The Black Swan Behind (Beauty of Fire)

188 Fine Dining

Lilian laughed at her grandson’s words. Then her wrinkled hand caressed his baby’s cheek, “My dear Marcel, I am on my old age. I don’t know how long I can accompany you in this world. All I want is that when the time for me to leave finally comes, I could go in peace because I see that you already have a partner by your side. I’d be very happy to see you have someone who can take care of you and share the love with you.”

“You know that I don’t like it when you talk about death,” Marcel smiled faintly as he groaned.

“I don’t like it either, honey. But death does happen. And fate can’t be prevented.” Lillian replied.

Suddenly a moustachioed waiter with a shining bald head approached their table, “Good evening Mr Douglas. There are four women who said they were joining this table. One of them has the name Emma Hilland. If that’s true, then I will escort them get over here.” He said politely.

“They are. Please take them here. Thank you.” Marcel nodded.

“Ah.. They came?” Lilian looked very excited. She looked at Marcel who looked at her with a loving smile. The man nodded.

Not long after, the waiter came back with four beautiful ladies following him. Politely, the waiter directed the ladies and politely said, “This is the table,”

The ladies smiled at the waiter and said, “Thank you,”

Lilian’s eyes lit up. She looked at the four beautiful ladies. They were as beautiful as a set of classic porcelain dolls on display in an antique museum.

.....

Because Marcel had previously mentioned the location of the restaurant he had reserved, Poppy and Emma immediately knew that it would be a ‘Fine Dining’. Because of this, they had to dress up finely to attend the dinner invitation. Moreover, they would meet Marcel’s grandmother. Of course, they had to respect the old lady.

Emma Hilland wore a short black silk dress which was paired with a knee-length Beige coat which was longer than her dress. She didn’t forget to bring a black purse that showed a logo from a well-known fashion brand. Her long legs looked slender and beautiful in black Stiletto high heels shoes.

Meanwhile, Rachel Markway seemed couldn’t get away from her love of wearing pants. But she still looked very elegant in a sleeveless nude pink suit with a slightly low chest. The flexible-material pants that dangled from her stomach and widener until her ankles matched her tall stature. She also wore the same colour Stiletto shoes with a strap design.

For Poppy, she chose to wear a long-sleeved white turtle neck knit top combined with a grey-blue plaid skirt and a Baby Blue fur coat. Her feet were wrapped in thin black stockings with cute black high heels shoes.

However, compared to the three girls, there was a girl who looked conspicuous. She was even probably the first girl who made Marcel’s eyes unable to blink.

Kathania Dusk, the girl with two green eyes was wearing fresh-colour makeup. Her soft face was framed by red hair like fire which for the first time, was neatly arranged so that it looked perfectly charming. She wore a long-sleeved Emerald green mini dress with a slight floral accent at the bottom. Her feet were wrapped in black high-heeled boots above knees tall. She also wore earrings lent by her mother which matched the colour of the dress she was wearing.

“God’s grace.. You all so gorgeous,” Lilian muttered by covering her mouth with both hands. Then she turned to her grandson who just stood still like a statue. She nudged Marcel’s arm, “Why are you keep standing like that? Tell the ladies to sit down, would you?” she whispered impatiently.

Marcel snapped out of his daydream and then cleared his throat before pointing his right hand at the chairs on the side of the square table, “Please, Ladies, have a seat,”

The four girls nodded and filled the chairs at the wooden table, “I’m so glad we could meet again, Lilian.” Emma hugged the old woman warmly. Coincidentally, she sat beside her, while her three friends sat in a row on the opposite chairs.

“How are you, Lilian?” Poppy asked.

The woman looked at Poppy and smiled, “Never been better. You ladies look so beautiful tonight. I feel like I’m having dinner with angels.”

They laughed at Lilian’s exaggerated words, “To be honest, we don’t dress up like this quite often.” Kathy replied.

Lilian’s eyebrows rose, “Oh, really? Ah.. Then what people say is true. A woman who rarely wears make-up would look charming once she puts it on.” Her eyes didn’t stop staring at Kathy until the girl became embarrassed, “You are very gorgeous, you know that? Your eyes are so beautiful,”

“Ah.. You embarrassed me,” Kathy said, blushing.

Emma laughed, “You have no idea how hard it was for us to persuade her to dress up like this. She always said the make-up was too much. But it turned out eyes-stunningly pretty.”

Lilian looked surprised, “I think I knew someone who thought like that. You remind me of my daughter-in-law.”

Hearing that, Marcel immediately grabbed his grandmother’s hand gently. He smiled at her and turned to his girl-friends, “Looks like we can order now,”

“You’re right. Dressing up this much actually makes us quite hungry.” Emma said while laughing.

Marcel sighed quietly. Then he whispered something to his grandmother to remind her that they had an agreement before going out to this dinner. Marcel had already told Lilian that she had to keep her mouth shut so she wouldn’t tell the girls too much about Marcel’s life. It was enough only Emma who knew the most, don’t add her other friends. Marcel had memorized the nature of most women’s mouths that easily spilt secrets.

After ordering, the food came not long after. Lilian talked profusely with the four young ladies who surrounded her. Lately, things have been nice in her life. She found out that Marcel had lowered the fee for Redvalley residents and she had also been allowed to leave Redvalley streets even without Marcel’s company.

Meeting the four beautiful ladies seemed to be the pinnacle of Lilian’s happiness. She didn’t expect Marcel to have so beautiful and kind friends like them. She would be very grateful if one of them could pair up with her grandson. She could clearly feel that these girls were good people.

“So, you all dance ballet?” Lilian asked while eating her dessert.

The four ladies nodded, “We could be friends because we take the same extra class.” Emma answered.

“Maybe that was one of the reasons. However, I think it was fate that brought us together.” Poppy added.

“Fate?” Lilian looked interested.

Poppy nodded, “Actually, we got this close because of some.. uniquely special events. I never even thought that I’d have friends like them.”

“Poppy.. You touched my heart,” Kathy said with her hands in front of her chest. Of course she did it as a joke.

“We can’t play with fate. But fate can play tricks on us. Because of that, fate can be so surprising. Just like love. If you find the right friend, you would have a pleasant life.” Lillian said. “By the way, do any of you have a partner?” she asked with a chuckle.

Marcel immediately glanced at his grandmother with a sigh while shaking his head. Of course, he couldn’t stop the old woman.

“It just so happens that we don’t have a partner yet,” Kathy answered by clearing her throat.

“Oh my.. Is it so difficult nowadays for people with attractive faces to have a partner?” Lilian laughed, “You ladies are just like Marcel. With his handsome face, he has never brought a girl to introduce me to, other than you all.”

“Grandma, I don’t think they want to hear that,” Marcel said.

“We don’t mind hearing that, P.. I mean Marcel. I don’t know whether it’s true or not. Maybe nowadays, it’s pretty hard to find someone who will love us for who we truly are.” Kathy replied.

“You think so?” Marcel frowned.

Kathy shrugged, “Don’t you feel a lot of people judge others by their appearance? In fact, I used to be one of them,”

“Are you not now?” Emma asked.

Kathy squinted at Emma and raised her hand to give a small symbol with her thumb and forefinger, “A little,” she replied, inviting another laugh.

“You’re so funny, Kathy. I think I can stay young if I see you often.” Lillian said.

After finishing dinner, the people continued to walk around a bit on Madame Art Street which was quite crowded. The street decorated with beautiful lights made Emma forget the problems that happened yesterday. She didn’t know how long she could breathe lightly like she was now. Could enjoy the beauty of Handway City. If only she didn’t know the dark side of Handway City, it must be so nice to have this feeling all the time.

“Thanks for your time, Ladies,” Marcel said to the four ladies who were standing next to a red car.

“We should be the ones thanking you for the dinner invitation,” Emma shook her head.

Kathy nodded approvingly, “Just so you know, it’s rare for us to eat at a five-star restaurant like that.” she chuckled.

“I think you don’t need to tell him that..” Poppy said in a low voice as she nudged her shameless friend’s hand.

Marcel laughed at it, “It’s okay. I’m amazed you can be honest like that,” he said subconsciously looking at the green-eyed girl. Then he immediately realized that his words were too much when he saw Kathy’s blushing face, “Looks like I have to go now. My grandma probably can’t wait in the car alone for too long.”

“Sure. Be careful on the way,” Emma replied.

Marcel smiled kindly at the four ladies, “See you later, Ladies,” He said before turning around and walking towards his car which was parked on the other side of the parking lot.

As soon as he got to his car, Marcel went straight into the driver’s door. Lilian, who had been waiting for her grandson to return, straightened her back excitedly.