From Forgotten Wife To Fierce Queen - Chapter 284: Chapter 284

Although Josie didn't have any deep feelings for Paisley as her niece yet, since she had already acknowledged her, she wouldn't tolerate outsiders humiliating her. After all, she was Josie's niece.
She thought, 'Behind closed doors, at home, anything goes. But outside? Being bullied? Absolutely not.'
Seeing that the young ladies were scared out of their wits, Josie lost interest in wasting more time with them. "Remember, keep your mouths shut about things you shouldn't be talking about. Otherwise, it won't just be you—it might involve your entire family."
Even though she wasn't planning to linger, she still had to deliver a proper warning.
The young ladies, their faces drained of color, nodded frantically, not daring to utter another word.
Josie lazily rolled her eyes and walked away with an air of indifference. But after taking just two steps, she suddenly remembered something and turned back to look at them again. They had barely let out a breath of relief before tensing up once more.
"One more thing—not every live-in husband is after his wife's family wealth. At the very least, my husband isn't. He loves me."
With that, Josie finally left for good.
Only after confirming that Josie had really left did the young ladies let out a heavy sigh of relief.
Looking at each other, they all saw the fear reflected in one another's eyes.
They thought, 'How could we have forgotten? Josie herself has married a live-in husband. Her husband, Zim, now holds an important position in the Godard Group.'
Everyone in their social circle knew about Zim's background—he had originally been a university student sponsored by a charity foundation under the Godard Group.
No one knew exactly how it happened, but somehow, he and Josie had ended up in a relationship and got married.
Then, Josie stepped back from the front lines, handing over the group's affairs to Zim to manage on her behalf.
It was hard to judge. The young ladies' expressions were complicated. They thought, 'Who would have thought that Josie, of all people, turned out to be a die-hard romantic?'
Meanwhile, in the lounge on the second floor of the banquet hall, Dominick could vaguely hear the lively sounds from the banquet downstairs.
Especially just now—there had been thunderous applause, which likely meant an important figure had made an appearance.
Wait a minute, today's banquet was hosted by the Godard family to welcome Paisley back. That meant Paisley was the main focus of today's event.
The important figure being celebrated at this banquet should logically be her.
A moment ago, Dominick had been so caught up in the excitement of their upcoming meeting that he hadn't thought much about it. But now, something felt off.
He thought, 'Even if Paisley wanted to speak to me alone, it should have been either after the banquet or during an intermission.
'There's no way she would be able to meet me at the very beginning of the event. As the main figure of the banquet, she's supposed to make an entrance and give a speech.
'Or, could it be that Paisley doesn't want me at the banquet at all, so she arranged for someone to bring me here in advance? But the staff member who led me here had clearly said that their young lady had been waiting for me for quite some time.
'Not only that, but they had even arranged for a child around Grayson's age to stay here and play with him.'
Dominick's brows gradually furrowed. He wasn't too worried about Grayson's safety.
No matter how Paisley treated Sonny, he was still her son. This was the Godard family—no one would be foolish enough to lay a hand on Paisley's biological son. Besides, he had been invited by Noah. If anything happened to Sonny here, Noah would be the first one held responsible.
Dominick didn't believe Noah would have the guts to take that risk.
Right now, Dominick was only wondering who had ordered for him to be brought here.
Just then, footsteps sounded outside the door.
Dominick looked toward the entrance. Even though he sensed something was off, he couldn't help but hold onto a sliver of hope.
'What if I am overthinking everything, and the person outside is actually Paisley?' he thought.
Outside the door, Keeley steadied her breathing and adjusted her state of mind. Her hand rested on the doorknob, her heart pounding like a drum.
Just the thought of finally seeing the man she had been longing for made her heartbeat spiral out of control.
At last, after one final deep breath, she pushed open the door, looked at the man inside, and flashed what she believed was her most charming smile.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Mr. Vanderbilt." The woman's sweet, saccharine voice rang through the room.
Dominick furrowed his brows, his gaze darkening as he looked at the unfamiliar woman before him. He was certain he had never seen her before.
"Who are you?" He still maintained a sliver of patience and restraint.
After all, this was the Godard family—Paisley's maternal home. He wouldn't lose his temper before confirming her identity.
Dominick's words and his distant, unapproachable demeanor left Keeley disappointed.
She took a step forward, looking at him with anticipation. "You don't remember me?"
"Am I supposed to?" Dominick's voice was devoid of emotion.
"Yes, that's right." Keeley nodded. At this moment, she was stubbornly determined to make him remember.
After all, that night had been unforgettable for her.
Dominick studied the woman before him, his tone still indifferent. "Are you Josie?"
He recalled that the boy earlier had mentioned his aunt's last name was Godard.
If it wasn't Paisley, then it had to be Josie.
Realizing that Dominick had mistaken her for that useless Josie, Keeley was furious. She no longer cared about acting demure.
She stepped closer to him. "It's me, Mr. Vanderbilt! Back at the Harrowfell club—you saved me that night!"
Her voice was urgent, desperate for him to remember her. But his increasingly cold gaze made it painfully clear—he had no recollection of her at all.
"Sorry, I think you've got the wrong person." Dominick had lost his patience. He had come here to see Paisley, not to waste time with irrelevant people.
With that, he turned and headed for the door without hesitation.
Judging from the applause he had heard from downstairs earlier, Paisley was probably on the first floor. He had already wasted too much time here.
Seeing the man she had longed for about to leave, Keeley threw caution aside. She hurried forward and grabbed his arm. "Mr. Vanderbilt, look at me! Think carefully! That night at the club, a thug was harassing me—you stepped in and saved me! Don't you remember?"
Dominick suddenly recalled the incident. That night, he had been in a bad mood and had gone drinking alone at the club. On his way out, he had indeed helped a woman. But at the time, he had mistaken her for Paisley.
He pulled his arm away, repulsed by her touch. His voice turned ice-cold. "Sorry, miss, I mistook you for someone else that night."
"Mistook me?" Keeley froze.
'So, Dominick hasn't saved me on purpose? He has only stepped in because he had mistaken me for someone else?' she thought.
"Who? Who was it?" Keeley demanded. Her pride wouldn't allow this to stand.
"None of your business." Dominick had no intention of wasting another second on her. He left behind those cold words and turned to leave.
"Wait!" Keeley refused to give up and caught up to him again. "It doesn't matter! Even if you mistook me for someone else, it doesn't matter! Let me reintroduce myself—I'm Keeley, Josie's younger sister. I like you. I can give you a chance to date me."
Dominick stopped in his tracks, utterly speechless. "Are you joking?"
"Of course not."
"Then I'll take it as a joke." He started walking again.
"Wait!" Keeley blocked his way once more.
Dominick turned around, his eyes as deep and unfathomable as a frozen lake, chilling and terrifying. "You better be joking."
His voice was bone-chillingly cold.
Keeley froze in fear. She had seen that same look in Max's eyes before.
The same icy, intimidating gaze that kept people at a distance.
"I-I..." She was Josie's sister-in-law. In all of Montera, no one had ever dared to treat her like this. Yet Dominick before her acted as if she was nothing.
Meanwhile, in the grand banquet hall on the first floor, Paisley had just finished her speech and was receiving everyone's attention and congratulations.
"Paisy, come here. Dad wants to introduce you to a few uncles." Tyson spoke to Paisley.
Paisley looked at Serena. "I will go over for a bit. Stay with Helena in the lounge area, okay?"
"Okay," Serena obediently agreed as Helena carried her to the nearby lounge.
She watched the adults toasting and chatting, feeling utterly bored. She couldn't understand why they had so much to talk about. She looked around and noticed that there were no other kids her age. No one to play with her.
Helena was nice, but she was too quiet—nothing like Maria, who always found ways to entertain her.
Just then, Bella walked over. "Rena, let's play together."
Serena was a little surprised. "You want to play with me?"
She thought, 'Doesn't she dislike me? At breakfast, she didn't even speak to me.'
"Yes." Bella nodded. "I'm older than you. Great-grandma said we should play together. Come on."