A Second Chance at Forever ( Eleanor Shultz )

Chapter 12 

Eleanor thought Josef and Bernard had a good relationship, but it turned out Cedric introduced them. 

It seemed like this party Josef organized wasn’t just for her to meet a few friends – he also wanted to get a project through Bernard. 

But that was fine; discussing a project would take time, which would give her a chance to figure a way out. 

With that thought in mind, Eleanor’s tense body relaxed a little. 

Just as she took a breath, Josef suddenly signaled to her to drink up. 

Unable to feign ignorance any longer, Eleanor grabbed her glass and gulped down its contents. 

She seldom drank, as Bernard disliked the smell of alcohol, so she had managed to abstain completely. 

The sudden consumption of a strong liquor caused her eyes to well up with tears. 

Observing this, Josef swiftly embraced her and helped by patting her back. 

Bernard’s icy gaze fixated on the hand wrapped around Eleanor. 

Through her teary eyes, she perceived a flicker of anger in his gaze. 

However, as her vision cleared, all she found was indifference and nothing more. 

Bitter laughter escaped Eleanor’s lips. Bernard only viewed her as a replacement and had never truly cared for her, so what had she expected? 

Once Eleanor regained her composure, Josef embraced her and addressed Cedric, “This girl has no experience and cannot handle alcohol. Please forgive her.” 

Cedric simply smiled and remained silent, yet the woman beside him suddenly grew infuriated. “What do you mean by that, Mr. Caporal?” 

Josef raised an eyebrow and responded calmly, “Ma’am, I made no mention of you. Why are you becoming so agitated?” 

The woman was left speechless and stomped her foot, then turned to Cedric and whined, “Cedric, look at him, what he said was so mean! Let’s not talk to him anymore, let’s go.” 

Cedric, a mild–tempered man, patted her hand. “Norene, you know Mr. Caporal’s personality. He didn’t mean anything by it.” 

Norene wouldn’t let it go. Being the top girl in the club, she didn’t want to hear ‘no experience‘ after being with Cedric. 

She couldn’t argue with Josef, but taking it out on his woman was no problem. 

“Whatever, I won’t stoop to your level. We’re here to have fun, right? But just sitting around is kind of boring. Let’s play a game.” 

Everyone perked up at the mention of a game. 

“What kind of game?” 

Norene took out some cards and put them on the table. 

“Cards in teams, and whoever loses takes off a piece of clothing.” 

“Interesting.” 

Naturally, Josef wouldn’t refuse this kind of scene, and everyone else agreed too. 

Cedric, worried that Bernard might not be comfortable with this, glanced at him. “Bro, they always play a little wild. If you don’t want to…” Before he could finish, Bernard took the cards from Norene. “How do you play?” 

Cedric was stunned. His cousin Bernard usually disliked places like this. But today, Josef just suggested that he meet a woman who resembled Ms. Ratliff, and not only did he come but now he was patiently playing games with them. Wasn’t this a little odd? 

Norene hadn’t expected Bernard, rumored to be uninterested in women, to agree so readily. She laughed, happy with the situation. 

“It’s simple, I’ll teach you.” 

After explaining the rules, Norene gathered everyone to draw lots for teams. 

Eleanor sat stiffly on the couch, feeling uncertain about what to do. 

As she hesitated over how to refuse, Norene seemed to read her mind and spoke before she could voice her thoughts. 

“Everyone who came has to participate. You won’t refuse, will you, Ms. Shultz?” 

With that said, everyone’s eyes turned to her. 

Eleanor felt uneasy under their scrutiny, as if not playing would be a party pooper. 

She couldn’t afford to offend anyone here, so she had no choice but to play. 

Seeing her wise decision, Norene finally left her alone.