Flash Marriage To The Dangerous Billionaire - Chapter 18: Chapter 18

'Humph, I knew it. Always pretending not to care, but the moment it counts, she shows her true colors,' Nelson mused and gave Hallie a look that said he'd seen right through her.
Hallie blinked, not understanding what he was implying. Then Nelson spoke deliberately, "Do you want everyone to know what you and I really are?"
"That's not what I meant," Hallie replied while shaking her head.
'Why did I even ask? I know better. How could I forget the agreement between us?' Hallie thought.
"Is that so?" Nelson raised his brows, clearly unconvinced.
Just then, a servant came rushing over and said, "Mr. Nelson Blair, thank goodness you're back. Mr. Scott Blair's been asking for you and your wife nonstop."
'Asking for me? More like asking for Hallie,' Nelson thought.
"We'll be there in a moment," he answered coolly, then turned to Hallie and held out his hand. "Take my hand."
"Is that really necessary?" Hallie leaned back slightly, as though avoiding a contagious disease. Her brows lifted in clear distaste.
The last thing she needed was for Nelson to twist her gesture into something it wasn't.
Nelson's eyes narrowed, his patience thinning. "You think I want to hold your hand? If Grandpa suspects our relationship is fake, it could worsen his condition."
There was a beat of silence. Then Hallie took a step forward but still didn't take his hand.
Nelson opened his mouth, ready to push again, when suddenly, Hallie slipped her right hand around his arm and gently hooked it there.
She looked up at him, asking with a smile, "This way, no actual hand-holding, but we still look convincingly affectionate. Isn't that better?"
Her already striking features had taken on a new glow with just a touch of makeup.
At this distance, her clear eyes shimmered like a mountain spring—serene but piercing.
Nelson looked away almost instantly. By the time Hallie turned her head, he was already facing forward again, his gaze fixed on anything but her. She didn't catch that brief flicker of disarray in his eyes.
Hallie had always thought her own family was comfortably wealthy—at least compared to most people.
But stepping into this estate, she understood the difference between being "rich" and belonging to a dynasty. She wouldn't be surprised if someone called it a royal residence.
And to think—just six years ago, the internet was flooded with scandal after scandal about the Blair family's imminent collapse.
Hallie was in college back then. She wasn't particularly interested in financial news, but the Blair family's downfall had made such waves that even the whole city had known.
She still remembered how grim those articles were. Back then, Nelson must've been under unimaginable pressure. She could hardly imagine how Nelson felt when he stood in the ruins of a crumbling empire.
Someone like him—so proud, so sure of himself—Hallie just couldn't picture him helpless, let alone broken.
There were a lot of villas around the main estate, which were reserved for other powerful families or business allies. The real party hall was tucked deep inside the inner estate.
After passing through a long corridor, they finally reached the hall. Compared to the chatter and movement outside, the hall was quiet.
A long table stretched across the space, decked out with dozens of exquisite dishes, yet fewer than twenty people were seated.
Hallie kept her hand looped through Nelson's arm, keeping up the act of a loving couple as they made their way in. Nelson played along and leaned in to thoughtfully whisper introductions.
Hallie had assumed the people seated here would mostly be direct members of the Blair family. But in truth, only four of them shared the Blair name.
The elderly man with silver hair and a warm smile was Scott's younger brother, Matthew. Two among them were Matthew's sons, and the other one was the older brother of Nelson's late mother.
It was easy to tell that Nelson showed a marked difference in attitude toward his maternal uncle. As for the other three, there was a thin layer of tension around them, the kind that felt like it could snap into open hostility at any second.
Hallie reminded herself, 'None of this has anything to do with me. Six months from now, we will go our separate ways. Let them play their games. That kind of power drama won't touch me.'
The rest of the people gathered were longtime company partners and a few old servants who had stood by the Blair family through the crisis six years ago. They weren't blood, but their loyalty made them feel more like family than the actual relatives.
"Hallie, I heard your grandfather was buddies with Scott back on the battlefield, huh?" Matthew asked.
Hallie smiled, "Yeah, my grandpa and Scott did serve together during the war."
'I just thought I wouldn't be dragged into their conversation,' Hallie mused internally.
"Oh, I see." Matthew's expression lit up with realization. His face was deeply wrinkled. When he smiled, every crease gathered into one warm fold.
It was just a smile, but something about it made Hallie uncomfortable. She couldn't quite say why.
Before she could dwell on the feeling, a shadow suddenly blocked her view of Matthew. Nelson had stepped in front of her.
If there were any attempts at politeness before, it had now vanished entirely. Nelson's expression was cold, as if he couldn't maintain his pretense anymore.
Wait... What just happened?' Hallie thought, blinking at the crowd.
"Nelson?" she called out tentatively.
"Don't speak," Nelson muttered under his breath, his voice low and rough—quiet enough to be only heard by Hallie.
The tension thickened like a storm building beneath a deceptively still sea.
Matthew chuckled heartily as he commented, "Nelson's so protective. Look, he won't even let anyone look at his wife. At this rate, we'll be expecting a baby before long."
It sounded like harmless teasing, just a cheeky elder poking fun at a younger couple. But Hallie could feel that Nelson's posture was stiff, and the temperature around him dropped even more.
Matthew's two sons laughed along, seemingly oblivious to the shift in Nelson's mood.
"What's so funny, huh? Come on, share the joke. Let me get in a the good mood." A voice echoed from upstairs.
It was a hoarse voice lined with age and a few soft coughs—but with a force behind it that commanded the room.
The three people immediately stopped laughing, and they looked at Scott with flattering eyes.
"Scott, how are you feeling?" Matthew called.
"Relax. I'm not dying yet," came Scott's sharp reply.
The three men immediately fell silent, feeling the sternness in Scott's tone.
Soon, Scott's eyes landed on Hallie, standing beside Nelson. In an instant, his face transformed—shock, then joy, then a wave of emotion. It looked as if he might cry on the spot.
He moved toward her, his gaze full of warmth, and gently took Hallie's hand in both of his.
"You look just like Phillip. Your eyes look exactly like your grandfather's when he was young. Back on the battlefield, if it hadn't been for him jumping in front of that bullet—"
Scott's voice broke off, thick with memory.
Hallie felt a quiet sadness settle in her chest. She swallowed it down, choosing not to show it. "Scott, I know my grandfather's spirit is still watching over you. He wants you to recover soon. What's past is past."
"You're right." Scott wiped the tear that had slipped from the corner of his eye.