Chapter 239: Help Yourself

Crystal was enraged by the things that Paul was saying to Nancy, and she was unwilling to let it continue. She stood up and said, “Paul Burnett, this has nothing to do with Nancy. It’s just a misunderstanding, so please don’t make such a fuss.”

Paul rolled his eyes at Eric and chuckled. “Look after your wife,” he said. “She’s getting more and more arrogant every day. Aren’t you going to put her in her place?”

“I can’t,” Eric replied. “I have a weakness for my wife.”

“Are you willing to lose a friend over a woman?” Paul asked.

“I don’t know,” Eric snapped. “Are you?”

The two bickered like kids until Michelle finally interrupted them. She turned to Paul and said, “Forget it. They are our guests, and I don’t want the atmosphere to be ruined because of me.”

Paul frowned. “But... Are you alright?” he asked.

“At the moment, no.” Michelle shook her head, forced herself to smile, and said, “I will be, though, after the meal.”

Crystal smiled back at Michelle. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable.” She picked up her glass, lifted it in the air, and said, “To show that my apology is genuine, I would like to make a toast. Here’s to you and your generous hospitality!”

Crystal drained the glass in one swallow. The toast had been disingenuous, but she felt like it was important to put on a show of gratitude for Paul.

Michelle also picked up her glass. She smiled and took a hesitant sip. Because of how much she’d already drunk, it made her feel nauseous. Her face turned white, and she began to perspire heavily. She wanted to get up and go to the washroom. She did not think she was going to vomit, but she wanted to play it safe. Unfortunately, her buttocks were still stuck on the chair. She tried anyway, and she ended up hurting her private parts.

Paul gave her a concerned look and asked, “Where are you trying to go? Are you okay?”

As Michelle turned to Paul, the wine she had that moment came up, and she puked all over him.

“What the fuck?!” Paul shouted. He took a towel from a servant and wiped his face. “You only had one sip. So, what gives?”

“I d-don’t know...” Michelle stammered.

Crystal pointed to a servant and said, “Could one of the servants accidentally put some paprika in the glass? I remember seeing her set the table today.”

The servant immediately shook her head and denied it. She was the one who had broken Paul’s favorite cup and blamed Clark. The boy had been punished, and she did not even care, so Crystal was more than willing to get her into it. “Why are you shaking your head?” she asked. “Am I wrong? Wasn’t it you who set the table?”

“It was m-me,” the servant stuttered, “b- b-b-but... I didn’t do anything t-to the g-glass.”

Paul frowned again. He could see what was going on, and he said, “Miss Smith, I know you want to help your friend, but I suggest that you look at where you are. You are in my territory.”

Crystal smirked and said, “When women talk, men had better not interrupt. I suggest you learn from my husband.”

Paul did not expect Crystal to cause him to lose face like that. He turned to Eric with a gloomy expression on his face and said, “Eric, seriously, I don’t like your woman.”

Eric picked up his glass and took a sip. The red wine moistened his lips, and it made them look evil but beautiful. Casually, he said, “It doesn’t matter. She is my woman. I like her, and that is enough. Anyway, you are taking things too seriously. Since when do men meddle in the affairs of women?” He raised his glass, and I invited Paul to drink. “Come on, let us drink a toast.”

Paul was about to lose his temper, but he did not think that getting angry with his friend’s wife would be very gentlemanly, so he suppressed his anger.

Michelle watched irritably as the two men drank. She was covered in vomit, and she wanted to leave, but with her buttocks glued to her chair, there was nothing that she could do. She glared at Nancy and Crystal. She knew that they were responsible for her predicament, but she could not make the accusations she otherwise would have as the hostess. She forced herself to smile and said, “Help yourself.”

****

Once everyone had served themselves, Michelle stabbed a potato with her fork and brought it to her face. Before she had even opened her mouth, though, Crystal snatched it away from her.

Michelle had to give up the potato, so she turned her fork to the other items on her plate. Once again, Crystal snatched the item off her fork. When Paul saw this, he immediately placed the plate of stewed beef with potatoes in front of Michelle. “Eat up,” he said.

Crystal rolled her eyes at Paul. She had thought that this Love Rat liked to bully women, but it turned out that he only liked to bully Nancy.

Paul hand-fed Michelle. Eric hand-fed Crystal. Crystal hand-fed Nancy. Nancy hand-fed her child, and Michelle smiled triumphantly.

When Crystal saw the triumphant look on Michelle’s face, she lost her appetite.

After dinner, Paul asked someone to deal with Michelle’s buttocks. He ordered everyone else to leave the room, but Nancy hid behind the door so she could watch. As Crystal passed by her, she said, “She will be alright, right?”

“Don’t worry.” Crystal chuckled and said, “I’m afraid that we didn’t use enough glue. “After all, we intended to hurt her genitals, right?”

Nancy sighed and said, “I suppose. Paul must hate me very much, though. Don’t you think so?”

“Why do you care what that Love Rat thinks?” asked Crystal.

“I don’t know,” Nancy admitted. “He’s like a bad habit that I just can’t break. Speaking of habits, though... What is Eric doing? I thought he promised to quit smoking!”

“He did!” Crystal growled. She turned, and when she saw that Eric had a lit cigarette in his hand, she said, “I’ll be right back. I have to put Eric back in line!”