Chapter 308
Daron reached out and squeezed Marina’s hand, shooting her a sidelong glance as he spoke in a low, serious tone
Don’t do anything that stupid again. You’re just gonna throw me off” he said
Marina pressed her lips together and muttered under her breath
“But wasn’t it you who wanted to draw fire in the first place?” she mumbled.
Just as she spoke, Durif was calling them over to the dining table, so Daron didn’t catch what she said.
Daron took Marina’s hand and led her over, settling in right next to Durif like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Everyone from the Zambra family headed toward the dining room, leaving only Leo, Victor, and Verena in the spacious Eving room.
Leo was seriously pissed off at Victor for being so impulsive.
“I told you before, don’t just blunt things out when you’re back with the Zamora family. Who do you think you are, talking like that?” Leo snapped.
Everyone here was a total schemer. One wrong move and they’d all start thinking about how it affected their own interests.
“You idiot, are you trying to drive me crazy?” Leo snapped.
Just as Leo finished scolding Victor, Bette’s voice rang out from the doorway.
“Who’s the idiot here?” she called out
She handed off her purse to a servant, grabbed a towel to wipe her hands, and strolled inside.
Noticing Leo was chewing out Victor, she arched an eyebrow and said, “Why the long face, Dad?”
Leo just snorted and didn’t bother answering her.
Bette was never close to Leo anyway, so she couldn’t care less about being ignored. She just gave a little smirk and strolled off toward the dining room.
When she walked into the dining room and saw Marina sitting right next to Daron, a flicker of surprise flashed in her eyes, but she quickly brushed it off. She headed straight for the head of the table and gave Harris a quick hug.
“Grandpa, have you missed me lately?” she asked with a playful grin.
Harris chuckled and ruffled Bette’s hair.
“Of course I have. You little rascal, you never even make time to come see me,” he teased.
Bette snorted. “If you missed me so much, how come you never even called?”
Durif snorted. “You little troublemaker, always turning the tables on me.
“Shouldn’t you be the one calling your grandpa more often?”
Bette just smiled and released Harris from her hug
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Chapter 308
Harris urged, “Alright, sit down and let’s eat. The food’s gonna get cold”
Bette nodded, spotted an empty seat next to Marina, and went over to sit down. As the did, she gave a go greeting to the elders at the table.
Her gaze drifted across the long table, and she noticed there was only one empty seat left, right next to Hayley
It was obvious that seat was meant for Leo.
There were still three people left in the living room.
Bette flashed a mischievous grin and quietly told the servants standing behind her, “It’s a family dinner tonight and the Zamora family hasn’t been this lively in ages. You guys don’t need to hang around here. Go ahead and grab a base yourselves.”
The servants glanced over at Harris, who was sitting at the head of the table.
When Harris gave them a nod, they finally dared to leave the dining room.
“Alright, let’s dig in,” Harris said.
Once the servants left, Harris picked up the serving chopsticks and started dishing out some food
Leo finally made his way into the dining room.
Verena and Victor followed behind, and Victor’s face was still red. Clearly, after Bette went into the dining room, he mouthed off to Leo and got smacked for it.
Bette turned to Leo with a bright smile.
“Dad, come on, take your seat. We’ve been waiting for you,” she said.
Leo walked over with a grim face and sat down next to Hayley.
This was the spot Leo always took whenever he came back to the Zamora family. For years, he’d been treated like a guest of honor. But now, annoyed by Victor’s behavior, he didn’t bother inviting Verena and Victor to take their seats first.
When Verena and Victor walked into the dining room, they just froze, looking lost.
There wasn’t a single empty seat left at the long table, and nobody was about to budge for them.
Originally, there were enough seats for everyone.
But with Bette and Durif showing up, Verena and Victor ended up without a place at the table.
Even the servants who were supposed to be waiting around in the dining room were gone too.
Harris had heard Leo brag about Victor’s adventures overseas, so he’d actually had a somewhat favorable impression of this grandson, even though they rarely saw each other.
But after Victor’s embarrassing performance just now, Harris figured he didn’t even deserve to compete with Darus
Victor was so impulsive and never thought things through, yet Leo still put him on a pedestal right in front of Harris.
So now, with no seats for Victor and Verena, they just stood there awkwardly. Harris didn’t bother asking anyone to bring over extra chairs or dishes. He was doing it on purpose, to teach Victor a lesson.
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Chapter 808
Since Harris kept quiet, everyone else just pretended Verena and Victor didn’t even exiu.
Verena shot Leo a pleading look, but he didn’t even glance their way. With a frosty expression, he just turned to Hayley was started talking to him.
He was making small talk, obviously just trying to smooth things over after their earlier clank
Hayley replied in a composed, even voice, totally unbothered. He clearly had no intention of arguing with Leo wnym
Seeing this, Verena took a deep breath and couldn’t help but tighten her grip on Victor’s arm
Victor clenched his jaw and was about to leave.
Verena quickly grabbed his arm, lowered her voice, and said quietly, “Victor, you can’t go
“If you leave now, you won’t get another chance.”
Victor clenched his jaw. He was only here for Hayley’s shares, but Hayley had handed them straight over to Daron, Saving him with zero hope.
Now that there was no profit to be made, he was stuck here, humiliated and put through the wringer just thinking about those two slaps Leo gave him earlier, he could barely hold back his anger.
Verena knew Victor’s temper all too well, so she gripped his arm tightly, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Victor, just do it for your mom, okay? I just want to be recognized as part of this family,” she pleaded.
“Just think of it as your mom begging you,” she added softly.
Listening to Verena’s quiet, desperate pleading, Victor gritted his teeth so hard it hurt, but in the end, he just stood there, swallowing his pride and refusing to walk away.
Harris and Durif were having a great time, laughing and toasting each other, totally wrapped up in their own world
Verena and Victor just stood off to the side, like they were part of the furniture, completely invisible to everyone else.
Not a single person asked them to join the table.
Just then, Bette’s fork and knife clattered to the floor. She glanced down and, with effortless grace, said, “Could you get me a new set of utensils?”
But after she spoke, nobody moved.
Bette turned her head, as if only now noticing Verena and Victor standing behind her, and said softly, “Oh, it’s you two.
“Honestly, I thought you were just one of the maids standing by.”
Bette was just about to bend down and pick up the fork and knife herself.
But Verena quickly stepped forward, picked them up first, and murmured to Bette, “Let me get you a fresh set, Bette
Bette smirked, clearly amused by Verena’s servile attitude.
“Alright, then. Thanks for your help,” Bette said with a sweet but unmistakably mocking smile.
Verena kept smiling, but of course she caught the sting in Bette’s voice and knew it was pure humiliation.
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Chapter 308
But with Harris already fed up with them, Verena had no choice but to suck it up and play nice with everyone in the Zamo family, even Bette.
She needed Harris to see that she and Victor weren’t a threat to anyone in the Zamora family.
Only then would Harris finally let Victor’s name be written into the Zamora family records.
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