46 A Passerby

"Wow I never knew that you are acquainted with the young master's of the Thomas and Parker family, Hayley," Gretchen was the first to speak with her.

Hayley didn't even spare her a glance as she looked around the garden.

"You- What's with that attitude towards your mother?" of course Adam instantly reprimanded her.

"My mother is named Elloise Coleman, sir Adam please don't mix the two of them," Hayley replied as she looked back at him.

She will never forget how he had ignored her one time beside the road as he walk with this mistress while he was carrying his son.

"Is this how she brought you up? How preposterous, I am your father and the person I marry shall be your mother."

"Wow," Amber commented after hearing this.

And this caught the attention of the other family members.

"And who are you?" Hayley's grandmother asked.

"A passerby," Amber replied with a grin.

"Such disrespectful attitude!!" the grandfather butted in.

"Thank you," Amber still gave a reply.

"You-"

"You have other guests to attend to, we shall move now for you to meet them," Hayley finally butted in.

She didn't want to see a scene full of heart attacks and high blood pressures together with ambulance.

"Hayley, sweetheart, why don't you go and meet your cousin? Allow her to meet the young masters as well since you are well acquainted anyway," Lily's mother then said.

"Why would I? It was Blake and Devon's choice whether they wanted to meet someone or not. I don't hold that decision for them, I respect their decisions as well."

"What's with that attitude? Didn't you know that we are planning to let you back with us after this birthday? That we are even going to help with your little hotel? Such attitude with all our good natured plans for you," Adam once again spoke up.

"Good natured? I wonder about that. If it was indeed good natured then you would have helped us instead of watching us be trampled months ago. If it was good natured then you would have talked to us before Devon and Blake invested on our hotel."

"Now you're telling me it's your good natured plan? What are you letting me back to use as a threat to my mother? As I've heard, Fire Empire Hotel's stock are slowly falling. I wonder if you would be able to raise it up?"

Her words rendered everyone speechless. Even the guests got the gist of it, this family only wanted her back when their hotel was already in the right track.

"What are you talking about? We also had our downs that is why we couldn't help. Don't push the blame to us."

"Yes yes I understand. Why don't you go and meet your other guests? We can just stay on the side as you celebrate," Hayley brushed them off as the group left their side.

"That ingrate!!" grandfather gritted his teeth.

"Just because the young masters are here, she dared to embarrass us?"

"Don't worry father, I had already sent people to create difficulties on the hotel right now," Adam replied as he too looked at his daughter with anger.

Unbeknownst to them, the thugs they sent were easily subjugated by the people left behind by Devon and Blake.

"Hey, its over now, you can relax now," Blake finally said.

Hayley actually gripped at their arms as she spoke with those people.

"I'm sorry. That was the first time I did that, I didn't know I was that nervous," she replied as she finally let them go.

"That's fine, atleast you are able to say what was on your mind instead of just letting them be," Devon answered as he handed her a glass of juice.

"But seriously Amber, you really have no care about your attitude, haven't you?" Hayley then looked at Amber after drinking half the contents of the glass.

"Well, I do care if the other person deserves it," Amber replied.

She was not someone who would try and befriend the people who shows such attitude clearly. She'd rather speak her mind from the very beginning in order not to allow them a little way to bully her.

"Hey cuz, care to introduce me?" Lily finally approached them with her fake smile, as she look at the three men.

"No, I don't care," Hayley learning from Amber, replied flatly.

"You- Very well, hi again I am Lily, we met back in the mall two days ago," she then looked at the three men with her sweetest smile.

She was wearing a tube dress, but it was too low showing her cleavage, that reached her mid thigh. But compared with Hayley's hers was like that of someone who was in a club.

"I'm amazed, you can show such "innocent" smile while wearing such clothes. I thought you like the frilly ones? Why the sudden change?" Amber was of course the one who answered for the three men.

"Will you stop butting in, I still haven't got back at you for what you did in the mall," Lily looked at her agitatedly.

"What did I do?" Amber asked innocently.

And compared to Lily her "innocent" look was even more convincing due to her face.

"Do you want me to ban you from that mall? You have to remember that was ours," Lily replied with arrogance.

"Do I really have to remember? It was a useless information anyway."

The guests near them couldn't help but to have another look at her. She didn't show much of a reaction to the power held by those whom she was talking to. Instead she spoke her mind without a care in the world.

Just as Lily was about to argue back another car stopped outside the venue and came Jake France.

Another round of whispers came.

"That's Jake France!!"

"To think that the Phillips family was able to invite him."

"Not to mention, he had always been low profiled. Not everyone knew he was even in the country."

Lily looked at Amber and Hayley smugly once again.

"I shall welcome our honored guest, I suppose someone like you wouldn't even be able to invite him at all."

Hayley was obviously shocked, she remembered that Jake didn't want to attend. Why was he here? She then looked at Amber who was nonchalantly drinking her own juice.

But seeing how she didn't care, Hayley just drank in her own glass as well.

"Ashton," Amber whispered to the man beside her who didn't even speak a word from the start.

"Look at that child, I presume he must be Hayley's half younger brother. Look at his eyes, if I'm not mistaken he must be of the same age as Ashley. But the way he looks at the people around him, especially his family. He looks like his mocking them."

After hearing this, Ashton looked to the side where the young child was sitting quietly looking at all the people around him. It's as if no one could see him, he was just there not doing anything.

"Why would you suddenly care?" he looked back at Amber and asked in return.

"I just feel like, he would grow up very differently from all the people around here. I mean very very differently," she replied as she once again drank from her glass.

"Why would I come in such a birthday celebration for you?" their attention was brought back to the entrance where the whole Phillips family are trying to curry favor at Jake France.

The grandfather was even being humble thanking him for accepting his grand daughter's invitation. And how proud he was to Lily for such a wonderful gift.

And to his words everyone fell silent.

"Th- Then, I wonder why sir Jake France have come?" grandfather tried his best to stay humble after being embarrassed in his very own birthday.

"Simple," he looked around and spotted the group of five.

He walked towards them, "Upon going to the hotel, your mother said that you have come to the birthday party. Our flight is tonight so you need to pack for we still have a long way to be in City B. You don't have to give face to this people, my student does not need such thing. Let's go back now."

His words was a very strong face slap to the Phillips family who was being arrogant towards Hayley.

Jake France didn't come to the party to celebrate, he came to pick up his student. And his student was none other than Hayley who was being an outcast to the family.

Hayley was obviously shocked but seeing an imperceptible smile on Amber's face, she knew this was what Amber was talking about in the car a while ago.

"I'm sorry aunt Jacqueline, since they have invited me for the first time. I thought I should give them a face at least and let them gloat all they want. That's only once after all, I'm just giving them a chance," Hayley replied as if she was truly concerned to her family.