His Mistress is His Ex-Wife
Chapter 258: Display of Affection

Chapter 258: Display of Affection

Both Lanny and Athena stayed silent, unable to look at Miguel. The two ladies were anxious about Miguel’s plan today. Inviting Dominique only meant something.

The sly old man was going to reveal Dominique’s connection to his grandchildren. He thought Dominique was the father of the twins and he was intimately involved with Lanny. This was a big misunderstanding that they couldn’t correct right in front of Miguel.

Aside from them, Vladimir was displeased by Miguel’s arrangement, inviting Dominique to their family gathering. He couldn’t hide his disdain as he darted his gaze back and forth between Miguel and Dominique.

’Why the hell he is siding with this bastard?! This guy is our enemy here. Why did he have to get involved?!’ Vladimir clenched his fists as he shot his father a cold sharp glare.

Meanwhile, Miguel and Aaron were attentive to their guest. They were the only ones exchanging conversation with Dominique. On the other hand, Dominique was stealing glances at Athena from time to time. He wished he sat down next to her but another guy was beside her.

During the entire meal, Athena didn’t even glance at Dominique. She was avoiding him. This made him upset.

"Grandpa, what is your surprise today? What does it have to do with Uncle Dominique being here?" Aaron finally asked his grandfather the reason why Dominique joined them today.

The little boy clearly remembered the conversation between Miguel and Lanny. They argued while talking about Dominique being the father of the twins. Aaron was a little bit confused. If Kimmy and he had different biological mothers so he wondered if Dominique was Kimmy’s biological father, not his.

Athena and Lanny exchanged glances with one another. They looked anxious about what was going to happen next.

Miguel was going to respond when suddenly Vladimir butted in."Kimmy, would you like to order some more desserts? How about you, Aaron?" he asked, shifting the attention to the kids with a smile.

Kimmy and Aaron looked at Vladimir strangely. It was so unusual for their uncle Vladimir to act like that towards them.

"Uncle V, are you sick?" Kimmy asked him instead of answering his question. "Why are you acting so different today?" she added.

Aaron also observed Vladimir in amusement. Even Miguel arched his eyebrow at Vladimir’s action.

"What’s wrong with what I said? If you don’t want to order then that’s fine with me." After saying that, Vladimir shifted his attention back to Athena. "How about you, Athena? Do you want some desserts?"

Vladimir made a point of showing his affection for Athena in front of Dominique as if marking his territory. He took Athena’s hand and placed it firmly on the table. The way he held her hand was a sign of his intimate gesture toward her.

To further assert his closeness, Vladimir gently wiped away a bit of food left on Athena’s face, the gesture both tender and deliberate.

Lanny could only smirk sensing her brother’s motive. She knew that Vladimir was showing his possessiveness when it came to Athena.

’Wrong move, Bro. Will it help? Dominique believes that Athena and you are cousins. It won’t affect–’ Lanny’s thought was interrupted the moment she noticed the jealous look in Dominique’s eyes.

’OMG, it’s working. Someone looks like he is drowning in vinegar here!’ Lanny screamed in her mind. ’Well, you deserve it. Watch her. This is the woman you’ve taken for granted. Another guy will take care of her. Someone who knows her true worth. Someone like my brother.’

For the first time, Lanny felt so proud of her brother, Vladimir. She thought he was doing a great job in provoking and annoying Dominique ’the jerk’. Lanny was rooting for her brother.

"Ahem!" Miguel cleared his throat once again to get Vladimir’s attention.

He didn’t like the way Vladimir was showing his attentiveness toward Athena. This was the first time he acted like this toward a girl in front of his father.

’She is not the woman I want for my son,’ Miguel mumbled to himself, narrowing his eyes.

"I want blueberry cheesecake!" Kimmy blurted out of the blue. The awkward silence surrounding them forced the little girl to say something, lessening the tension.

Though they were still a kid, Aaron and Kimmy noticed the heavy tension in the air. Something didn’t feel right at this moment so it was better to break the ice.

"I want ice cream," Aaron also spoke up, supporting his sister.

"Yeah! I think I will go with an ice cream, Bro. Forget about the cake. I think everyone here needs to cool down." Kimmy added meaningfully as she roamed her eyes around them.

The five adults looked at those two adorable kids who helped ease the tension. Athena heaved a sigh while Lanny glanced at the two kids gratefully.

Because of the cheerful kids, Miguel’s good mood returned. He immediately called for a waiter to order the desserts.

"Dad, can we talk outside? There is something I need to tell you." Vladimir could no longer stay quiet. He had to do something to prevent his father from revealing the truth. This was his way of helping Athena and Lanny.

Miguel lifted his eyebrow while observing his son. Vladimir looked very serious.

"Can’t it wait?" Miguel asked, assessing him.

"No. It can’t. It’s very important." He declared with conviction.

After contemplating for a moment, Miguel finally agreed. He rose from his seat and excused himself while motioning for Vladimir to follow him.

When the father and son duo left, Lanny and Athena felt relieved. They knew that Vladimir would do anything to help them stop Miguel’s plan.

"So what do you want to tell me?" Miguel’s authoritative voice was heard. The way he looked at his son seemed to tell him ’Don’t waste my time here!’

"Honestly, I’m here to confront you. Why did you invite Dominique Smith here? Do you intend to tell him about Kimmy and Aaron?"

Miguel smirked, a look of sarcasm in his eyes. "Why ask if you already knew the answer?"

"Don’t do that!" Vladimir stated firmly.

Miguel’s interest was piqued. He wondered why Vladimir didn’t want to reveal the truth to Dominique and the children.

"You don’t have the right to tell me what I should do. It’s my decision." Miguel spat back at him.

"I said don’t. Why don’t you respect Lanny’s decision? She didn’t want to acknowledge Dominique as the father of her twins. Why are you forcing her?"

Vladimir didn’t hesitate to express his disapproval of his father’s plan. He was arguing with his father right now for Athena’s sake.

"What has gotten into you today? Why are you contradicting my decision? When did you learn to argue with me?" Miguel noticed that Vladimir was rebelling against him today. It was so unlikely of him to do so.

"Are you trying to challenge me now, V? I didn’t expect that you would defend your sister. You aren’t usually like this."

Vladimir maintained his stoic expression even though deep inside he was worried about offending his father. He knew how ruthless he could be if he got mad.

But he couldn’t care about getting into his father’s bad side today. He was doing this for Athena. Dominique must not know that Aaron was his son. He would only give Dominique the idea that his ex-wife might be alive.

"Dad, I’m not challenging you. I just want you to reconsider your decision and respect my sister’s. She raised the children alone, even without their father. It was her right to decide whether she should tell him or not."