[Chapter 98]
After years of bitter rivalry, even the smallest conflict could lead to explosive consequences. Mila was on the verge of losing it… but there was nothing she could say.
"Mila!"
Gerald had been watching from a distance for a while now. Now that Mila was losing, it was time to join the fray.
"Ah! Gerald!"
Mila leaped in shock when she saw him. He wasn't supposed to catch her like this with her weakness in full view!
"Whoa, Mila, who's this?"
Irene looked him up and down. Seeing his plain clothes, a smile bloomed across her face. All her own friends were people of note.
Mila, on the other hand, was keeping this kind of company… And the casual way he called out to her… Did that mean that something was going on between them?
"This is my friend, Gerald. What about it?" Mila announced without reservation.
"Oho, and here I was thinking that this might be your brother-in-law, Irene!"
Kenneth was holding out his hand to show off his watch, a golden Rolex, by way of challenging Gerald to a cockfight. But if he was just a friend, then never mind.
"How could that be, Kenneth?" Irene cried out in mirth.
"How could Mila have possibly found herself a boyfriend being the ice queen that she is! Besides, just take a look at this friend of hers… what is he even wearing? Mila's boyfriend, indeed!"
She attacked Mila viciously, never sparing a thought for Gerald's feelings. Evidently, she already regarded him as less than nothing.
"Haha…"
Faced with these insults, Mila was strangely more pleased than vexed.
"How wrong you are, Irene. Gerald and I are more than just friends—we're going steady!" With that, Mila traipsed over to Gerald and embraced his arm.
This soft sensation… it set his whole body quivering. So now, he had become Mila Smith's boyfriend? It was something he had always desired, but he had never imagined his dream coming true thanks to such a turn of events. It was a complicated tangle of emotions he was experiencing right now. Meanwhile, Irene and Kenneth were both dumbstruck.
"Heh… Mila, you're just saying that to get a rise out of me, right? Even if you're out of your mind and wanting to get a boyfriend so you can keep up with me, perhaps eventually even a husband to give you the good life, he would still have to be a somebody, am I right? Not something like… him."
"By the way, I guess I haven't properly introduced Kenneth to you yet. He's the heir to the Lee family enterprise. Do you know what car he drives? A Ferrari. By this token alone, Mila, you've already lost to me!"
Irene was red in the face now. Well, now… Mila, you've never been willing to admit defeat to me, huh? Show me what you've got, then! We'll see who gets the last laugh!
Sure enough, Mila refused to back down.
"Heh! And what does that mean? My boyfriend, Gerald, is a wealthy heir in his own right. He just doesn't parade it around everywhere unlike some people's boyfriends who can't stop showing off!"
Mila was gripping both of Gerald's hands tightly. She was really putting herself out there right now.
"Ahaha! What? This Gerald guy is rich? He's just keeping a low profile?" Irene guffawed raucously.
"You've got me there, Mila, you've truly beaten me this time! In this respect, I definitely can't hold a candle to you!"
Meanwhile, Gerald's heart was steeped in doubt. A moment ago, he had been amazed at how serious a childhood rivalry could be. Not even a goddess like Mila could rise above it. Calling him her boyfriend… it was only for the sake of this contest with Irene.
However, that last thing Mila said had caught him completely off-guard!
"Mila, did you already know about it?"
He had been agonizing over how to reveal the truth to his friends, but now that she had said it herself, he felt a great weight lifted off his shoulders. Taken aback, Mila asked,
"Did I already know about what?"
"About me being a wealthy heir!"