Anna responded with a nod, “She’s all right. They are still our biggest source of gossip .”
After noticing that Matthew had been silent, Emily asked him, “Are you still working at the group, Matthew? Are your wounds healed? “
Matthew nodded, his serious expression mirroring that of his father, who sat beside him. “I’m almost recovered, thank you for asking,” he replied.
Anna felt heartbroken as she thought of his injury. Then she said, “I told him not to go to the construction site alone, but Wayne said it would help him become more independent. He got injured just as he stepped to the construction site.”
Matthew said, shaking his head, “I’m fine, mom. Aunt Emily’s job is much more dangerous than mine, but she has never complained about it.”
Emily said, “To be honest, I’m exhausted and even want to retire now. Matthew, you’ve always been a considerate boy, right? Oh, by the way, do you have a girlfriend yet?”
“My brother is only fifteen years old now and doesn’t have a girlfriend yet. However, some of us are old enough to get married. Right?” Tammy asked, elbowing Natalie next to her.
Then Everyone turned to look at Natalie. Under everyone’s gaze, Natalie had grease stains on her hands and face as she ate a chicken wing with her head down. She was licking her fingers when she noticed everyone staring at her. And she asked, “Why are you all staring at me? I’m not in a rush to get married. I’m still young!”
Anna yanked Wayne’s sleeve from beneath the table, reminding him it was time to speak. Natalie was, after all, his aunt.
When Wayne realized Natalie’s hands were full of grease, he frowned at her. “Forget it. It’s none of my business,” he whispered.
Surprised, Anna lowered her voice, “What? Mr. Carter has already discussed this with us. He didn’t appear to be joking.”
“Mr. Carter is old, so he’s maybe confused,” With a shrug, Wayne answered carelessly.
“I think maybe you’re confused!” Anna retorted.
When Jennie noticed Anna and Wayne muttering with their heads down, she asked with suspicion, “What are you two talking about? Who is Mr. Carter?”
“Nothing,” Anna replied, raising her head up.
Sensing that Jennie was looking at him with suspicion, Wayne explained calmly, “Last month, Anna, Natalie, and I went to Mr. Carter’s house for his birthday party. Mr. Carter later asked if Natalie was seeing anyone.”
Taken aback, Jennie asked while handing a tissue to Natalie, who choked on water just now, “Anna, is Wayne telling the truth?”
Anna nodded, “Yes. Mr. Carter has a son named Harry, and he is now the family group’s chairman.”
The next moment, Peter cut Anna off before she could finish her sentence. “No, I’m not going to agree to that,” he said.
“Why? Have you ever met Harry, Dad?” Jennie asked in surprise.
Unhappily, Peter said, “I’ve never met him, but I’m not going to agree to Natalie marrying him. He doesn’t seem to be proposing this because he thinks Natalie is a good girl, but for another reason. I’d rather she marry a normal guy. We are different from the Carters because we do not need to rely on our children’s marriages to help our family business.”
“Actually, the rumors aren’t always true. I still think you should meet Harry before making your decision,” Anna said.
“No, I would never disagree with that. None of you have the authority to decide Natalie’s marriage but herself,” Peter put down his fork, “So, don’t bring this up again. I’m tired now, so please excuse me.” Then Peter stood up and was ready to leave.
Seeing that, Anna was about to say something, but Wayne cut her off. And Natalie, who noticed that her dad was upset, dropped the chicken wings, wiped her mouth with a napkin, and ran away, saying, “I’m not marrying anyone, Dad. I’d like to spend the rest of my life at home. Don’t listen to them!”
Later, Peter and Natalie walked out of the dining room. Ryan sighed and said, “I knew Grandpa wouldn’t approve of the proposal.”
Frowning, Jennie asked, “Ryan, you know about this as well? How come no one told me of it?”
“I wanted to mention it, but no one asked me about it,” Ryan sighed.
Having put her glass of water down, Anna said, “I’ve met Harry a few times and think he seems like a nice guy. Yet, Grandpa believes he wants to marry Natalie for the money. However, I quite understand why Grandpa is opposed to the idea. After all, Harry was divorced once and has a child with his ex-wife.”
Jennie exclaimed immediately, her eyes widened in astonishment, “Huh? Natalie will become a stepmother to his kid if she marries him.”
Emily nodded, “Isn’t that a pain in the neck? Natalie can totally marry a young man her own age.”
“I don’t think it seems right either,” Jennie said, nodding.
Anna couldn’t explain it because she thought it was too complicated. However, when she talked to Harry last month, she noticed that he seemed to have known Natalie for a long time. He wasn’t doing it for the Wrights’ money, as Peter assumed.
Knowing what was going on in Anna’s mind, Wayne patted her shoulder and said, “Well, maybe you should stay out of this. You’ve only met Harry a few times and don’t know him very well. How do you know if he’s doing it for the money?”
Anna nodded, thinking he had a valid point. She thought, They are right. I shouldn’t bet on Natalie’s happiness for the rest of her life.
Natalie followed Peter and entered his room with him. She said, “Dad, it’s still early. Why don’t we play chess?”
“I’m not in the mood,” Peter said flatly.
“Are you mad because of what they said about me?” With a worried look, Natalie asked Peter.
“Why shouldn’t I? Do you want to get married to that guy simply for the business interests of our family? You’re my little girl. I won’t let it happen!”
Hearing that, Natalie said with a cheeky smile, “Dad, you really don’t have to worry about it. Matthew is now running the company, and I am his grandaunt. He will not exchange my marriage for anything. Besides, we don’t even have to do that. Our family business is doing great!”
Much to Natalie’s surprise, Peter didn’t soften his face after hearing her words. Instead, he frowned, lost in thought. Well, Natalie, actually, the Carousel Group has faced many difficulties in recent years. Moreover, ever since Matthew took over the group, the board members have been giving him a hard time because they doubt that a young boy like him isn’t competent enough to run such a large group at such a young age. Moreover, Matthew is indeed inexperienced in managing the Carousel Group. And Wayne has to help him frequently even though he has already announced his retirement. Alas! I just want you to live a carefree life. So, I rarely mentioned what was going on in our family business. You’re an innocent and simple girl. And I want you to be yourself. But, sometimes, I fear that you will get hurt because you’re innocent and simple.
As Peter had remained silent for a long time, Natalie realized something was wrong. So she asked, “What’s the problem, Dad? Is there something wrong with our companies?”
“No. Everything is fine, Natalie,” Peter smiled and answered.
“That’s good. Don’t worry about me, Dad. I don’t want to get married at all! I just want to be at home with you. If I get married, I’ll have to care for my in-laws and my husband. I don’t want to do that!”
Natalie spent every day at home watching TV shows, wishing she could stay home for the rest of her life. And she had always been content with her life and considered herself the happiest person in the world. As a result, she had no desire to get married at all.
***
The next day, Lemon’s runway show was held at a downtown luxury hotel.
Anna was nervous because Tammy was about to walk on stage. She was afraid Tammy would make a mistake and ruin the show that Andrew had worked so hard on for the past year. So, she paced back and forth backstage with a worried look.
“Don’t be so nervous! Come sit in front with me,” After Anna repeatedly told Tammy to focus, Peace couldn’t take it any longer and said.
“But I’m still worried about Tammy, “Frowning, Anna looked Peace in the eye and said.
“Just chill, okay? Tammy got this. Please have some faith in your daughter. It’s not like the first time that she’s done it. You know how good she is on the runway. Now, relax and find ourselves seats before someone else takes the seats in the front,” Rolling her eyes at Anna, Peace said impatiently.
“All right,” Anna said reluctantly and followed Peace.
Someone tapped Anna on the shoulder shortly after she took her seat, calling, “Anna.”
Hearing that, Anna turned her head and smiled as she recognized Mona’s voice. Today, Mona was dressed in a strappy pantsuit and a cashmere jacket.
“Mona? What brings you here?” Anna looked at her stomach and said, “It’s crowded here.”
Mona laughed as she held her belly, “My due date has passed for a week. The doctor advised me to go out more instead of staying home all the time.”
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.