Chapter 44

With much compromise, Benedict eventually received his phone back in an undamaged state but at the price of being forced to sit on the far end of the table to be placed "as far away from Ms. Jane as possible," as per Liam's request.

Liam and I sat on either side of Jane on the other end of the table. But then my mother insisted on sitting close to her "grandbaby" and plopped down next to Liam before he could even protest, leading to the rest of my family sitting to the right of Liam while Cassy's family made do with the leftover seats next to me.

To say the least, the assignments of seats caused much more hassle than it really needed to. But at least everything seemed to calm down once dinner started.

Between my mother and her friend, Mellisa, there was no issue with any awkward silences as they quickly filled up the room with their lively chatter, even pulling in Benedict's preppy personality once he stopped sulking and started asking Jane random questions here or there.

Not giving m