?<strong>Chapter 358:</strong>


    Hearing Jayden’s words, a wave of worry washed over Elyse. Pearce, appearing unfazed, asked casually, “What’s wrong? Are you expecting some punishment when you get home?”


    With a heavy heart, Elyse sighed and replied, “He wants to invite you to a meal.”


    Pearce took a drag of his cigarette, his face partially obscured by the smoke as he raised his eyebrows in surprise. “He wants to invite me to a meal?” he repeated.


    Elyse nodded, feeling a strong need to convince Pearce not to ept. “Jayden sounded mad on the phone. If Pearce had gone, he could have been in trouble with Jayden,” she hesitated, searching for the right words, “Maybe you should…”


    Pearce finished his cigarette with onest puff and stamped it in the ashtray. He grinned and interjected, “Sure, I haven’t had lunch yet. Can I pick the restaurant?”


    Elyse was caught off guard. She hadn’t expected Pearce to ept so quickly. Her mouth fell open, and she was momentarily lost for words. Finally, with some reluctance, she agreed. She silently hoped that Jayden wouldn’t be too hostile towards Pearce.


    After ending the call, Jayden quickly headed to the shopping mall where Elyse was waiting. Standing at the restaurant’s entrance, Elyse scanned the arriving crowd for Jayden. When she saw him, she rushed over, her eyes flickering with anxiety. “Are you still upset?”


    Jayden gave her a cool look and continued maneuvering his wheelchair into the restaurant. It hit Elyse that she was the reason for Jayden’s irritation. Nervously, she trailed after him, but in her hurry, she almost collided with Jayden’s wheelchair. Jayden stabilized the wheelchair just in time, then turned his attention to Elyse.


    Rubbing her sore leg, which had bumped against the wheelchair, Elyse felt guilty and embarrassed. “Can’t you even walk properly?” Jayden asked. Avoiding Jayden’s stern look, Elyse murmured, “I’m sorry.” Jayden snorted and steered the wheelchair toward the reserved table, with Elyse reluctantly following along.


    Once they reached the table inside a private room, Jayden fixed his eyes on Pearce. Pearce put down his phone and greeted him with a smile. Jayden approached Pearce with a forced smile and said, “Hello, I’m Elyse’s husband. Thank you for driving my wife back.”


    Pearce shook hands with Jayden, smiling back. “No problem.”


    Jayden let go of Pearce’s hand and studied his face for a moment before asking, “Have we met before? You look familiar.”


    Pearce touched his face and replied with a grin, “I’m not sure. Maybe I just have one of those faces.”


    Elyse, who had been quiet until this point, interjected, “On the day of my first performance as the concertmaster, Pearce gave me a bouquet of flowers. Don’t you remember?”


    Jayden thought for a moment, eyeing Pearce carefully. Then he said in a significant tone, “As a fan, you’ve managed to be friends with your idol. Good for you.”


    Pearce pretended not to understand Jayden’s insinuation. He just shrugged and responded, “I’m a good guy. Befriending an idol is part of the fun.”


    The smile on Jayden’s face became more strained. “Are you both hungry? I sure am. Let’s order,” Elyse suggested with a smile, positioning herself between the two men.


    Pearce agreed, saying, “Definitely. We’ve been out and about all morning and visited several ces. I’m really hungry.” He purposefully raised an eyebrow at Jayden and said, “Can I just order anything without worrying about the cost?”


    Jayden took a quick look at the watch on Pearce’s wrist. There were only three watches in the world made with 381 colored diamonds, and Pearce had one of them. Then Jayden nced at Elyse, who was oblivious and looking at the menu. Did she really think Pearce was just a keen admirer hoping for her friendship?


    “Sure,” Jayden responded shortly.


    Pearce was pleased and told Elyse, “Go ahead and order whatever you like, even if it’s expensive.”


    Feeling reassured that Jayden wasn’t angry, Elyse ordered food with Pearce. Jayden wasn’t worried about the cost of the meal; instead, he poured himself a ss of red wine and watched them as they chose their dishes.


    Suddenly, a strange thought crossed his mind. Elyse and Pearce shared a slight resemnce. Both had eyes that curled like crescent moons, which was especially noticeable. Jayden found himself thinking of the saying, “Husband and wife start to look alike.” Suddenly, Jayden’s expression grew grim again. Being married, he and Elyse supposedly shared some resemnce. Instead, she resembled this man far too much.


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