Chapter 0273
Susie, apparently thrilled with the distraction, leaned forward to eat her cheesecake. After the first bite, Terry
stopped her by raising his napkin.
“My dear, you have a touch of chocolate syrup right here…” He tabbed the napkin to the corner of her mouth.
Susie went still as a statue.
I moved, ready to stand and do something, when Susie looked across the table at me and met my gaze. Subtly, she
shook her head no. She was telling me to stop.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtBut why? To protect me? To protect us both if our standings should suffer?
Terry shouldn’t be allowed to treat people this way.
I looked at Nick, and his face was grim. He wasn’t eating either, simply glaring at his uncle.
Terry smirked. “Are you enjoying your dessert, dear?” Terry asked Susie in a low, sultry voice that made my skin
crawl. “Go ahead and eat more. I’m right here, ready to help clean you up if you make a messy.”
Susie’s hand shook as she cut off another portion of cheesecake. She lifted it halfway to her mouth, but then
lowered it instead.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m not hungry anymore.”
“Is it not to your liking?” Terry asked. “You wouldn’t want to upset my chef.”
“I’m sorry,” Susie said again. She offered no more explanation, even after Terry waited.
Eventually, though he looked disappointed, he said, “Suit yourself.”
After dinner, the candidates and guests were brought into a sitting room to socialize. The princes were called in to
give more interviews with the camera crews.
Coffee and tea were served, but I declined both.
I sought out Susie and found her alone in the far corner of the room, looking for all the world like she hoped she
could disappear.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
She worried her bottom lip with her teeth. “He is vile.”
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm“Did he touch you?”
She shook her head. “No more than you saw.”
That, at least, was a small relief.
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+25 BONUS
Nicholas pulled back my chair for me, then pushed me in as I sat. When I was comfortable, he lowered himself in
the chair beside me.
Terry glared at both of us.