She Becomes A Hot Sensation After A Scandalous Affair
Chapter 122

Chapter 122: Chapter 122

"Hahahaha!" Lance laughed freely and proudly after listening to Madeline’s concern. "Don’t worry. I co-owned this place."

"You what?!"

"Yeah, my friend is the chef. He’s very talented, so I invested money in this restaurant to help him. Turns out he really is super talented," Lance said. "Well, normally, you need a reservation to dine here. But as a co-owner, I have a special seat for myself and my date."

"A—Are they open yet?" Madeline looked around the empty parking lot, and the door shut. There was no waiter at the front either.

"No, but I just called my friend to prepare lunch. This is the perfect place for us to have lunch at peace, or else some pesky paparazzi or random guest might take a picture of us."

What Lance said made sense.

Madeline is basically a fugitive now. She didn’t dare leave her house because she didn’t want anyone to take pictures of her and ridicule her online.

She spent her time in the house and only went out for groceries.

However, she didn’t expect Lance to be this attentive to protecting her privacy.

"Let’s go. Our lunch should be ready by now," Lance said as he opened the car door for both of them.

Madeline followed Lance into the restaurant. They entered through the side door, as the front door was still locked, and walked through the empty tables to a table near the balcony.

"A table for a pretty lady?" Lance joked.

Madeline chuckled and sat elegantly on the chair. "Thank you, kind sir."

"My pleasure, Lady Rose. I am Sir Lancelot Grant from the House of York," Lance joked as he grabbed Madeline’s hand and kissed her fingers.

Lance did it so naturally, as if he had done this many times in his life, which made Madeline wonder about his family’s background.

But she didn’t have time to think about it when a man wearing a black tee and jeans came out of the kitchen, pushing a food tray towards them.

He had brown hair and dark eyes. He was also young, probably around Lance’s age.

Lance chuckled and pointed at the man. "This is the owner of The Oak Tree, Cedric. He’s my friend."

"I’m your cousin," Cedric corrected. "I wouldn’t come to the restaurant this early if not because you said you wanted to bring your girlfriend today."

"G—Girlfriend?" Madeline muttered, as she couldn’t believe what she had just heard.

"Yes, you’re his girlfriend, right?" Cedric stretched his hand towards Madeline for a handshake and introduced himself, "I’m Cedric Phoenix Gray, his cousin."

Madeline shook his hand and introduced herself. "Uhm... Madeline Rose."

Cedric raised one brow. "That Madeline Rose on TV? You look a lot cuter and prettier in person, too. Can we go for a drink after this? My treat."

"Back off, kid. She’s my girlfriend," Lance claimed without hesitation. "Go use Tinder or something."

"Geez, what are you? A goose?" Cedric sneered as he pulled his hand. He carefully served the food in front of them. "I don’t have much time to prepare lunch for you and your date. So please enjoy these steaks, cooked medium rare, because that’s what you told me to do, Lance."

"I hope you don’t mind medium rare. I don’t know your preference," Cedric said to Madeline.

"It’s fine. I prefer medium rare as well." Madeline smiled back at Cedric. "Oh, I want to ask you something."

"Yes?"

"Are you... Valerie’s brother?" Madeline asked.

"Yup, I’m the youngest in the family," Cedric replied. "My sister told me about you and your talent to draw attention, and I’ve watched the reality show too. You’re very entertaining."

"I didn’t know that Valerie had a good opinion about me. I thought she didn’t like me," Madeline said.

"My sister can be harsh and strict, but she’s very fair with her judgment," Cedric grinned. "You look gorgeous during the show, but even more so in real life."

"T—Thank you," Madeline blushed. "You look handsome too..."

Lance had been eyeing Madeline and Cedric for a while and finally interrupted, "Okay, get the hell out of here, Cedric. Don’t you dare to seduce my date."

"You’re so selfish. You two aren’t married yet, so I have a chance, technically," Cedric said, but he scurried away from the table, afraid that Lance would beat him up.

"Tsk, that scoundrel," Lance complained. He returned his gaze to Madeline and said, "Don’t worry about him. He’s a player who can’t keep a girlfriend for a long time."

"I heard that! You are also the same, Lance!" Cedric yelled from the kitchen.

Madeline chuckled. "He’s not wrong. You had a lot of exes, too, right? I heard from a rumor that you are the biggest player in Hollywood."

Lance’s body stiffened. "Don’t listen to a stupid rumor like that. I was a player, but I intend to settle down sooner or later."

"Oh, really?" Madeline raised her brow provocatively. "And who’s that woman? She must be powerful enough to bend your knees."

Lance dodged her eyes and started cutting the steak. "Just eat your lunch. There’s no point talking about that."

Madeline chuckled.

She didn’t know who that woman would be, but knowing Lance’s family background, it was safe to assume that Lance would probably settle down with a smart woman from a wealthy family background.

’Lucky woman,’ Madeline thought.

They ate their food in silence, and once they were done, Cedric poured them a glass of wine and gave them a carrot cake as a dessert.

"Sorry, this is the only dessert I could find. The Patissier isn’t here yet," Cedric said as he served the carrot cake.

"Everything’s perfect. Thank you so much, Cedric." Madeline smiled at Cedric, but Lance clicked his tongue.

"Your skill has gotten rusty, Ced. I’ve had better," Lance complained.

"No, I just didn’t cook your steak to perfection, as usual," Cedric said. "It’s a request from Valerie. She told me to make a bad steak for you. She said it’s payback for being a pain in the ass during the reality show."