As Shirley and Noah walked into the hall all eyes were initially focused on Thalia and Victor who were the main stars of the banquet, but that attention immediately turned to Shirley.
Who would have thought that Shirley would come to this event, no one would have expected it, especially when they saw with whom Shirley was coming tonight.
"Why did the Janice family's young master come together with Lady Shirley?"
"I did not expect Lady Shirley to come here!"
"Is Lady Shirley being shameless by coming here?"
"It looks like she intends to ruin this event to take revenge on Lady Thalia."
There was a lot of loud whispering as Shirley walked into the Hall with Noah holding her hand affectionately.
Shirley had deliberately chosen a broken white coloured dress to make Thalia quite upset with her, but she was sure that the others were envious when they saw how gorgeous the dress she was currently wearing was.
The dress had a graceful cut with a shimmering satin material, exuding glamour in every step Shirley took. Its dazzling design consists of a bodice decorated with sequins and beads combined with alluring curves, giving it an elegant silhouette and accentuating the wearer's grace.
Not to forget that the dress has long sleeves with transparent details adorned with classy embroidery, adding a subtle yet striking touch of beauty. The back has an exquisite design, with detailed and shimmering ruffles of fabric, creating a dramatic effect as the wearer walks.
"Shall we say hello to your sister?" Shirley looked up to gaze lovingly at Noah.
"If you object, we don't have to." Following Shirley's acting, Noah reached out his hand to gently stroke Shirley's hair.
Shirley rubbed Noah's hand that was on the side of her face, "I'm fine, we still have to greet them," Shirley replied softly.
Actually, Shirley would have preferred to be blatantly sarcastic and make a scene, but since Noah had previously asked her to use his method, she just complied.
From what Noah had said earlier, they just had to show their romance, that way Noah believed that Thalia would make trouble for them.
And that was when they could get back at Thalia and humiliate Janice's family by playing the victim.
Shirley restrained herself from exploding in anger when they were already in front of Thalia and Victor who were staring at her arrival with Noah with sinuses.
The corners of Shirley's lips twitched as she had to smile at Thalia who had annoyed her to no end.
"I come tonight to congratulate you two." Shirley said politely.
"I'm sorry I just congratulated you, Sister." Noah calmly greeted Thalia.
Although annoyed, Thalia still smiled sweetly and didn't look upset at all, she also turned to Victor still with her smile.
"Look Your Grace, even Lady Shirley came to congratulate us," Thalia said, looking grateful for Shirley's arrival.
Not really caring about Thalia's words, Victor was more curious about what Shirley was doing here with Thalia's brother.
Victor knew about what Shirley had done to Noah, so he was confused as to why the two of them were this close now.
"Why did you come with Lord Noad?" Victor asked coldly.
"Don't you know yet, Your Grace?" Shirley tried to look surprised when she heard Victor's question to her.
"Indeed, what happened between you two? Noah never said anything to me," Thalia interrupted Victor this time.
Then, Shirley looked doubtful and shyly glanced at Noah.
Knowing the signal given by Shirley, Noah immediately hugged Shirley's shoulders from the side, "Now Lady Shirley and I are in a serious relationship like you two," Noah explained with a smile that reached his eyes.
Noah's answer instantly shocked the people listening to them. This was truly royal news, they were sure it was going to be the hottest news.
In fact, Thalia looked so shocked by the news, she almost tumbled backwards in shock, fortunately held back by Victor.
"You're not serious, are you?" This time, Victor frowned unhappily.
For some reason Shirley felt quite pleased at the emotional upheaval on Victor's otherwise emotion-deprived face.
"How could I lie about this, Your Grace. After you dumped me, Noah was the only one who cared about me and helped me." Shirley looked very hurt and sad as she spoke about how Victor had dumped her.
Noah also looked worried about Shirley, then turned to Victor, "Then we won't bother you any further," Noah said, choosing to take Shirley away from them.
Victor was not satisfied when he saw Noah take Shirley away from him, but he could not do anything because he was being held back by Thalia at the moment.
After they were far enough away, Shirley giggled softly, "Well it turns out your plan wasn't bad, I didn't expect to be able to enjoy that look on their faces."
"I told you, your extreme techniques don't always work," Noah replied as he picked up the cocktail glass that was there.
Shirley followed Noah's lead and savoured the cocktail happily.
"So, what should we do now?" Shirley turned to Noah, waiting to see what Noah would do next.
"We just need to wait for Thalia to do something to you, I'm sure she'll want to humiliate you for coming here and interrupting her important event." Noah explained casually.
"Are they not going to do anything to you?" asked Shirley slowly.
"Not here for sure. Maybe later when the banquet is over, watch my parents watch me like a criminal." Noah glanced over his shoulder at where his parents were.
"Apparently it's not too different from me. If a stare can kill, then I'm already dead by my step-sister's stare," Shirley replied softly, already aware of the glares directed at her coming from Rosemary and Charlotte.
Noah, who knew that the situation in Estelle's family was no different, could only laugh at their bad luck.
"I'll leave you for a while so Thalia can come to you, take it easy and I'll keep an eye on you," Noah whispered later.
Shirley simply nodded and let Noah go, deciding to stay and enjoy the meal.
Just as Noah had predicted, it wasn't long before Shirley noticed Thalia walking towards her with a red wine in her hand.
"Lady Shirley, tell me why you came here. Do you intend to humiliate me?!" Thalia hissed angrily, she could not calm down as long as Shirley was still here.
"Oh my! What are you saying Lady Thalia, I'm really here to congratulate you," Shirley replied in a pitiful voice.
Thalia growled angrily and with her hands clenched into fists, she slowly walked towards Shirley in an intimidating manner.
Secretly, Shirley grinned as they managed to entice Thalia to eat the bait they had spread earlier.
As Thalia continued to approach Shirley, Shirley eventually fell because she was intimidated by Thalia's presence.
Unbeknownst to Thalia, Shirley had deliberately dragged some glasses and plates nearby and made a big fuss, causing all eyes to stare at them curiously.