Chapter 271 You Gonna Eat That or Nah
48 Pearls
“I just love eating wild, untamed things like this–the rarer, the better. You can’t even get this kind of stuff overseas. I only had it specially prepared because you all were coming,” Nathaniel said, every word out of his mouth making Eliza sick to her stomach.
This isn’t hospitality, it’s a threat. He was making it blatantly clear that he, Nathaniel, had no fear of the law.
“I’m not interested in this meal,” Eliza said flatly. “Mr. Nathaniel, let me be direct, my brother’s in the same business overseas. I’m just wondering if you’ve ever heard of him.”
“Ronaldo?”
Of course, Nathaniel knew Ronaldo. The man was seasoned, and ruthless–he’d once taken out an entire port’s worth of enforcers by himself overseas,
That battle was what made his name.
The Sue family owed half its power to Ronaldo, who handled all the dirty business and served as their protector. If Ronaldo were here, Nathaniel wouldn’t dare act so arrogant.
But the problem was–Ronaldo wasn’t here.
Instead, his little sister and younger brother were sitting in Nathaniel’s territory. That meant Ronaldo would have to show some restraint.
Nathaniel wasn’t in a hurry. He said, “I’ve heard a bit about your brother–guy’s a legend. But you know how it is, the next generation’s supposed to raise the bar, not drop the ball. With a brother like that, it’s kind of embarrassing that Ms. Rivers and Mr. Halbert won’t even touch the food. If word gets out, it won’t reflect well on him.”
At that, Nathaniel turned to a server beside him. “Go serve Ms. Rivers. This swan’s delicious. I’m sure she
will love it.”
The server didn’t dare disobey and quickly placed some swan meat in front of Eliza.
The message was clear. You’re going to eat it whether you want to or not.
As the dish was set in front of her, Eliza said, “So what you’re saying, Mr. Nathaniel, is that I don’t have at choice?”
“I’m only trying to be a good host,” Nathaniel replied. “It’s up to Ms. Rivers whether she wants to give me that honor.”
His meaning couldn’t have been more obvious.
His expression even held a hint of contempt. He didn’t believe Eliza would dare disrespect him in front of so many people.
Especially not in front of his own woman, Nathaniel still had some pride to maintain.
Eliza said nothing; she didn’t even pick up her fork.
Halbert, sitting beside her, raised his glass and said, “Mr. Nathaniel’s right; it’s only proper to offer him a
toast.”
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13:55 Tue, 8 Jul
Chapter 271 You Gonna Eat That or Nah
+8 Pearis
Before Nathaniel could react with delight, Halbert poured his wine onto the floor, right in front of him.
Nathaniel’s face darkened instantly,
It was a blatant curse.
Halbert raised a brow. “Consider that my toast, Mr. Nathaniel.”
The moment he said that, the men stationed at the door burst into the private room, their expressions vicious.
It looked like they were ready to kill Halbert right then and there.
But Nathaniel raised a hand, signaling for them to hold back.
No matter what, this was still Halbert of the Sue family. If they actually laid a hand on him, the rest of the Sue family wouldn’t let it slide.
Nathaniel might be the local tyrant of Westbrook, but going toe–to–toe with the Sue family, he wasn’t that foolish.
That kind of move would only backfire.
Nathaniel quickly forced a smile. “Mr. Halbert, you’ve got a real sense of humor. Since Ms. Rivers doesn’t like this meal, I’ll have it all cleared away.”
He shot a glance at the other servers, who promptly removed every dish from the table.
In just a short while, they returned with a completely new spread.
Eliza saw that the table was now full of ordinary dishes; only then did she finally pick up her fork.
Naomi, who had been silently observing the entire time, seemed to have expected things to turn out this way. Nathaniel might act tough, but only in a place like Westbrook.
Overseas, Nathaniel was nothing–a gutless coward.
It was only a matter of time before he had to bow to Naomi.
Soon, Naomi picked up her wine glass and said, “Sister, please don’t take it personally. Mr. Nathaniel just has a bit of a temper. He only did all that because he cares about me. He didn’t mean to force you to eat something you didn’t like. My father, well–he likes to share, and those were rare delicacies. Such a waste, really
With that, Naomi walked over to Eliza with her glass and smiled. “Sister, everything I did before was foolish and immature. I’m truly sorry. I won’t make the same mistakes again. I’m not asking for us to make up, I just want to offer you a sincere apology.”
Then she tipped the entire glass back and downed the wine.
Her words were so heartfelt, anyone listening would’ve been moved.
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