Did I say something to piss him off?
Before Natalie could think of an answer to that, the birthday banquet began.
Dressed in a pure white suit, Sean descended the stairs from the second floor. He accepted the
microphone a waiter handed to him before moving to the small stage set up nearby. He gave a short
speech, thanking everyone for their attendance and well-wishes.
When he was done, it was time for dancing.
As Sean was the birthday boy and also the host, he would have to open up the dance floor.
All the single females present stared at him eagerly, hoping he would select them to be his dance
partner. To their immense disappointment, he set down the microphone and headed toward Natalie.
“May I invite you to a dance, beautiful miss?” Sean held his hand out in invitation, a smile playing on his
lips.
Natalie could feel the pressure of the envious gazes coming from the other women.
In truth, she really did not want to dance with him. However, today was his birthday. It was not right for
her to refuse. Left without any other choice, she had to accept his invitation.
“It would be my honor!” She curtsied at him before placing her hand on his palm gently.
Curling his fingers over hers, Sean led her toward the empty space in the middle of the room.
Music flowed out the moment they stepped into the clearing and they swiftly slipped into a waltz.
The other guests moved to circle them, watching as they twirled around the makeshift dancefloor.
Shane and Jasmine were standing at the very front of the crowd.
Jasmine tugged on his arm and let a surprised expression cross her face. “Shane, Sean invited Ms.
Natalie to his birthday banquet and even asked her to be his partner for the opening dance. Do you think
they’re dating?”
Shane’s face was indifferent as he removed his arm from her grip. He ignored her question as his eyes
locked on the dancing couple and narrowed.
As if sensing the burning gaze, Sean spun them around and took that chance to glance over at Shane.
When he noticed the stormy look in Shane’s eyes, his lips curved up into a wicked smirk. The hand he
had placed around Natalie’s waist tightened, tugging her closer to him.
Shane’s face darkened in anger when he noticed this.
Then, he grabbed Jasmine’s wrist and pulled her toward the dancefloor.
His action shocked the other guests in attendance.
Those who knew about the bad blood between Shane and Sean shook their heads in amusement.
The two sons of the Thompson family were always at each other’s throats, competing with each other in
everything. Despite that, it was still rather unexpected that they would try to one-up each other when it
came to dancing, of all things.
“Shane, you want to dance with me?” Jasmine asked. She was so excited she was holding her breath.
The only reply she got was a grunt of agreement. He extended his hand to her even as his gaze
remained fixed on Natalie and Sean.
Jasmine did not notice his distraction though. She was too lost in her elation that Shane actually wanted
to dance with her. Worried he would change his mind, she hastily placed her hand in his.
Shane started their dance before slowly making their way over to Sean and Natalie.
“Mr. Shane. Ms. Jasmine.” Natalie smiled at them in greeting.
Upon noticing Shane and Jasmine, Sean mentally scoffed.
As expected from Shane! Every time Natalie is involved, he just can’t stay away. Seems like the depth of
his feelings for her is a lot deeper than I imagined.
At that thought, Sean discreetly shot Natalie a contemplative look.
By this point, they were halfway through their dance. Soon, it would be the most interesting part of the
dance – exchanging dance partners.
If there was only a couple on the dancefloor, they would not need to switch partners. However, now that
Shane and Jasmine were here as well, etiquette demanded they exchange partners.
As the music swelled into a crescendo, Natalie and Jasmine twirled around.
A gleam entered Shane’s eyes and he let go of Jasmine’s hand. Then, he gently pushed her toward
Sean.
That left Sean with no choice but to release Natalie too. He grudgingly pushed her toward Shane.
Shane gladly took Natalie into his arms before swiftly moving away to the other side of the dancefloor.
No one in the crowd seemed to find anything strange or wrong with that.
Sean and Jasmine, however, were another case entirely. Both were looking none-too-happy at what just
occurred.
“You appear to have been used,” Sean mocked her in a low tone.
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