Ella POV
Alexander and Derrick Lake stared at each other as our waiter returned to the table, bringing our desserts. That’s when Lily Lake spoke, breaking the tension.
"Excuse me," she said, addressing the waiter. "If you don't mind, could you bring a bottle of nice dessert champagne?"
"Ma’am?" the waiter asked curiously.
"A gift to the table," she said. "You can put it on our tab, and please open it when you get here. I want to make sure it's fresh."
She wanted to ensure we knew it wasn’t poisoned, I realized, but I said nothing, only smiling at her.
"Yes, ma’am," the waiter said. He set the dessert trays in front of Alexander and me, then hurried away to get the champagne.
"Take it as a token of our sincere apologies," Lily said, turning to Alexander but avoid
