At a quiet corner of the ballroom, Jason stood by Rosanna's side. He could finally ask the question he had on his mind this whole time. "Mom, did something happen to dad? I saw him running off with Aaron. I remember him talking about how excited he was about tonight's event. There's no way he would rush out like that unless something is wrong."
Taking a quick look at the buffet line, Rosanna sighed after seeing Selina's joyful smile. Answering his question at a low volume, she said. "Actually, I'm not quite sure what happened either. All I know is that a waiter stole my phone when he helped me remove my jacket. Then, I was in the changing room with Selina until I realized my phone was gone. Michael, Aaron and your father-in-law were fighting a waiter in the hallway. That waiter was probably sent by one of our enemies to spy on us."
"Enemies? Who are they? Do you need my help? I can arrange bodyguards to help dad." Jason frowned at the thought of an enemy attacking his family in plain sight.
"I can't tell you who they are yet. Anyway, this is something we need to take care of. With Michael and Aaron around, there shouldn't be any problems. I've already used Selina's phone to contact Eric and he told me they were on their way back. They caught the waiter. If everything goes smoothly, they will be back very soon."
Seeing the crease between his brows, Rosanna decided to change the topic. "If you really want to help out, then work hard on giving us grandchildren. We still want to be able to run around with our grandchildren, you know?" Rosanna winked at him with a smirk on her face.
"I'll work hard after this party is over, mom. We'll let everything flow naturally." Jason cleared his throat to cover his embarrassment.
"Anyway, don't tell Selina about tonight. There are things that Eric and I aren't ready to tell her yet. We just reunited and want to have some peaceful days with her. Eventually, she will know all of it. Just... Right now, is not the right time. Can you keep this a secret for me?" Her smile didn't reach her eyes anymore when she said her request.
"Okay. I won't tell Selina anything about tonight. I'll wait until you guys are ready to tell her the truth." He smiled as he followed Rosanna's line of sight. Both of them were focused on Selina's bright smile.
"Thank you. As her parents, we've already missed the most important years of her life. Right now, we just want to see her live happily with little to no worries. If it's not necessary, then we won't drag her into this. As parents, we weren't able to take good care of her. Instead, she suffered too much." Rosanna sighed regrettably as she recalled the years she and Eric spent searching for their children.
"Don't worry, mom. As long as I am around, I won't let her suffer. I'll dote and spoil her. If anything ever happens, I'll definitely stay by her side to protect her. If you encounter any troubles, don't hesitate to let me know. I'll help in any way I can." Jason looked at her with sincere eyes.
After waiting ten minutes in line, it was finally Selina, Kyla, Jessica and Celinda's turn to get food. Selina took two plates and realized that Jessica and Celinda also took the same number of plates. It wasn't surprising to see Celinda grabbing two plates, but Jessica wasn't dating anyone. Speaking in a teasing tone, Selina asked Jessica questions. "Jessica~ Who is the second plate for?"
"Alfred. He said he needed to greet some clients, so I'm taking some food for him." Jessica spoke naturally as if it was something she was used to doing for him.
"Oh? Then, how about getting him some crab meat?" Selina purposely tested her response.
"Alfred doesn't like crab meat. He prefers lobster more, so I'll take lobster instead." Jessica replied without thinking.
"And how did you know what his likes and dislikes are?" Selina leaned sideways towards Jessica's direction.
"Because we were texting each other and communicating through calls." Jessica smiled.
"Aiyo~~ Somebody is blushing!!! Kyla, look! Look! She's blushing, isn't she?" Selina turned to her left when she didn't hear a response from Kyla. Normally, she would be the first to tease Jessica.
"Kyla, are you feeling alright?" Selina put down her plate and patted Kyla's back gently. Her face looked pale and her palm was pressing on her stomach.
"I'm fine. I have allergy towards seafood, so I'm feeling a little nauseous. I'll be fine after taking some fresh air. There are too many people here. I'll be right back." Kyla excused herself as she walked away from the crowd. As she passed through the crowd, she caressed her lower abdomen hoping the queasiness would fade.
Selina carried two plates of food after randomly putting whatever she saw onto the plates. Jessica and Celinda also followed closely behind. Kyla loved eating food, so it was rare to see her ill.
"Kyla, how do you feel?" The girls purposely kept the seafoods far away from her. Still, it didn't stop Kyla from covering her mouth.
"I'm alright. Jason is about to make his speech. I'll bring the drinks for you." Kyla quickly turned away from the sight of sauce covered food and held in the urge to vomit.
"Alright, but if you feel ill, don't hold it in. Tell us and we'll bring you upstairs to rest." Selina walked away with Celinda and Jessica.
Once they were gone, the nauseous feeling slowly went away. Since most guests took their seats already, Kyla knew the speech was about to begin. Quickly, she took three glasses from the raspberry juice section and walked back to her table.
After Kyla left, Trang Lai appeared at the beverage section. She grinned and swapped the alcohol tag with the juice tag. "Too bad you weren't looking earlier. If you did, you would've known that I swapped the tags."