Leah Thorne looked at Yasmine Sterling as if she were an idiot, thinking, "The husband from Orchid Court is sitting right beside you, why don’t you just ask him yourself?" Serena Sterling’s bright eyes looked at Yasmine, "Yasmine, speaking of which, you actually have quite a connection with my husband from Orchid Court. Without the whole stand-in marriage thing back then, you could’ve been the young mistress of Orchid Court." Yasmine’s face dramatically changed; she hadn’t expected Serena to throw her under the bus. How could she be associated with that ghostly husband of Orchid Court? She was supposed to marry Hayden Crawford! "Serena, I have nothing to do with Orchid Court. I won’t marry there. I know you don’t like me, but you can’t ruin my reputation ." Yasmine showed a pitiful expression. Leah, ...you’ll soon realize what you missed. Serena’s red lips curved up, her eyes mocking, "Oh, is that so? Then, if you don’t want any connection with Orchid Court, just keep your mouth shut and don’t ask things you shouldn’t." Yasmine’s face turned pale; she realized she had been cornered by Serena, unable to hold her ground against Serena’s sharp wit. Damn this Serena for being so hateful! Yasmine immediately looked aggrievedly at Hayden, "Mr. Crawford..." Hayden raised his head, his deep, narrow eyes piercing through layers of smoke to look at Serena. Serena’s heart skipped a beat; she knew Yasmine was here to verify if she and Hayden really broke up. To avoid revealing any flaws, she quickly avoided Hayden’s gaze, pretending to be distant. Hayden watched her dodge him with little change in emotion but quietly frowned slightly. Seeing the two act like strangers now, Yasmine finally felt a bit better. Seth Hawthorne looked over at Serena with keen interest; he found out that the second brother’s stand-in bride had quite the firepower, far cuter than the pretentious Yasmine. Seeing the tension, Seth quickly broke the ice, "Everyone, let’s not just sit around. How about a card game? Beauty Thorne, join us for a few rounds?" Serena quickly recalled her tragic experience of being tricked by Hayden in a card game before, so she rapidly declined, "I don’t know how to play, I’ll pass..." However, Leah grabbed her small hand, "Serena, if you don’t know how to play, it’s all the more reason to practice. Come on, let’s play cards." Without letting her refuse, Leah placed Serena at the card table. Hayden also joined the card table, sitting across from Serena at the main seat, and Yasmine quickly came over to sit beside Hayden, "Mr. Crawford, I’ll watch you play cards." Though breaking up was Serena’s plan, seeing Yasmine sticking to Hayden like glue everywhere made Serena feel quite jealous. "Alright, the first round is starting, let’s begin dealing the cards." Someone began dealing cards, giving everyone one card each. The two accompanying executives played their cards, which were smaller than Serena’s; when Serena played hers, she was a bit feisty, directly tossing her card next to Hayden’s hand. The two executives had wanted gossip all along, they quickly said, Beauty Thorne, what are you doing? Are you targeting Mr. Crawford? Nobody in Bayside isn’t afraid of Mr. Crawford, but why do I feel Beauty Thorne is... bullying Mr. Crawford? A few days ago, the rumors online were absurd, talking about some naive sweetie, some pretty boy, and even some homewrecker... Listen, are those even human words, to describe our Mr. Crawford! Hayden glanced at the card tossed beside his hand, and then raised his gaze to look at Serena. Serena raised her delicately arched eyebrows, glaring back courageously, "I’m a 9; now I’m the biggest, Mr. Crawford, it’s your turn!" On the side, Yasmine couldn’t stand it anymore, thinking the dumped Serena was desperate, her true colors showing, she wanted to speak. But at that moment, Hayden turned his eyes gently towards her, "Miss Yasmine, could you please get me a pack of cigarettes?" This was probably the gentlest look Hayden had given her till now, even asking her to buy cigarettes, Yasmine’s heart skipped a beat, "Sure, Mr. Crawford, I’ll get them right away." Before leaving, Yasmine gave Serena a very smug look. Having sent her away, Hayden’s gaze fell again onto Serena’s deep eyes, leisurely playing his card, revealing... a 10. The two executives quickly laughed, Beauty Thorne, Mr. Crawford won. According to the rules, Mr. Crawford can make one request of you. Serena scanned the man across from her, like a deflated balloon, asking him, "A bet’s a bet; not sure what Mr. Crawford requests, otherwise, should I also go get you a pack of cigarettes?" Hayden detected a strong whiff of jealousy, someone’s vinegar jar had spilled over; he hadn’t done anything, merely played along with her. Fresh chapters posted on novel{f}ire.net Hayden lazily leaned his well-built back against the chair, his thin lips forming a barely-there smile, "Call me Daddy." Here it comes, Serena knew this was his revenge; just now everyone was joking about him being a naive sweetie, etc., so he wanted to reclaim some dignity. Under the table, Serena secretly kicked him. Hayden didn’t dodge, letting her kick; there was already a small footprint on his trousers, and he watched her angry, vivid eyes, especially vibrant and pretty. Haha, Beauty Thorne, let you bully Mr. Crawford again, many women wish Mr. Crawford could be their sponsor daddy. Mr. Crawford, I see Beauty Thorne is too shy to say it, maybe we should pick something else? Hayden’s eyes were filled with indulgence and affection, his voice low and magnetic, "Alright, let’s change it, Serena Sterling, call me hubby!" Serena’s snowy white earlobes instantly flushed; though he was her lawful husband, she had never called him "hubby" before. Now, he patiently watched her, clearly teasing, wanting to see her embarrassed, Serena quickly stood up, "I’m going to the restroom." The two executives quickly shouted, Beauty Thorne, a bet’s a bet; how could you run away? This Beauty Thorne is so bad at card etiquette; we won’t play with her anymore. Hayden watched Serena’s disappearing elegant figure, curling his thin lips slowly, then he stood up, "You all have fun, I’m going out for some fresh air." Serena and Hayden left one after the other, Leah quickly took over, "Mr. Crawford and Serena left, I’ll play with you." "Beauty Thorne, we wouldn’t dare play with you; if we lose, whose tab?" Leah patted herself, "What’s that supposed to mean? Looking down on me, of course, if I lose, I’ll cover it." "Everyone in Bayside knows Young Master Xavier dotes on his sister to the bone; if Beauty Thorne loses, Young Master Xavier will surely foot the bill." At this moment, a deep and mellow voice sounded overhead, "Talking about me?"