When their car arrived at the Grand Luxxe Hotel, the three immediately noticed the unusual scene outside.
A massive crowd had gathered near the entrance. Camera flashes burst endlessly like tiny lightning strikes, and reporters from major media companies stood shoulder to shoulder, eagerly waiting for news.
Venice lowered her window slightly and frowned at the noise.
"So Shin Keir is really holding his engagement here… Look at all these people," she muttered.
Linda leaned forward, curiosity lighting her eyes. "Do you know who his fiancée is?"
Venice shook her head, clearly unwilling to pull out her phone.
Ever since her pregnancy began, even looking at screens for too long made her nauseous. Social media was the last thing she wanted to deal with.
"Check it yourself," she said lazily. "I only skimmed some comments earlier. People said she's from a lower-tier family, but her looks are supposedly stunning."
Linda chuckled, amused. "Men really are predictable. Could it be that Shin Keir also fell for some seductive vixen type?"
Their conversation ended abruptly when a security guard stepped forward, blocking their car before it could enter the hotel's parking area.
"Apologies," the guard said politely, "but the hotel is currently closed for a private event. Only hotel staff and guests attending Shin Keir's engagement are allowed inside."
Nolan lowered the window, maintaining a calm expression. "There must be some mistake. My niece is also holding her engagement banquet here."
The guard frowned slightly, confusion flashing across his face, but he remained professional.
"May I see your invitation, sir?"
Linda immediately leaned forward, her voice sharp with sarcasm.
"What do you mean invitation? Didn't you hear my husband? It's his niece. Why would family need an invitation?"
"I'm sorry, ma'am," the guard replied patiently. "But there is only one engagement event being held here today."
Linda scoffed loudly.
"I knew that dead girl was lying, how could she possibly afford a place like this?"
Beside her, Venice smirked. Perhaps Yeri had deliberately avoided inviting them. Maybe she was afraid they would ruin her engagement.
After all, they never got along.
Just as Nolan continued arguing with the security guard, Linda suddenly spotted a familiar figure walking past the entrance.
"Jj Zhi!" she called loudly.
Both Nolan and Venice turned at once.
Jj Zhi, dressed in a fitted formal suit, was walking alongside three similarly dressed men.
Hearing his name, Jj paused. Since early morning, he had volunteered to assist with security arrangements and had been following Tristan Felan around the venue.
"You guys go ahead first," Jj told the men beside him before walking toward the family.
Nolan and Linda stepped out of the car.
"So Yeri's engagement banquet is really here?" Nolan asked.
Jj looked at them strangely but nodded. "It started about half an hour ago. Did you just arrive?"
Linda crossed her arms defensively. "So what if we're late? It's only an engagement. Yeri should be grateful we even came."
Nolan shot her a displeased look before patting Jj's shoulder gently.
"It's not like that, Venice hasn't been feeling well because of her pregnancy. By the way, why are you outside?"
"I'm helping with security," Jj answered simply.
A dry laugh escaped Venice as she also stepped out.
"What? The groom couldn't even afford proper security, so you had to step in?" she said smugly. "Jj, you really shouldn't spoil Yeri so blindly. Look at this. She actually made her own brother stand guard."
Jj frowned slightly, clearly confused by her accusation.
"I volunteered," he said calmly. "There's nothing wrong with helping."
The security guard approached again and quietly asked Jj whether he knew the three visitors, since they had arrived without invitations.
Jj hesitated before nodding awkwardly. "They're relatives."
Linda noticed the exchange and snorted, feeling as though she was being looked down upon.
Despite that, the security procedures remained strict.
For verification, the guard requested their identities to be registered before entry, which immediately earned complaints from all three of them.
Reluctantly, they followed the process, grumbling the entire time.
Jj merely shrugged.
"He is just doing his job. If you had arrived earlier, you wouldn't have needed all this checking, or you could've inform anyone beforehand that you'd be late?"
His words left them momentarily speechless as the hotel doors slowly opened.
For a brief moment, all three simply stared in awe but it slowly shifted into unease.
Men in fitted black suits stood at discreet corners of the lobby. Some wore earpieces. Others scanned the crowd with calm, steady eyes.
Their posture was not that of ordinary hotel security. There was discipline in the way they moved, the silent coordination between them almost military.
Nolan cleared his throat and turned to Jj, lowering his voice. "Where is Shin Keir holding his banquet?"
Jj blinked once. "It's on the eighth floor. The largest hall."
Nolan looked excited as he turned to his daughter. "Venice, hurry and tell that boy that you're also here, see if he could let one person enter Shin Keir's banquet."
For a moment, Jj was puzzled but listening to the two chatting it finally dawned on him that they had no idea who was Yeri's fiancé.
"Uncle, didn't anyone tell you who Yeri's fiancé is?"
Nolan looked like he couldn't be bothered.
Venice crossed her arms, looking irritated. "I only found out she was getting engaged a few days ago. No one told us anything else."
Jj "..."
Living at school most of the year, he was rarely involved in the family's internal matters. But he was not blind, he knew about the tension between the two households.
He remembered clearly how Venice would often aim her sharp words at Yeri, and how this uncle recently challenge his father for the CEO position. The air between both sides had never been warm.
Somehow, his parents' decision made sense.
Keeping Yeri's engagement with Shin Keir a secret was reasonable.
They stepped into the elevator together. As the doors closed, one of the suited guard nodded respectfully at Jj.
The small gesture did not go unnoticed by Nolan raising his curiosity.
When the doors opened at the eighth floor, the atmosphere changed completely.
A wide corridor stretched before them, decorated with towering floral arrangements of white roses and pink peonies. Soft golden lights lined the walls, guiding guests toward the grand double doors at the end of the hall.
Above the entrance, a large elegant display screen shimmered.
Venice glanced at it casually only to froze.
On the screen was a photograph.
The man in the picture wore a tailored black suit, sharp features calm and commanding.
Beside him stood a young woman in an ivory gown, her hair softly curled, her smile gentle yet radiant.
The names beneath the image were written in elegant gold script.
[ Shin Keir and Yeri Zhi ]
Below the names was a single line, glowing softly against the screen:
"Two paths, once separate, now walking as one."
Linda followed her daughter's frozen gaze and her knees weakened.
Venice's face drained of color so quickly it was almost impressive.
Nolan's expression stiffened, his face turned into several uncomfortable shades, like a man who had swallowed a fly but was trying to convince himself it tasted fine. His mind spun wildly, connecting dots he had never expected to align.
Jj said something beside them, but none of the three could hear him.
The truth had landed too heavily.
No one knew this, but the three of them had secretly felt smug for months.
Venice had managed to climb into Hadi Keir's bed, not only that, she was carrying his child.
Who doesn't know that Hadi had no children yet?
That fact alone gave Venice's pregnancy great importance and leverage.
Linda and Venice had long believed that this was their victory. That they had surpassed Yeri and her mother, who always carried themselves with quiet pride that they both defined as arrogance and superiority.
Venice suddenly remembered something.
That phone call of her mocking Yeri, how she had called her delusional and told her to try seducing Shin Keir if she has the guts.
Yeri must've been gloating by then.
Meanwhile, Nolan was no better.
Between his daughter and Yeri, both connected to men from the Keir family, the difference was now painfully clear.
No wonder Shin Keir had been quietly involved in the affairs of the Zhi Corporation.
Now what was the point of asking Hadi Keir for help?
It was not until Jj gently patted his shoulder that Nolan snapped back to reality.
Linda and Venice also seemed to awaken from their stunned state.
Even so, the three of them wore expressions so devastated that anyone passing by might assume they had entered a memorial hall rather than an engagement banquet.
Stepping inside, the vibrant atmosphere swallowed them instantly.
The entire hall radiated warmth and celebration. And yet, they felt like fish placed in a golden bowl they did not belong in.
From a distance, it was easy to spot the couple at the center of it all.
Shin Keir stood tall and composed, raising a glass as he spoke to a group of influential guests. Beside him, Yeri held her own glass gracefully.
Shin lowered his head slightly to say something to her, and Yeri looked up at him, her smile soft and natural.
There was no hesitation between them. No awkward distance.
They looked well match, even nearby guests were whispering compliments.
With so many powerful figures present, Nolan pushed his worries and all other swirling thoughts aside, and quickly blended into the crowd.
The two women, however, remained rooted in place.
Near the center of the hall, Yeri quietly scanned the room.
"Brother Tristan isn't here?" she asked softly, noticing his absence.
"He's in charge of security," Shin replied calmly. "He must be making rounds."
Yeri blinked. "Why put him in security?"
Before she could overthink it, Shin added in a relaxed tone, "He likes doing it."
After all, back in the demon realm, Tristan had once been the head of palace knights. Guarding the throne had been his duty and watching over important events was second nature to him.
Even in this world, some habits never faded.
Looking around the hall, Yeri's gaze accidentally met Venice's.
For a split second, both women looked surprised.
But the surprise quickly melted with Venice eyeing her with hostility.