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When they walked into the dining room, Riele saw that the evil witch aka her step-mother was whispering something to her father. She did however stop speaking when she noticed Riele.
Irene's jaw dropped in shock as her eyes landed on Riele's date. He was not at all what she'd expected him to be like.
Irene thought for sure that Riele's so-called boyfriend, if he was real at all, was going to be some hideous looking middle aged man sporting a big old beer belly, probably already married and just fucking her on the side. No guy in his right mind would want to date an ugly pig like Riele. Or at least that's what she thought.
Seeing his daughter and her date arrive, Joseph stood up from his chair and walked over to greet them and Irene followed him, seethingly.
"You're looking lovely tonight, sweetheart" Joseph gave his daughter a loving kiss on her cheek which automatically brought a smile on her face. "Thanks, dad"
"Dad, Irene, I'd like you to meet my boyfriend, Jace Norman" She introduced him to them. "Honey, my father, Joseph and his wife, Irene"
"Pleased to meet you, sir, ma'am" Jace said, shaking hands with Mr. Downs and handing Mrs. Downs a small bouquet of lilies he had brought for her.
Irene just sneered in reply but received the flowers nevertheless.
Once they were seated at the table and the dinner was served, Irene decided to inquire more about her step-daughter's so called "boyfriend"
"Just how long have you two been seeing each other?" Irene asked, not bothering to hide her fierce scowl.
"A few months now, but it feels like we've known each other forever" Riele replied, glancing at Jace with a smile.
Joseph could clearly see that his daughter was smitten with this young man and if his instincts were right, Jace was also equally besotted with Riele.
"So, Mr. Norman...." Joseph began but was interrupted by Jace. "Please sir, call me Jace"
"Okay, Jace, my daughter tells me that you're not from around here"
"Uhm, yes sir, I used to live in Sunland Park with my family. We moved to New York a few months ago" Jace replied with a smile.
"Yes dad, Jace's parents were both doctors at the children's hospital in Sunland Park" Riele chimed in.
"That's nice. So, do they still live there or have they moved to New York too?" Joseph inquired further.
Jace's smile dropped as he shook his head. "No sir, my parents...." Jace choked up, remembering his parents but quickly recovered and answered. "They passed away last year, sir"
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Jace" Joseph said with compassion, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.
"Thank you, sir" Jace replied with a frail smile as he wiped the few tears that had managed to escape his eyes while Riele rubbed his back soothingly.
"So, which university did you attend, Jace?" Joseph asked, trying to change the subject.
At this question, Jace looked up at Riele who nodded at him reassuringly. "I went to NYU, sir, but I had to drop out so I could take care of my kids"
"Your kids?" Joseph tilted his head in incredulity.
Jace opened his mouth to explain but Irene spoke up. "See, I knew it!" She exclaimed, turning to give her husband accusatory looks. "I told you that he was just using her for the money and you didn't believe me!"
"Irene!" Riele raised her voice, glaring at her step-mother.
"Oh, for God's sake, Riele, don't you see he only wants your money. I can't believe you trusted him so blindly" Irene spoke further, throwing a disgusted look at Jace who had shrunk back in his seat, lowering his eyes.
Of course he was used to this kind of accusations. It was nothing new to him. Other than a handful of people, which included his parents and close family friends, many of them would only assume the worst of him and he hated that. But like every other time, he just kept his head down and endured it.
"Irene, stop it!" Joseph said with a warning but Irene was not about to back down. Especially, now that she has a very good reason to reject Riele's boyfriend.
"No Joseph, didn't you hear what he said, he's obviously a married man and he has kids! How can you let a stranger manipulate our daughter and take advantage of her!?" She demanded, clearly peeved.
"No one is taking any advantage of me, Irene!" Riele yelled at her and turned to her father. "Dad, they're his sister's kids and he had to take care of them because his sister and brother-in-law are also dead" She explained, shooting daggers at Irene.
Joseph felt embarrassed and guilty for the way his wife had accused Jace and apologized to him. "I'm sorry, Jace. Please forgive my wife for what she'd said. She is just very protective of my daughter, that's all" He said, giving his wife a disappointed look.
"It's okay, sir" Jace mumbled his reply, without looking up.
The rest of the meal went off without any more problems. Joseph tried to make some small talk but Irene kept her mouth shut, not wanting to anger her husband.
After dinner, Joseph invited the young couple to the sitting room for a glass of wine. They made polite conversation for the most part when topic moved onto Jace's kids. Joseph was surprised to hear that he was practically raising four kids, and was curious to know how a young man like him was managing such a big responsibility.
Jace had began to relax a bit as he excitedly talked about his kids, his pride and joy. He recounted some cute stories about his children while Joseph and Riele listened intently. Irene just sat there, looking like she'd been sucking on a lemon. She didn't dare criticize or belittle him in front of Joseph.
From the corner of his eye, Joseph could see how his daughter was enraptured by those stories. A fond smile crossed his lips as he remembered how he used to do the same thing with Riele's mother. This brought tears in his eyes, he missed his love so much. Even after all these years, his love for his late wife hadn't diminished even one bit. He had always liked and respected Irene but could never bring himself to love her.
A while later, when Riele excused herself and went to the washroom, and Joseph had gone to the other room to make a phone call. Irene decided to seize this opportunity.
"So, Jace, what do you do for work?" Irene asked in a sweet voice.
"Ahh, I work as a cleaning staff at the Skyline hotel, ma'am" Jace replied, feeling a bit edgy. He could tell that she doesn't really like him that much.
"So, you're no better than a janitor" Irene commented, smirking derisively.
"That's none of your business, Irene!" Riele said through gritted teeth. She had just come back from the washroom and heard Irene's snide comment.
"Oh, but it is, Riele sweetheart. You are the daughter of a millionaire and he is just someone who mops the floor and cleans the toilets for a living. I bet our butler earns more than him" Irene retorted and turned back to Jace.
"Isn't that right, Jace?" She asked, feigning innocence.
Jace lowered his head, not knowing what to say to that.
"Honey, you know I always tell you that money is not the only important thing in life. My babygirl loves this young man and that's what matters to me" Joseph said as he reentered the room and took a seat next to his wife.
"Joseph, I was just.... I didn't mean to..." Irene tried to explain herself but one look from her husband and she fell silent.
Riele couldn't help the smug smirk that crept onto her lips. She knew that her father was going to have a talk with her later.
Jace stayed for one more hour and during that time Irene hadn't spoken a single word. When it was time for him to go home, Riele had accompanied him to the front door, thanking him for coming to her house and apologizing for the way Irene had treated him.
"It's okay, Ms. Downs, I can understand her apprehensions. Have a good night" Jace smiled softly.
"Good night, Jace and thank you once again" Riele smiled back and without giving it much thought, she kissed him on the cheek. Jace was speechless while Riele looked away to hide her flushed face.
"I....I'll call you tomorrow" She said, biting her lip and blushing hard.
Jace just nodded his head, failing to give her a verbal answer. The whole car ride home, he couldn't help but think about the kiss. Her soft lips on his cheek had lit a fire inside him. He wanted to know how it feels to kiss her lips.
Jace shook his head, reprimanding himself for even having such inappropriate thoughts about his client. He knew that he would never be able to be with someone like Riele.
That night, as was expected, Joseph chided Irene about her behavior. Irene did try to defend her actions but Joseph was having none of it.
"If my daughter loves him and wants to be with him, we will give them our blessing and support them. Do you understand?" He said, fixing his wife with a piercing glare.
"Yes, honey, I'm sorry" Irene said in a faint voice but on the inside she was bristling with anger. She vowed to herself that she would make that low-class bastard pay for turning her husband against her.
Grabbing her phone, she immediately called Noah to let him know about Riele and her little boyfriend.
"Noah, I don't know what you'll do but I want you to get rid of him somehow. He did mention something about his brother being in the hospital. I think you can threaten to hurt him" Irene proposed.
Noah just chuckled evilly. "I have an even better idea. Now, where did you say he works at?"
"Ahh, some kind of a hotel called Skyline, why? What are you going to do?" Irene inquired, curiosity evident in her tone.
"Nothing you need to worry about. Just know that I will make sure he won't be a problem to us anymore" He assured her, a menacing smirk playing on his lips.
"Wait, are you going to kill him?" Irene gasped.
"Nah, that filthy bitch is not worth the risk"
"Okay, whatever you do, just be careful, okay? Joseph cannot know about any of this" Irene said and hung up. Taking a deep breath, she feigned a smile as she went back to the bedroom.
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A/N: What do you think Noah will do? Do you think his plans will work? Thank you for reading. I hope you liked the chapter 💖 I would like to hear your thoughts.