Chapter 236: Joy Drake’s Probing
Vivian accepted the invitation.
’She was a little confused. Didn’t Joy Drake say the banquet wasn’t supposed to officially start for another three days?’
’So why was there suddenly a yacht party tonight?’
Vivian was very confused, so she asked the waiter another question.
The waiter, however, simply smiled and replied, "I’m not sure about that. I’m just here to make the delivery. If you have any questions, Mrs. Faulkner, you should probably ask Miss Drake."
The waiter seemed to know nothing.
With no other option, Vivian put the invitation away and went to find Eleanor Rhodes so they could go to the hotel’s breakfast buffet together.
Fortunately, the restaurant served breakfast for quite a while, from 6:00 AM until 11:00 AM. You wouldn’t have to worry about sleeping in and having nothing to eat.
Then, from 11:00 to 11:30 AM, the restaurant would gradually switch out the dishes in preparation for the lunch buffet.
Eleanor Rhodes had exhausted herself browsing the duty-free shops yesterday, so she had slept in. Like Vivian, she didn’t get up until ten this morning.
Eleanor got some waffles, yogurt, and fruit. As she returned to the table to eat with Vivian, she said, "I hear the lunch buffet is going to be lavish! All-you-can-eat Gallian oysters and New Zealand scampi!"
"Vivian, should we have the hotel buffet for lunch today? Or go to that food stall I told you about?"
’What to eat for lunch?’
Vivian took a bite of her chicken rice noodles and began to seriously consider the question.
’Such a difficult choice!’
’As it turns out, the three great philosophical questions of life aren’t "Who am I? Where do I come from? And where am I going?" but rather, "What should I have for breakfast? What should I have for lunch? And what should I have for dinner?"’
"Let’s go to the food stall!"
After thinking for a moment, Vivian said, "Finn was the one who found that food stall while doing research online. The hotel sashimi is good, I’m sure, but I know you prefer food with stronger flavors!"
Eleanor’s face lit up. She said gleefully, "Vivian, you really are my best friend! You know me so well! In that case, let’s ask Finn to join us!"
"And this afternoon, we’ll hit the duty-free shops for another shopping spree!"
The two friends chattered away excitedly. Eleanor sent Finn a text, asking if she wanted to join them for lunch and go shopping in the afternoon.
Finn must have been busy, as she didn’t reply right away. Vivian had almost finished her rice noodles and took a sip of her yogurt.
Just then, Joy Drake approached their table.
She wore a form-fitting cocktail dress that showed off her exquisite figure. Her lips were curved into her signature, amiable smile, giving the impression that she was always friendly.
And she was heading straight for Vivian.
"Miss Drake."
This time, Vivian greeted her first, her tone neutral.
’Vivian knew Joy Drake was an incredibly persistent person. She’d seen it last night—the way Joy had shamelessly tried to curry favor with Mr. Drake despite his cold shoulder.’
’Since she was as persistent as a stubborn leech and couldn’t be shaken off, Vivian decided she might as well take the initiative.’
Joy Drake looked a little surprised. She had clearly noticed that Vivian hadn’t been very willing to acknowledge her before, so for her to initiate a greeting now was unexpected.
"Mrs. Faulkner, Miss Rhodes."
Joy Drake was very enthusiastic, familiarly taking a seat next to Vivian and Eleanor.
Out of the corner of her eye, Vivian noticed Eleanor purse her lips and secretly roll her eyes at Joy as she drank her yogurt.
’Clearly, Eleanor really didn’t like Joy either.’
"Have you eaten breakfast, Miss Drake? Would you like to join us? The rice noodles here are quite good."
Vivian was just trying to make conversation.
Upon hearing this, Joy politely replied, "I’ve already eaten. I have a lot on my plate, so I was up and busy early this morning. I’m truly envious of you, Mrs. Faulkner, being able to relax on vacation and live so comfortably."
Joy’s envy seemed quite sincere. At least, as far as Vivian could tell, she wasn’t being passive-aggressive or implying that Vivian was just some incapable Mrs. Faulkner who only knew how to enjoy life.
"Hardly."
𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
Vivian’s expression was composed. "I’m just seizing a rare moment of leisure. I still have to deal with company emails tonight. By the way, about this morning..."
Vivian asked about the yacht party.
’It was better to confirm, just to be safe.’
"Ah, yes."
Joy Drake smiled. "The Drake Family is actually hosting that yacht party ourselves. It’s for those of us who arrived ahead of schedule."
"You know how it is at the beach. It’s exciting when you first arrive, but after a few days, you get tired of the same scenery. So, we thought a party on a yacht would be a good idea."
"We do hope you and Mr. Faulkner will honor us with your presence. And if you could come as well, Miss Rhodes, that would be wonderful."
’So the Drake Family really is hosting it.’
No longer suspicious, Vivian replied noncommittally, "We’ll have to see what our schedule looks like tonight."
"Alright."
Joy Drake nodded. Just as the conversation seemed to die down and she looked ready to leave, she suddenly appeared to remember something. She turned to Vivian and asked, "Speaking of which, you returned with Master Drake last night, Mrs. Faulkner."
"You and he both looked rather pleased. Did you talk about something happy?"
"To be honest, Master Drake has been so morose ever since... that incident. I was starting to worry about his health. I never expected he would get along so well with you, Mrs. Faulkner."
Joy Drake’s gaze was probing.
One look told Vivian exactly what Joy was curious about.
’She must be wondering why Mr. Drake’s attitude toward her was so different from his attitude toward Joy, especially when Joy was the actual family member. She also wanted to know what trick Vivian used to make Mr. Drake so happy.’
’Too bad.’
’Joy was destined never to find out.’
’The fact that Mr. Drake lived alone after returning to the country, rather than with the rest of the Drakes, was proof enough that he wanted nothing to do with his materialistic family members.’
’Since that was the case, Vivian respected Mr. Drake’s wishes and certainly wouldn’t be telling Joy any of his secrets.’
"Um, sorry, I really don’t know. Julian and I were just drinking some coconut water when Master Drake happened to come by. I didn’t even know who he was at first."
"I only realized who he was when you showed up and called out to him. I don’t know him well. Perhaps he was just in a good mood last night."
"..."
Joy Drake fell silent, clearly not convinced by Vivian’s words.
Joy had her own intuition.
’The way Master Drake was walking with Vivian and the others last night—that level of familiarity wasn’t something you achieved on a first meeting!’
’Joy had a pretty good idea of what Master Drake’s temperament was like.’
But...
If Vivian refused to say, there was nothing Joy could do.
Joy Drake stood up. "Well, it’s getting late. Please enjoy your meal, Mrs. Faulkner, Miss Rhodes. If you run into any trouble at the hotel and need my help, feel free to come and find me."
"Alright."
Vivian agreed. Seeing Joy finally leave, she let out a sigh of relief.