Even so, Maisie was not going to stop just there. “A lie sounds sweet but a truth tastes bitter, Mrs. Mendez. I suppose parents can also be as hypocritical as their children.”
Mrs. Mendez’s expression changed as she looked at Maisie, who was targeting her, with surprise. “What are you on about?”
“Oh, you know exactly what I’m talking about.” Maisie shrugged nonchalantly. “I just happened to record some of the conversations too, so why don’t we all gather around and listen?”
Maisie was extremely straightforward and said only what was needed to be said before she put her phone up to everyone and played an audio recording.
The audio played and it was a conversation that had taken place in the lounge a short while earlier.
Everyone could clearly hear that it was Mrs. Mendez and Mrs. Graham secretly rejoicing because they could use the excuse of Old Master Graham being sick, which was not even true, to force Daniel into marrying Naya.
In fact, all of them knew that Old Master Graham was never sick and that the fake engagement was something that both of them came up with. Only Daniel was kept in the dark by it.
When she played the recording to everyone, the crowd was stunned, while Mrs. Graham’s face flushed with shock.
Naya was at a loss for words and could not believe that Maisie would help Ava like that.
After Daniel heard the audio recording, he was calm. After a few seconds, he smiled.
Ava thought that Daniel was about to go crazy from all the mind games, so she quickly asked him with concern, “Daniel, are you okay?”
“Heh.” Daniel let out another laugh. When he looked at Mrs. Graham, his eyes flickered. “You guys joined forces and put on a show to get me to marry someone I don’t like? You even conspired with the people in the hospital to make me believe that Grandpa was seriously ill?”
“…” Mrs. Graham looked awkward. At that moment, she did not know how to explain herself. “Daniel, actually that’s not…”
“This is simply outrageous.” Daniel let out a light chuckle. Then, a stern light burst from his eyes. “Listen clearly. No matter what happens in the future, I will never give up on the woman I love again.”
When he said that, he grabbed Ava’s hand before pulling out the velvet ring box from his pocket and opening it in front of Ava.
The diamond on the ring once again reflected under the bright lights with a flash of dazzling brilliance.
The next moment, Daniel got down on one knee, looked at Ava with devotion, and spoke with a seri expression, “Ava, although we haven’t been together for a very long time, my heart tells me that you’re the only one I want to spend the rest of my life with.”
He confessed his love to her and followed with a direct proposal.
“Ava, will you marry me? Will you be my wife? I promise that I’ll love and cherish you with all my heart for the rest of your life. I promise to take care of you and protect you with my life. I don’t want to marry anyone but you.”
Daniel said the last part seemingly for those people who wanted to set him up with Naya.
Meanwhile, Naya felt that Daniel was saying that to her!
She felt as if she had been humiliated. She clenched her fists and dug her nails hard into her palm as she tried to restrain her emotions that were about to explode.
When this happened, all the guests were shocked.
Maisie, who had wanted to introduce Ava to her big brother, could not help but feel a little disappointed. However, she knew that feelings could not be forced, so she was also surprised and delighted. She quickly urged Ava, saying, “Come on, Ava! Say yes!”
All of this was also unexpected for Ava because Daniel’s proposal seemed to have come out of the blue. I t was so out of the blue that she previously thought that this day was still far, far away. However, it seemed that he had already prepared a ring.
Besides that, she could tell that it was no ordinary ring as it was designed with elements that she liked.
She could guess that Daniel had specially asked Niamh to design the ring because she had told Niamh what kind of jewelry she liked last time. Ava had even excitedly told Niamh that she would like her wedding ring to be designed by Niamh herself one day if she was ever getting married.
Ava felt a surge of sweet warmth flowing through her heart as she looked into Daniel’s expectant, reverent eyes before smiling again.
However, just as she was about to nod her head and reach her hand toward Daniel, Mrs. Mendez suddenly lunged forward and slapped the ring out of Daniel’s hand.
Daniel was caught off guard, and the ring, which carried some weight, fell. The ring box rolled around the red carpet before landing at the feet of a woman.
The woman quickly bent down and picked up the ring box that had fallen at her feet.
When Ava looked up at the woman, she saw a pair of eyes that contained a mixture of anger, resentment, and heartache.
She froze because she did not expect to see her own mother here.
Daniel immediately got up and glared at Mrs. Mendez irritably. He turned to retrieve the ring box but Mrs. Mendez relentlessly pulled his arm.
“Daniel, this is outrageous! How could you propose to this vixen in a situation like this? What about Naya?! Have you ever considered her feelings?! She’s the one who’s supposed to be your bride!”
After listening to Mrs. Mendez’s scolding, Daniel shrugged off her tight grip unhappily.
“It’s time for you to stop.” His tone was cold, and his eyes looked stern. “Are you seriously still trying to keep up the charade at this point? Do you think I’m a fool? Or do you think that all the guests here are fools?”
Mrs. Mendez pursed her lips and was speechless for a moment.
“Ma’am, isn’t it too much of you to call Ms. Long here a vixen?”
Suddenly, a woman with a sharp voice questioned from the crowd.
“Woman, just because you love your daughter doesn’t mean that you can belittle and slander someone else’s daughter however you want.”
Mrs. Mendez froze for a moment and looked toward the voice to see the woman striding forward with the ring box in her hand.
Mrs. Mendez glared at the woman with displeasure. “And who are you? It’s none of your business whether or not I teach this vixen a lesson! This is my daughter’s engagement to my future son-in-law! Who let this nobody in?”
When Ava saw the woman being insulted by Mrs. Mendez, she felt uncomfortable and was thinking of settling the matter herself when Mr. Mendez rushed over to stop Mrs. Mendez from attacking the woman again.
“Watch your mouth! She’s my guest. This is Ms. Xander from Y Country!” Mr. Mendez reminded her solemnly before apologizing to the woman with a smile.
“Oh, Ms. Xander! Please don’t take what she said personally. I was going to invite you to this engagement ceremony! I’m really sorry that you had to see this buffoonery.”
When Mrs. Mendez heard who the woman was, her entire expression changed instantly.
“So this is the Ms. Xander you were meeting today.” A bright ingratiating smile appeared on Mrs. Mendez’s face. “Ms. Xander, I’m so sorry! I didn’t know it was you. I’ve heard plenty of amazing things about you from my husband! It’s rare to see a successful self-made career woman like you!”
Mrs. Mendez was suddenly full of praise.
Mrs. Graham listened with shock by the side. “She’s the richest woman in Y Country?”
Mrs. Mendez nodded her head repeatedly and looked proud. “My husband just made a deal with her!”
“I’m sorry, I think you misunderstood. I didn’t strike a deal with your husband.” The woman dismissed coldly.
When Mrs. Mendez heard what she said, she froze, and so did Mr. Mendez. He looked at the woman, confused. “Ms. Xander?”
The woman smiled nonchalantly. “Mr. Mendez, I was considering this deal, but now I’m not. Your wife’s demeanor makes me very uncomfortable. I don’t want to have business dealings or be in contact with such a person.”
The woman’s reply made both Mr. Mendez and Mrs. Mendez dumbfounded.
After that, the woman turned around nonchalantly and handed the ring box in her hand to Daniel before smiling affably.
“Mr. Graham, all of us here saw the proposal you just made to Ms. Long. I hope that you’ll do as you say and give Ms. Long all the happiness she deserves.”
She smiled and handed the ring back to Daniel before looking over at Ava.
Ava seemed to be lost in thought as she looked at the woman. A light flickered in her eyes as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she did not.
Instead, Daniel assured her very solemnly, “I will.”
He promised and turned to put the ring on Ava’s finger.
However, Mrs. Graham was not going to let that happen and went over to stop him. “Daniel, you’re not marrying this woman! Our family will never allow such an ordinary person with no influential family nor status to be our daughter-in-law! I will only acknowledge Naya as my daughter-in-law!”
When Naya saw Mrs. Graham defending her, she felt much better.
Naya was not going to let Daniel and Ava be together that easily.
Mrs. Mendez sneered mockingly at Ava. “Did you hear that, Ms. Long? Don’t make a fool of yourself. Clearly, you’re unworthy of marrying a Graham!”
“Unworthy?” Ava’s mother could not stand looking at the pompous looks on Mrs. Mendez and Mrs. Graham’s faces anymore. “I have to apologize in advance for saying this, but yes, you Grahams are influential. However, Ava won’t benefit from marrying into your family. It’s you Grahams who will benefit from having her!”
When the woman said that, Mrs. Graham and the rest paused. After a few seconds, mocking sneers appeared on each of their faces.
Ava ignored the disdainful looks on their faces. Instead, she was looking at the woman, hinting and imploring her not to continue.
The woman saw Ava’s gaze and understood what Ava was trying to say.
She did not want to go against Ava’s wishes, but she could not bear the attitude of these people in front o f her any longer.
“Mrs. Xander, are you implying that Ava’s status is above us, the Grahams? Heh, and what makes you say that? The Grahams are one of the four most powerful families in the city. Our reputation, prestige, and financial resources are all ranked top in the city. Meanwhile, Ava…”
Mrs. Graham paused and glanced at Ava with a hint of contempt.
“I had someone do a check on her a long time ago. She lost her parents when she was very young. She’s a In orphan who came from an orphanage. That’s all she is. How can you say that she has a higher status than the Grahams, Mrs. Xander?”
“Yeah, Mrs. Xander. Clearly, Ava’s just a homely girl who wishes to climb to the top.”
Mrs. Mendez came over and interjected, making sure to put herself in a good light.
“Mrs. Xander, although I don’t know anything about business, please don’t take offense to what I said. I’m a person who has an eye for people. This woman is just out for the Grahams’ money! That’s why she’s pestering Daniel. The only person who’s worthy of marrying Daniel is my daughter!”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.