Chapter 354: Chapter 354

Entranced was the only word that came to most of the minds simultaneously. Hooked eyes welcomed Shelby’s entrance in the most unanimous ways possible. To say that the dress was made for her was an understatement. The dress welcomed her body, and the gold material added to the supposed mystery that oozed from this person.

The subtle pressure spread around with each step Shelby took towards the guests, who seemed to have frozen. This time, even Alex and Geneva had not been spared. The duo had learnt the hard way that they could only function well if they did not look Shelby directly in the eyes, but on this day, even that did not work.

Geneva shook her head, trying to eliminate the enthralling fog settling on her mind, as did Alex. This daughter-in-law was very interesting and a gem among all!

Of all the people around, the men were having it the hardest. Some were not even aware that they had hard-ons in full public view! They had a singular thought, and that was of the beautiful young woman who was making her way towards her husband.

This time, the females around found themselves lowering their heads unconsciously as Shelby passed them by.

Ian’s eyes softened when he met Shelby’s eyes, but it was at that moment that he noticed that anomaly.

Her eyes shone brightly with her smile. Shelby’s blue eyes had turned into a cold darling glint, like cold bright blue diamonds! They looked beautiful, yet deadly. Shelby oozed with so much confidence and other things that the only word that came to Ian’s mind was ’Queen!’

Even Currey and Murray, who usually kept the out worldly formalities to when no one was around, found themselves bowing.

Ingrid looked around and sighed. She held herself straight, clutching her mum’s purse on her arm, detached herself from the group and went towards her uncle, just as Ian headed to meet Shelby.

Ingrid tapped Brad’s arms, bringing him out of his daze.

"Hu- huh? Oh! It’s brat two? When did you get here?"

Brad found that it was getting hard to even focus on the words being spoken. It was as if he was being dragged from a very deep sleep.

"Try not to look into mummy’s eyes directly...."

Ingrid whispered and Brad looked confused, "Huh, what?"

Ingrid could not be bothered to explain. She held Brad’s hands and pulled him towards where his parents were. Brad quickly grabbed his drink, which had been on a high table beside him, chunked the contents down, set it aside and let himself follow Ingrid.

Even though Brad did not understand this, it was eerily similar to when he could not get his wits around Shelby. Miraculously, he found his mind clear in Ingrid’s presence... or so he thought, but young Ingrid was brilliant. When Brad had not been looking, she had slipped something into his drink, which had helped him ’clear’ his mind.

"Is it me, or you’re looking more beautiful each day? You’re almost on par with your mother now."

Brad was right. After Ingrid’s traits started manifesting, she began changing physically. In the space of a few weeks, she looked like a mini-adult and her features had enhanced more and more. In short, Ingrid had blossomed into such a beautiful and vibrant person that it’s hard to believe she was the same shy girl from just a few weeks ago.

Ingrid shrugged and pushed her glasses up her nose. Of course, she knew why she was changing, but it was not like her uncle would understand.

Samantha’s eyes also took in these, and she hurried forward to her grandparent’s side with Gabriel, leaving her parents.

In the crowd, the tension built, but at the same time, the thoughts and doubts that had been raging in their minds as they listened in on the Thornston’s conversation melted down.

When people had seen Ian there without his supposed wife, one of the thoughts had been:

"Did his wife not come out because she knew she would be replaced?" They had wondered.

Others were more focused on Ian, and the rumours had been circulating in their circles,

"If Ian had not been at his wedding ceremony, then did that mean he was not married to this supposed wife?"

Others were more focused on the thought and ideas that their children would have a chance at Ian if all of these were true. That was until the beautiful legs stepped out, followed by the other, and all gazes turned to the woman of the house. Shelby needed no introduction, for she commanded so much attention that it would be a lie for anyone to say they did not know her. A girl as young as she was, surrounded by those three equally beautiful children.

Ian met her and hugged her tightly. Their contact immediately pulled back that atmospheric pressure that had been bearing down on the people around, making them sigh. Some staggered and shook the fog out of their eyes.

’What the heck was that?’

Yet there were no answers.

Ian held Shelby’s at arm’s length,

"You look beautiful!"

"Thank you!" Shelby blushed as Ian leaned down and lightly kissed her lips under the curious eyes of all. The saner girls and their families gave up after witnessing this, but obviously, there would always be that one person who felt entitled enough to pursue a losing venture still. That single person, stood at the back and asked herself, " So what if she is too beautiful for her good? A criminal’s daughter is better than me? We’ll see!"

"I must start keeping you under lock and key! You nearly caused all these people to have nosebleeds!" Ian flashed a warm smile as he spoke, and Shelby blushed.

Gabriel looked up at his parents from where he was and shook his head. He was tired of using the ’Ewwws!’

"Why are they always kissing!" He whispered to himself, making Geneva chuckle as she was closest to him.

"Come dear, let me introduce you to your aunts." Geneva beckoned to Shelby and Ian led her to the small group.

Sally could not shake off her eyes from Shelby, and neither could her sister, Molly. In fact, all the arguments had died in her throat. What was she supposed to say in this instance? The girl checked off all the boxes she had presented. In all of her seventy-to years, Sally had never met anyone who could make her cover without saying a single word.

’Who was she?’ Sally wondered even though she already knew the answer. Even Molly was stuck surprised. This made Geneva beam with pride.

"Sally and Molly, meet my daughter-in-law, Shelby, who is also the new Mistress of the Thornston Estate!"

The two sisters, Molly and Sally exchanged looks. They could not deny it. This girl was perfect in all ways. All the candidates that they had thought of paled in comparison to this.

"Ma!" One of Molly’s three sons called out,

Molly, the sterner one, glared at her son with a warning gaze, but maybe he had not seen it, for he continued his statement. The wheels in Molly’s mind were in an overdrive, but sadly, her boys made that worse, or maybe they rather caused it to stop abruptly!

At this time, the garden was filled to the brim with guests dressed luxuriously. The place started to buzz with a conversation at Shelby’s entrance and an interesting discussion. Despite the slight evening chill, no one made a move to move.

This was Molly’s eldest, often called Dumb by Ian. He was a man recognized not for his cleverness but for his habit of speaking without consideration. His sudden shout sliced through the room’s courteous conversation, but it was his words that were the most absurd to hear.

"Ma, I want to marry her!" he declared proudly, his eyes wide with a rare and earnest enthusiasm totally focused on Shelby, oblivious to the gasps and disbelieving chuckles that rippled through the crowd.

The guests exchanged glances, some shaking their heads while others sighed, thinking, Ah, so that’s why they’re called simple-minded or dumb!

Molly facepalmed herself and Sally gasped.

Before anyone could respond to the inappropriate confession, Dumb’s younger brothers jumped in, and what followed was an utterly ridiculous squabble.

"You can’t marry her; I want to marry her!" Dumber argued, his face scrunched in indignation as if his brother had snatched his favourite toy but the thing was that Dumb was all three were in their thirties!

Just when they thought it was all over, the third, Dumbest, also decided to make his presence known,

"Neither of you gets to marry her; I thought of it first!" he retorted, puffing his chest like a rooster in a vain attempt at authority.

"It doesn’t count if you think of it but don’t say it!"

"... then I said it first!"

"You are too old! I am the perfect age!"

Completely unaware that they were fighting over their cousin’s wife or maybe they just did not care, for they had seen a beautiful woman—a truth that everyone else in the room painfully understood.

The brothers kept squabbling, their noisy and immature argument starkly contrasting with the elegant setting of the party.

Guests around them exchanged tired, exasperated looks, a shared understanding settling in: These three will never learn the meaning of tact or common sense.

Molly’s mouth dropped open, and she wished she could hit the three boys with her walking stick, but that would stain her perfect image. A headache started bubbling up as they continued to bicker.

At the back of the crowd, a middle-aged woman trembled as if she was experiencing the coldest of seasons. The terror that ran through her was one that could not be masked. Her eyes were trained on one person in the crowd and her blood raced through her wildly,

’I need to get out of here!’ she thought. She had no idea why but every instinct in her screamed so!

Thank you so much to all for your votes and comments! I hope we can keep it up ^_^

Support the author by reading only on NovelHub :) ~Uploaded only on NovelHub by Loctovia ~