781 Chapter 780

Selena felt a sudden chill, and a strong metallic taste rose to her throat.

She forced down the nausea and held onto Gavin for support.

Gavin steadied her, but then he blinked in confusion, feeling dizzy himself.

He looked ahead, and in the next moment, he threw up.

Gavin turned back toward the table and saw the culprit—there was a dish with peanut sauce, and in his distracted state, he had eaten it.

He let out a frustrated chuckle.

What was wrong with him today?

He was allergic to peanuts, yet somehow, he’d let his guard down and eaten some.

It must have been because he was so angry at how the Horton and Olsen families were treating Selena.

Gavin understood that Selena had started the argument, and yes, he knew Kate and James weren’t the sharpest tools in the shed, but he also sympathized with Selena.

To him, her mother’s affair was only her mother’s fault.

Selena was an illegitimate daughter, but she didn’t do anything wrong.

And Selena had always been so gentle and loving toward him. He didn’t think his family should be this hostile toward her.

As these thoughts swirled in his mind, Gavin’s throat tightened like something was stuck in it.

He coughed violently, his face turning red. Trembling, he fumbled for his allergy medication and was about to take it when Selena lunged at him. “Gavin! Gavin! What’s happening to you?” Selena cried, her voice panicked.

Ellie and Ryan quickly rushed over.

“Gavin, are you okay?” Ellie asked, her concern genuine as she grabbed his other arm to steady him.

Despite feeling terrible herself, Selena focused entirely on Gavin, ignoring her own discomfort.

Gavin tried to shake his head, but no words came out.

Tears welled up in Selena’s eyes as she wailed, “Gavin, what’s wrong? Don’t leave me!”

Ellie shot back, “Would you quit it? Stop acting like he’s dying! Gavin’s going to be fine!”

Selena sobbed, “I want him to be okay too, but he started feeling like this after he had the soup. Is there something in it?”

Ellie froze for a moment, unsure.

Ryan, on the other hand, knew about Gavin’s allergy, so he quickly went to the table, grabbed the bowl of soup, and tasted it.

He didn’t notice anything off…

Erin, who had been munching on her steak the entire time, overheard the conversation and instinctively took a sip of the soup. Immediately, she spit it back into the bowl. “This soup has cassia powder in it.”

Keira raised an eyebrow, casting a suspicious glance at Selena.

She knew what cassia powder was, but most people here wouldn’t.

Like James, who asked, “What’s that? Is it poison? I had some of that soup too! Am I gonna die?”

Without missing a beat, Kate picked up her own bowl of soup and started chugging it down.

James freaked out, grabbing her arm, “Kate, what are you doing?!”

Her face was dead serious. “I’m dying with you!”

James, with tears brimming in his eyes, gasped, “Kate, you’re so stupid, but I love you!”

Kate said, “You’re so annoying, but we’re meant to be together. We got engaged in the Freeman Sect!”

Touched, James held her hands. “Kate…”

Kate’s expression softened as she locked eyes with him. “James…”

The two gazed at each other with such intensity that Keira had to bite her lip to stifle a laugh, but Erin couldn’t hold it in. Rolling her eyes, she was about to say something sarcastic when Charles gently nudged her arm. She swallowed her words.

She couldn’t snap at James—he was her future brother-in-law after all.

As she rolled her eyes again, Erin muttered under her breath about how idiotic James and Kate were acting, then explained, “Relax, you two aren’t gonna die.”

“Huh?” they both said in unison, turning to face her.

“Why not?”

Erin stared up at the ceiling. “Cassia powder’s not lethal to normal people. It’ll just mess up your stomach for a few days. You’ll be fine after you eat some bland food for a while.”

Immediately, James and Kate lit up. “We’re not dying!”

Erin smirked.

But Kate, still serious, pointed at Gavin, who was struggling with his symptoms. “Then what’s wrong with him? He looks like he’s dying.”

Ryan sighed, about to explain that Gavin was allergic to peanuts and had just eaten some peanut sauce by accident. He had taken his medication and would be okay in a bit.

But before he could get the words out, Selena screamed, “It’s because Gavin has cancer! He has colon cancer, and whatever’s in that soup is deadly for him!”

Selena’s voice cracked as she whirled around to face Keira. “Aunt Keera, I know you hate me, but how could you do this to Gavin?!”