Love and Devotion No Longer His to Claim by Dream Fish

Chapter 17

"You're so useless, Dexter. You can't even help someone up properly! | still don't know what Angie saw in you. Oh

right, | was the one who arranged your marriage, after all.

"Without my aid, how would you have been lucky enough to marry such a beautiful and outstanding wife like

Angie? You should count your blessings..."

Joseph went on and on, scolding Dexter endlessly. Dexter had no choice but to listen, and it

was torturous.

"Grandpa, don't bother with him. Let's go. I'll make you your favorite bouillabaisse and grilled fish." Angela took

Joseph's arm and led him away, giving Dexter an exaggerated eyeroll over her shoulder as she went.

Dexter was furious, yet he had nowhere to vent.

That night, Angela retreated to her bedroom early and locked the door. With Joseph gone, she had temporarily

lost her protector and couldn't afford to provoke Dexter too much.

"Mrs. Bamford, Mr. Bamford has gone out. You're free to cout." Donna's voice cfrom the other side of

the door.

Angela felt a rush of relief but remained cautious. She peered through the peephole and saw that there was

indeed only Donna outside. Instantly, she relaxed upon learning that Dexter wasn't around.

"Where did he go?" she asked as she stepped into the living room.

Donna shrugged and replied, "I heard someone arranged a last-minute gathering and invited Mr. Bamford over. |

don't know the details."

"Who cares,” Angela muttered.

Suddenly, an idea cto her. "Donna, I'll write you a list-please buy these items foras quickly as possible."

Sometimes, when inspiration struck, she had to draw immediately, or the moment would pass. Angela had been

in an excellent creative state lately. She had just cup with an idea for her latest artwork.

It would be a portrait of Joseph. Angela intended to give it to him to make him happy.

Donna returned quickly with everything on the list.

Angela took a shower and changed into her pajamas. She set up her new streaming equipment on her desk and

spread out the paper.

It was going to be a long night.

Chapter 17

At Mystique Bar, Zayn had reserved the largest private room to celebrate his birthday with a dozen close friends.

At first, Dexter hadn't been planning on going. But when Zayn had mentioned that Elena would be there, he had

shown up.

“Con, happy birthday to me!" Zayn raised his glass, toasting everyone present.

The others stood up with their glasses in unison, except for Dexter, who remained seated.

Zayn didn't mind at all-merely having Dexter present was already a great honor.

"Happy birthday, Zayn. Hopefully, you'll find your special someone this year.” Elena handed him a pair of limited-

edition headphones that was quite expensive.

Zayn's face lit up with delight. “Thanks, Elena darling. Love you!"

Elena's face stiffened, and she glanced instinctively at Dexter, who happened to look up was steady just then.

Their eyes met, and his gaze was steady and cold.

Somewhat flustered, she responded with a laugh, "Who's your darling? Don't speak

nonsense.’

Zayn laughed it off and sat down to open his other gifts.

"Hey, what are you guys looking at?" Zayn noticed a few of his friends huddled in the corner and staring at

something on their phones.

“There's a streamer painting live right now. It's pretty interesting," one friend replied casually.

Zayn snatched the phone and plopped down on the couch. The others crowded around him.

On the screen was just a tabletop and a pair of delicate, fair hands. The streamer didn't speak, and only the

sound of the brush could be heard in the background. There was the occasional chof the viewers sending her

a live gift.

"What's so interesting about this? Sure, her hands look soft and fair. Can you imagine how smooth they must

feel?” Zayn commented, handing the phone to Dexter.

Dexter took the phone and glanced at the screen, where the pair of hands was working intently. His expression

suddenly shifted, and he sat up straighter.

Upon seeing this, the others thought Dexter was interested in the streamer. They all pulled out their phones and

flooded the streamer's live room with gifts. Instantly, gift emojis filled the screen.

The streamer was stunned for a second before she chuckled. Her voice then cthrough

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Chapter 17.

the speakers. “Thank you so much, everyone."

Her voice sounded modified, but it was unmistakably a gentle female voice.

“Oh, she's got the right vibe-beautiful art, and a sweet voice. | bet she's gorgeous too," one of them commented.

None of them noticed Dexter's expression growing darker by the second. He toyed with his phone wordlessly and

drank another glass of wine.

Elena noticed his odd behavior and sat beside him. "What's wrong, Dexter? You seem

upset.

She, too, had sensed something unusual. The decor in the streamer's room looked suspiciously like that of the

room in Bamford Estate. So, she suspected that the person streaming was Angela.

“Nothing,” Dexter replied indifferently.

Though Elena was a close friend, he wasn't interested in airing his family's dirty laundry.

Taking a sip of her drink, Elena casually suggested, "Why don't you invite Angela to join us, Dexter? It's been

a long tsince she's been out, and it's Zayn's birthday. It would be fun for everyone."

Everyone fell silent and didn't know what to say to her suggestion. They all knew how Dexter disliked Angela and

rarely acknowledged her. Only Elena dared to bring it up.

"Sure." Dexter's response left everyone stunned.

The streamer's live room continued to gain momentum as curiosity about the faceless artist grew. In under an

hour, the number of her viewers surpassed all others in the scategory. It reached tens of thousands.

Right now, she was drawing a young lady supporting an elderly figure-it was a simple yet evocative image. Her

framework was complete and the characters had taken shape.

What impressed everyone was her speed. Her hand flew across the paper smoothly without a single correction.

Each stroke was confident, as though she had envisioned this painting hundreds of times in her head before.

Dexter observed this with a frown. Then, he got up and made a phone call.

A moment later, Zayn's group saw that the streamer had gone offline, explaining that someone had interrupted

her and she would show the finished piece tomorrow.

"Ah, that's disappointing."

"I'm done watching her. | don't think I'll watch her stream again next time.”

“Did she purposely leave so that the viewers would want more or what? I've never seen any

Chapter

streamer do this."

Less than 30 minutes later, Angela arrived.

She wore a simple white dress and flats. Her hair cascaded past her shoulders, and she didn't wear any

makeup.

Angela was immensely annoyed. Dexter, for whatever reason, had asked the butler to inform her that he was

drunk and needed a ride home.

When she had ignored him, he had resorted to calling her and threatening that if she didn't come, he wouldn't

stop the debt collectors from beating up Zack.

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