Adam glanced over his shoulder, and there she was—the petite strawberry-blonde girl waving at him. She quickly ran toward them and, without hesitation, threw herself into Adam's arms.
Adam looked completely stunned. Almost instinctively, he wrapped his arms around her in return.
"Marissa… You're here? How did you even know I was here?" Adam asked.
"I missed all of you."
Instead of answering his question, the girl simply gave him a completely different answer.
Natasha stared at them in shock and disbelief. She couldn't believe her eyes. Her fiancé was hugging another girl right in front of her.
"Who is she, Adam?" Natasha asked, her voice trembling slightly.
"Nath, meet Marissa Lancester. She used to be our neighbor. We grew up together. A few years ago, though, she moved overseas with her parents because of a transfer within her father's company."
"She's practically like my little sister," Adam explained.
"Not practically. I really am big brother Adam's favorite little sister," Marissa said sweetly, her voice dripping with childish affection.
"That's right. Marissa is my favorite little sister," Adam replied softly.
Marissa turned toward Natasha with a bright smile.
"Hi, big sis. I'm Marissa, Big Brother Adam's favorite."
The challenging tone in her voice was impossible to miss, and Natasha's mood instantly darkened.
Natasha felt her blood boil as she watched the two of them interact so comfortably.
Jealous?
Of course she was jealous.
She was only human, after all. Any woman with a heart would feel uncomfortable watching a pretty young girl cling to her fiancé's arm like that.
Her gaze gradually turned cold as she stared at the pair.
Unfortunately, Adam was far too focused on Marissa to notice just how terrible Natasha's expression had become.
"Adam, it's time for the two of you to greet the guests one by one. Don't keep them waiting too long. We also need to take the family photos soon," Noah reminded him.
Natasha looked at Noah and gave him a bitter smile.
So Noah had noticed her mood after all.
Even someone who wasn't involved could tell that she was uncomfortable, yet her own fiancé was still too busy entertaining his pretty little guest.
"You're right. We haven't greeted everyone yet," Adam said as he gently removed Marissa's arm from his.
"Can I come with you? I want to say hello to Auntie and Uncle Ashford too. It's been so long since I've seen them. And Monica too. I heard she has a beautiful little girl now," Marissa said, once again wrapping herself around Adam's arm.
"Of course—"
"Of course not."
Noah quickly cut him off.
Adam turned toward his twin brother, clearly confused.
"But, Big Brother Noah…" Marissa whined, giving him a pleading look with teary eyes.
"No matter what you say, the answer is still no, Marissa. This is Adam and Natasha's engagement party. Greeting the guests is obviously their responsibility."
"Besides, more than fifty percent of the guests here are their colleagues from the hospital," Noah said firmly.
"Okay, I understand."
Marissa reluctantly loosened her grip on Adam's arm.
"Then how about you accompany me, Big Brother Noah? I'd be much happier if you were the one to accompany me."
She looked at Noah with the saddest puppy eyes she could manage.
Adam glanced at Noah with a pleading look.
He knew exactly what was going on.
Marissa had always liked Noah.
Ever since high school, the girl had been completely smitten with his cold and distant twin brother. She had done almost everything she could think of just to get closer to him.
And Adam had always been her biggest ally in trying to get past Noah's icy walls.
"Sorry, Marissa. Something urgent came up at work, so I have to leave. Besides, everything related to the engagement is already finished. All that's left is greeting the guests, and Adam and the others can handle that," Noah said.
He then turned to Natasha.
"Nath, I'm sorry, but I have to leave first. I have an international Zoom meeting in a little while, and I really can't postpone it."
"It's okay, Big Brother Noah. Thank you for coming despite your busy schedule," Natasha replied politely.
"Big Brother Noah, can I ride with you? I need to go home too," Marissa asked shyly, twirling a strand of hair around her index finger.
"Sorry. We're not going in the same direction. I'm going back to my apartment, not the Ashford mansion," Noah rejected her immediately.
"Can't you take me home anyway? I'm scared to go home alone," Marissa pleaded.
"You weren't scared when you came here. Why are you suddenly scared on the way home?"
"If you're really that scared, go home with Monica. I'll tell her to take you back later."
"No need, Big Brother Noah. I'll just go home with Big Brother Adam later," Marissa said.
"No."
Noah's voice turned firm.
"You're going home with Monica or with my parents. It wouldn't be appropriate for you and Adam to be alone in the same car."
"Adam already has a fiancée, and they're getting married in three months. Even if Adam sees you as a little sister, you're still not related by blood."
"Adam needs to respect Natasha's feelings as his fiancée."
His final words came out cold enough to freeze the air around them.
"Big Brother Adam…"
Marissa looked at Adam, silently asking him to defend her.
Adam was about to answer, but one look from his twin brother made the words die in his throat.
"Noah's right. I'll go home with Mom or Monica later. I also need to stop by the hospital after this," Adam finally said.
Marissa's face went pale.
Her lips tightened as she struggled to hold back the emotions building inside her chest.
A few seconds later, however, she put her smile back on and looked between Adam and Noah.
"Okay, I understand. I'm sorry, Natasha. I guess I didn't think things through. I thought having a fiancée wouldn't change my relationship with Big Brother Adam."
Her voice suddenly became soft and sorrowful.
"But I guess everything has changed now."
"I…"
Adam looked at Marissa, guilt flashing across his face.
"Adam."
Noah's warning voice immediately snapped him back to reality.
Adam's gaze reluctantly left Marissa.
"It's getting late. Don't keep the guests waiting," Noah reminded him.
"Hmph."
Adam sighed before turning toward Natasha.
"Come on, sweetheart. Let's greet the guests."
He gently took Natasha's hand and led her away.
Noah looked at Marissa before adding,
"Mom and Monica are sitting at the main table. Go say hello to them. You don't want to end up without a ride home later."
With that, Noah turned around and walked away.
Marissa watched his retreating back, her eyes filled with determination.
"Big Brother Noah… We meet again."
A confident smile slowly appeared on her lips.
"This time, I'll definitely win you over and become the young Mrs. Ashford."
***