Chapter 823

Adina still did not escape Duke.

When she looked at the few dark red hickeys on her neck, she almost wanted to cry without tears.

“Duke Winters, you b*stard!”

She put on her makeup while she gritted her teeth and cursed.

Duke slowly put on a suit and seemed very satisfied with himself.

“I‘ll send you over later.”

Adina snorted and ignored him.

Luckily, the dress that Dillon had custom–made for her was relatively conservative, and it covered the
hickeys on her neck. Hence, she was not afraid of people gossiping about her.

By the time she dressed up and went downstairs, Mr. Brown had sent the four kids to preschool. It was
the end of November now. The kids would have a winter break in half a month, and it would be a
brand–new year following the second half of that month.

Speaking of which, this was the first New Year‘s Eve that Adina would be spending with the kids in
Cairnstan, and she secretly looked forward to it.

Duke sent Adina to the entrance of the hotel.

“Give me a call when it‘s almost over. I‘ll come and pick you up.”

She heard the man‘s deep and husky voice in the car.



He actually wanted to attend the reunion banquet with her, but he knew that she had her own plans, so
he could only let her go in alone to face everything.

“Don‘t worry about me. Everything‘s under control.”

After Adina gave him a goodbye kiss on the face, she pushed open the door and got out.

As soon as she stepped out of the car, the winter wind swept over her with bone–chilling coldness. She
could not help but shiver.

It was freezing. Luckily, it had stopped snowing, or else that man would have definitely tried to stop her
from attending the banquet.

Knowing that Duke was staring at her back, Adina held her breath and straightened her back. Then she
walked toward the banquet hall calmly. Before she reached the door, she ran into the Xavier family
members.

She had told Richard and Ethan long ago not to let Grandma come over. After all, Grandma was old,
and it was freezing outside. If she came out, she would suffer.

Unexpectedly, Grandma still came, and Richard and Ethan supported her on each side.

“Grandma, why aren‘t you resting at home?”

Adina quickly went forward, and Richard gave away his position on the left.Mdm. Xavier held Adina‘s
hand, chuckled, and said, “It‘s a big day for you. Of course I have to come and support you.”

Adina smiled helplessly. “Let‘s go inside now. It‘s warmer.”

As soon as she said that, she heard a sneer.



When she turned around, she saw Sophia‘s mocking expression.

Sophia initially did not want to come, but the Gardner family insisted on her presence. They told her
that the Jones family was big in Sea City, and it would be best if she could seek a connection.

It happened that the Xavier family was also attending the banquet, so she followed them.

However, when she saw how exquisitely and stunningly dressed Adina was, she felt uncomfortable
again.

There were clearly two scars on Adina‘s face, and she clearly did not look as good as she used to, but
why was she still the most dazzling one?

Adina smiled faintly, and her eyes shone brightly. “What are you scoffing at, Sophia?”

She had put on heavy makeup today to cover up her two scars, so only faint dark marks were visible.




62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda