Chapter 376 An Awkward Family Dinner
A server led them into a private dining room.
When she noticed how young Soraya was, she thoughtfully asked whether they needed a high chair.
Before Zara could answer, Soraya said with a solemn little face, "I get the same treatment as everyone else."
Everyone fell silent.
The server's smile did not falter. "Of course."
Lucian and Owen had not arrived yet, so once everyone sat down, their curiosity only grew.
The private room had everything, including a full karaoke system. Wilson and Peter immediately went over to figure out how it worked, while Karen played with Soraya.
That left Nancy as the only one sitting beside Zara and talking to her.
Nancy had once asked Zara about her biological father, so hearing that Zara had suddenly found him still felt almost impossible to believe.
After carefully choosing her words, she asked, "What kind of person is Mr. Owen?"
Zara took a sip of tea. "What do you mean, 'Mr. Owen'? If he's my dad, then he's your dad too."
Nancy froze.
A faint light flickered in her eyes. "Did you tell him about us?"
Zara nodded. "I did. Don't worry. He's excited to meet all of you too."
He would be excited whether he liked it or not.
Nancy nodded.
A little while later, the server returned with someone.
Zara turned and saw Owen walking in. He was wearing a suit, though he looked slightly uncomfortable in it.
The remote control slipped straight out of Wilson's hand.
Peter's mouth fell open in shock.
They could hardly be blamed. Everything had happened on such short notice, and Owen's current appearance had never been particularly polished to begin with. He had not even styled his hair. Allen and the others had merely done their best to tidy him up.
The suit itself looked decent on him.
But there was no hiding how dark and rugged he was.
The deep lines across his face made it obvious that he looked like a man who had spent years laboring in the countryside. He was nothing like the father they had imagined for Zara.
Peter grabbed Wilson and pinched his arm. "Oh, my God. That's Zara's dad?"
Wilson grimaced and immediately pinched him back. "Looks like it."
Peter got straight to the point. "He looks like a farmer visiting the city for the first time."
"So what if he's a farmer?" Wilson shot back. "You think you're better than farmers? Don't forget that Zara raised us in the countryside too. Are you discriminating against working people now? Honestly, you're a terrible person!"
"That's not what I meant," Peter protested. "I'm just saying, if Zara's biological parents have been living in the countryside all these years, how did she end up abandoned in Magior?"
Wilson thought for a moment. "I don't know. Maybe they accidentally left her behind during a trip to the city. I can already picture the heartbreaking story of an aging father spending years searching for his lost daughter."
Peter fell silent.
Wilson must have studied himself stupid.
By the time Owen reached the table, the two of them had already constructed an entire tragic backstory around him and somehow made every detail fit.
Zara, meanwhile, looked delighted. She waved at Owen. "Over here."
It was still a little awkward, though. She could not quite bring herself to call him Dad yet.
Fortunately, Owen did not seem to mind.
After the server showed him inside, he looked around at the room full of people and fell silent for a second. Then he gave them a stiff little wave. "Hello, everyone."
The room remained completely silent for about three seconds.
Then Soraya's clear, cheerful voice rang out. "Hi, Grandpa!"
Everyone fell silent.
Owen stared at her in shock.
Zara turned to Soraya. "What are you doing, Soraya?"
Owen looked even more shocked than Zara. "You never mentioned..."
She had only said she had younger brothers and sisters. She had never said she already had a child!
Zara gave an awkward laugh. "No, it's a long story, but she isn't my daughter. Seriously, she isn't. We found her overseas. I'll explain later. Let me introduce you first. These are my younger brothers and sisters."
Starting with Nancy, she introduced them one by one.
None of them were fools. Once Zara finished, they obediently greeted Owen in turn.
Every one of them called him Dad.
Owen found it a little awkward at first, but he quickly recovered and acknowledged each of them.
When his gaze fell on Nancy, however, a flash of surprise crossed his eyes.
Nancy seemed to realize what he had noticed and gave him a small smile.
Owen's expression grew even more complicated when he saw Dino.
Zara shook her head slightly, and Owen immediately understood, asking no further questions.
Once everyone had taken their seats, Wilson and Peter, unable to contain their curiosity, immediately asked how Zara and Owen had found each other.
Owen thought for a moment, then actually made up a melodramatic story about taking Zara into the city years ago and accidentally leaving her behind in Magior.
Zara was speechless.
Wilson turned triumphantly to Peter. "See? I was right!"
Everyone else fell silent.
The atmosphere was nearly suffocating, but once Lucian arrived, the conversation naturally became livelier.
Even Lucian was momentarily stunned when he saw Owen.
He knew who Owen really was, but after seeing his current appearance, he still found it difficult to believe.
Zara's father was this... rugged?
He had plenty of thoughts, but none showed on his face. Instead, he greeted Owen with easy confidence and extended a hand. His manners were far more polished than Wilson's or Peter's.
The moment Owen saw Lucian, his gaze paused.
Lucian caught it.
There was also something strange about the way Owen looked at him, and Lucian immediately sensed that there might be more going on.
He did not know what it was, but he quietly became more cautious.
As Owen sat down, he sighed. "Some things really are destined. No matter how hard you try, you can never escape them."
The words sounded unusually heavy, as though he were lamenting something, but no one understood what he meant.
Zara was far more carefree. "Come on, let's stop dwelling on depressing things. It wasn't easy for us to reunite as father and daughter. This is a happy occasion, so let's drink!"
Everyone fell silent.
Wasn't Zara being a little too wild about this whole father-daughter reunion?
Owen looked embarrassed. "Zara, I don't drink."
Zara laughed. "Neither do I. We'll toast with coffee."
Lucian snapped his fingers, signaling the staff to begin serving the food, and quietly started fishing for information.
He was not trying to get Owen to talk.
He was probing Zara.
She might refuse to answer him directly, but her thoughts always gave her away.
However, as the conversation went on, Lucian realized that Owen was nowhere near as easy to fool as Zara.
The man spoke with flawless caution. He might have looked awkward and honest, but he never let a single thing slip that he did not intend to reveal.
Lucian did not learn much from Zara's thoughts either.
Her mind was completely occupied with calculating how much money she could squeeze out of the other world this time.
A woman who had spent her entire life obsessed with money was truly beyond saving.