CHAPTER 110: RIVAL?

Dante glared daggers at the man.

He wasn’t expecting Ryan to pop up at the family dinner.

It was supposed to be a family dinner with only families, but he was there, smiling all teeth with his eyes turned into crescent moons.

That irritated him. His presence irritated him. His clothes consisting of casual jeans and top irritated him.

Dante had to find his best suits and contemplate which one suited him better before he could finally pick the right one, only for Ryan to pop up in casual clothing and already steal everyone’s attention from him.

Mr. Montclair patted Dante on the shoulder with a, "Let’s talk later," before he walked where Ryan was.

Everyone’s eyes were on him.

That made Dante’s blood boil. He’d tried to investigate Ryan, his family background, how he was so relatively close to the Montclair family, and most especially, to his Eva but he was unable to find anything. Not even a peck of dust on his history. Which explained one thing—Ryan had wiped off his entire footprint, making it impossible to know who he was.

He remembered asking Eva what Ryan was to her, but they’d been interrupted right when she was about to respond.

Dante had never felt this insecure before. To think that before he and Eva became so close, she was already close to a man such as Ryan.

Dante studied Ryan’s face from where he was standing. Not like he hasn’t seen Ryan’s face before, but looking at him now, he could tell the latter had a smooth face, free from hyperpigmentation and the likes. And although he was only wearing casual clothes, one could tell he wasn’t an ordinary person.

Thinking of his intimate times with Eva, he couldn’t help but wonder if Ryan got to touch her like that.

His eyes darkened, shooting daggers at Ryan.

Ryan felt the stare and made eye contact with Dante.

"Dante, didn’t see you there," said Ryan, his smile stretching even further on his lips. "Eva called me on the phone and said you two were officially together, acting like real husband and wife now, so I decided to bring you a gift."

Ryan reached into the branded bag with the name Eleoquise spelled out boldly with cursive fonts. He brought out a box—two boxes and handed one over to Eva.

Dante noticed their hands brushing against each other. And although it was the faintest physical touch, it irked him.

A smile bloomed on Eva’s face when she accepted Ryan’s gift, completely oblivious to the killer instinct Dante was having.

"Thank you," she said, hugging him.

"Anything for you."

At this point, Dante was a string of self-control away from wrapping his fingers around Ryan’s neck.

"Here’s yours," Ryan stretched out his other hand towards Dante.

The latter gulped down his saliva as he opened up the box, finding a wristwatch in there. It was the latest collection of accessories launched by Eleoquise just last week.

But Dante wasn’t impressed. It may be expensive but he had enough money to buy the brand and get the jewels for free.

"Thanks," he said stiffly, still glaring at Ryan’s arm that was resting on Eva’s shoulders.

She remembered her being totally okay when Ryan touched her, but nearly bit his nose off when he touched her.

It still pissed him off for a reason.

Ryan went and dropped the other gifts he’d bought on the kitchen counter, when he saw other branded bags, and a look of confusion immediately coated his face.

"Eva, you bought gifts?" He asked.

She shook her head. "No, Dante bought them. He insisted on bringing some but ended up clearing a whole store." She scowled at Dante, recalling the three hours they’d spent in the mall before coming all because Dante wanted to buy gifts.

Dante held a smug look on his face, as if he’d won in a competition—a competition that didn’t even exist.

"I was just as shocked as you were too," Jace whispered to Ryan while judging Dante deeply.

"Alright. Enough with the chat. It’s time for dinner." Mrs. Montclair announced and the servants started serving while the family took their seats, ready to devour her delicious meal.

It was a warm dinner, the type that Dante had never felt happening in his own family. But he still wasn’t comfortable while the secret he had found out earlier that day continued to eat him alive.

The dinner was a splendid one, everyone chatting, giving updates about what they’d been doing over the past few months.

Jace and Adrian both held positions in their father’s company, and because of their dedication and determination, the company kept hitting greater heights in the market.

This was the kind of family Eva wanted, but somehow, she felt something was missing.

A child.

But as that thought crossed her mind, a shiver ran down her spine. The fear of losing a child once again crept up on her.

She decided not to think about it and just enjoy what was happening now as nothing could ever replace it.

Dante was subtly glaring at Ryan whenever the latter parted his lips to speak. It was as if whenever Ryan said a word, he just wanted to shove a plate in his mouth and force him to swallow it down.

Ryan noticed Dante’s glare, but instead of looking away, Dante only intensified his glare, making it obvious that he wasn’t satisfied with his presence in the house.

This was supposed to be his special time to bond with his in-laws but he had to come from out of nowhere and ruin everything.

He didn’t even get his permission from his father-in-law yet. All because of Ryan.

Dante’s hand gripped his fork, anger surging through him with the urge to stab it into his neck.

"Is there a problem, Dante?" Ryan asked, cocking an eyebrow at him.

Dante forced a smile on his lips. "No problem," he replied, his grip loose on the fork.