's hand and moved a step back.
"Don't tell me you are here to mooch off her without bringing a gift?" Eva's said a bit louder to garner more attention.
"Haven't you been taught that it was impolite to attend a person's party without a gift...,"
"And whoever told you I didn't come with a gift huh?" Audrey cut in sharply.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"Huh...," Eva exclaimed. She frowned at the thought that her plan had failed.
"Actually, I captured a poisonous snake which tried to attack me later in the day. I had it carefully packaged just for this moment and it's inside my car," Audrey informed. The corner of her lips curled up to reveal a sinister smile lingering on Audrey's face.
"That can be considered a gift right?" Audrey asked and tapped the startled lady on the shoulder.
"Blink!" She whispered. "Even though you lost I bet you still want to look pretty in cameras right?" She chuckled.
Audrey smiled towards the man who was capturing them with a camera before she spun and strolled away with her hands in her trouser's pocket.
"How dare that idiot think that I am some pushover?" Audrey, who was almost at the entrance, spat out.
"They should be grateful to Anna who always keeps me under control in the past or else I would have chewed them up alive long ago," Audrey grumbled.
She halted in her tracks and shot a deadly glare at the table Laura and her friends occupied.
"The nerves of them to scheme against me!" She hissed and continued with her walk.
When she finally got out of the busy hall Audrey gazed to her right and then to her left not knowing where to go next.
She was about to make up her mind about calling Joanna's cell phone when she recalled something.
"Damn it!" She cursed loudly.
"How could I forget she said she was gonna show herself to them and afterwards spend the remaining evening in her room upstairs," Audrey almost hits her head when she recalled such important information she forgot about.
"Instead of getting myself annoyed to death by those bunch of idiots I think it's a great idea to join her upstairs," Audrey muttered.
She grinned and started making her way towards the hotel's reception.
At the reception, Audrey was about to ask the two ladies whom she had a good relationship with about Joanna when she saw them come out of the elevator.
"Anna!" She half-yelled. She was a bit surprised when she saw that Anthony was with her.
"Oh... look who we have here," She smiled and went to join them.
"Good evening Sister Audrey," Anthony who has returned to his usual vibrant self greeted, beaming.
"How are you, little prince?" Audrey asked. "Do you know that because of how exceptionally handsome you look I almost couldn't recognise you?" Audrey joked as she pats Anthony's hair.
"Really?" Anthony asked, grinning.
"Of course," Audrey replied beaming. As she talked with Anthony she stole a glance at the lady who hasn't said a word to her for over a minute now.
"Anna, what happened?" She nudged the absentminded lady by the hand. "Are you angry because it took quite a while for me to find you?" Audrey asked when Joanna didn't say anything.
"If you think about it, I should be the one who is angry...,"
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"Drey, can you watch over Little rice ball for some minutes?" Joanna asked out of the blue.
"Why?" Audrey raised an eyebrow. "Did you realize you made a mistake coming here and want to return home?" Audrey made a wild guess.
"You are leaving, Big Sis," Anthony blurted as he looked into Joanna's eyes.
"I am not leaving... at least not yet," Joanna retorted. "I want to cross-check something but I don't feel good about leaving him alone," Joanna explained.
"That is why I would love it if you escort him to the party hall. I will join you guys soon," Joanna added.
Audrey didn't respond immediately. But she spared a minute to look at her best friend's face wondering what she was up to.
"Let's talk later," Joanna said. She walked away before Audrey could respond.
Audrey watched Joanna walk away unable to do anything.
If not for the little boy by her side she would have followed her and kept an eye on her.
"Sister Audrey, is Big Sis alright?" Anthony asked, his gaze fixed on Joanna's back.
"Why?... Does she not look alright?" Audrey asked playfully.
"I am not sure," Anthony replied, his gaze lowered. "I noticed her mood has been down for days now...,"
"Your Big Sis is just going through something at the moment but I promise you that she will return to her normal self soon," Audrey assured him.
She held his hand and together they made their way to the hall where the party was still ongoing.
At the restroom instead of walking about five steps forward to where the ladies' restroom was Joanna paused in front of the brown door that had the tag MEN'S RESTROOM on it.
"Let's see what on Earth my Little rice ball saw that made him say that the restroom was no good," Joanna muttered. She grabbed the silver handle and pushed the door open.