Spoiled By The President: My Wife Is A Little Sweet
Chapter 342 The Kawn Birthday Banquet

Chapter 342 The Kawn Birthday Banquet

The next day, Wilhelm released news that he was going to hold a birthday banquet for himself ahead of time.

The old man was seventy-six this year. It wasn't a special number, but at his age, getting to have his birthday any year was cause for celebration. Especially since he was sick now. If he could still hold a banquet at a time like this, it could cheer him up, so no one from the Kawn family objected.

It was afternoon the next day when Natalia received the news.

Looking at the invitation, she was actually quite surprised.

After all, Wilhelm didn't look like someone who believed he could get better just from good cheer.

And he'd started it himself, too. But anyone who'd been sick knew that when you weren't feeling well, you really just wanted some peace and quiet instead of any rambunctious affair. But since the invitations had been sent, no matter what reason it was, one had to attend.

The banquet was to be held on the night of the weekend at the old Kawn mansion.

It might have been called a banquet, but not too many had been invited. Only those from the four great families, alongside a few countable nobles and wealthy citizens of Eqitin. Natalia arrived early today. Because it was the weekend, Anne didn't have school, so she brought Anne along with her.

Archie had office work and would arrive late.

William and Ariana, though, arrived right after her.

They were friends of several decades, after all. Although the elderly McCarthy might not have been in the best of health and rarely got out, usually sending Archie over for business. But today was a birthday feast, so he'd still come to attend himself.

The Kawn household was bustling with activity, with a swath of people coming to give their blessings.

Natalia brought Anne over to Wilhelm first to pay their respects, then went into the dining room at the back, waiting for William and Ariana.

But before those two arrived, Wanda and Louis arrived first.

With what had happened before, they'd already had permission from both their families to hold an engagement ceremony.

By now, they'd probably have the formal wedding at the end of the year.

Natalia was happy for them both and chatted them up for a while.

Louis chuckled, "I saw Archie and old man McCarthy outside. There's a lot of people there and they're being tangled up, so they might not come inside for a while."

Natalia nodded. She knew that, with the status Archie and William had, a lot of people would be coming up to make connections with them if they suddenly showed up to a scene like this.

The McCarthy family wasn't really going to stoop to allying themselves with these people, but in business, they still had to be respectful.

So it wouldn't just be William who would be kept busy tonight, but the other heads of the four great families.

Natalia looked at Wanda and smiled, "When are you getting married?"

Wanda said softly, "At the end of the year, probably. Things are too busy at the lab right now and we don't have time. We've already discussed it. When the project we're working on is over, we'll hold the wedding at the end of the year."

Natalia beamed, "Then I'll congratulate you ahead of time."

Wanda showed a shy, sweet smile.

Louis looked in the direction of the entrance, then suddenly leant forward and muttered, "I hear the old man's holding this banquet not just to celebrate his birthday, but also to clear Jessica's name." Natalia jolted.

"Clear her name? What do you mean?"

Louis explained, "After Yvonne Kawn's child was lost all those years ago, it was a big incident in Eqitin for a while. To replace the child, Yvonne thought of many ideas, but none turned up anything. As timed passed, the incident faded into the background. Even so, many people still know about the child. Jessica's coming back ostensibly as a Kawn family lady, but not many people know about it outside and she doesn't have too much status inside the family, either. Old man Kawn probably knows his days are numbered, so he's trying to take this opportunity to reveal her identity. This way, everyone in Eqitin knows that she's Yvonne Kawn's daughter, and if anyone in the Kawn family still bullies or mistreats her, they won't avoid a sticky end. So, not just for her but for their own reputation, they'll treat her a bit better."

Natalia was a bit dazed at that.

She thought about it and found it really seemed to be like Louis was saying. If he hadn't said that much, she might not even have thought about it.

Considering that, she couldn't help but frown, a bit of worry passing through her eyes.

Wilhelm took everything seriously, while Jessica was pulling the strings behind his back. If he knew that Jessica wasn't his birth granddaughter but a fake, what would he think?

To the side, Wanda seemed to struggle internally too.

She looked at Natalia with a complicated gaze.

"Natalia, you... Know that Jessica isn't really a Kawn family granddaughter, don't you?"

Natalia jolted, recovered, looked around swiftly and made sure no one could hear her words before she nodded.

"I know better than anyone what background Jessica really has, but this is about the Kawn family internal affairs. As outsiders, we don't get to butt in. And telling the truth might not be a good thing for the old man, so it's best to stay quiet."

Wanda nodded.

She dipped her head, gaze falling on Natalia's neck.

Then she happened to see that hanging there was a delicate diamond chain necklace, instead of the necklace she had before.

Wanda's face changed.

"Where's your necklace, Natalia?"

Natalia blinked, looked down at her own neck, then back towards Wanda, confused.

"Necklace? What necklace? This one? Haven't I worn it all along?"

She said, lifting the chain a little.

Wanda, though, was growing frantic.

"Not that one, I meant the one you had before, the classic-looking ruby necklace."

Natalia reacted. "Oh, that one. I put it away at home for today..."

She froze.

Then she looked, stunned, at Wanda.

Wanda seemed to realize something. Her face changed, a hint of insecurity flashing through her eyes.

Natalia's expression darkened instantly.

Louis hadn't paid attention to Natalia's jewelry before, so he didn't understand what they were talking about.

Feeling the atmosphere grow strange, he looked at the two of them and asked curiously, "What are you talking about? What's wrong?" Wanda forced a smile. "It's - it's nothing."

Natalia looked at her sternly, not a trace of a smile on her face, her clear eyes full of doubt and cold.

"Wanda, how did you know that the necklace I had on was a ruby necklace?"