Lady Wilson assured her repeatedly, “Okay, then. I promise that I will definitely not interfere with your freedom in the future!”Wendy took the Hermes belt back from Lady Wilson’s hand, and she stared at it for a long time.She had originally planned to quietly place the belt inside Charlie’s mailbox before telling Charlie about it on WhatsApp.However, since her grandmother was beside her now, she did not want to do this in front of her.Moreover, Charlie’s attitude just now had already made her realize how distant Charlie actually was from her family and herself. It seemed as though Charlie was just helping her in passing, but at the same time, in his heart, he was also maintaining a distance from her where they should be minding their own business at all times. Since this was the case, if she were to act recklessly and give him a birthday gift at this time, she was afraid that she would only end up outsmarting herself and making him feel resentful toward her instead.As sh
When Christopher and Harold heard this, the father and son duo who were lying on the bed were both completely stunned for more than a minute.Harold was still in disbelief as he spoke up and asked, “Grandma... You’re not joking with me and just teasing me, right?”“How I wish that I was just joking!” Lady Wilson said resentfully, “I would never have dreamt that the noble man who helped Wendy would be him. If I could choose, I’d rather choose anyone else rather than him.”Harold had a puzzled expression on his face as he said, “But... But why would Charlie help Wendy? It would only be reasonable to say that Charlie should be holding a grudge against us, and he should be more than eager to make a laughingstock out of us. So, why would he help us?”Wendy spoke up, “Brother, you should not try to measure the stature of a great man using the yardstick of a small person. Brother-in-Law might have had a grudge against us before this, but that is also because we have constantly been findin
Wendy’s words hit the biggest sore spot in the depths of Harold’s heart directly. He too knew very well that he had always been nothing more than an idiot who could never get anything done at all.He had had the halo of the Wilson family hanging above his head in the past, and he did not have to worry about making ends meet at all. He could also barely be considered a rich heir. But now, everything was already down to zero.He would not have any halo to rely on anymore in the future, and he would not have anyone or anything to back him up so that he could just sit idly and use up all of his fortunes in time. If he were to continue being so muddle-headed as he got on with his life, it was very likely that he would end up being like those unemployed people who could not even find a partner even when they were already forty or fifty years old.He suddenly remembered Barty Willow’s movie called Mr. Tree in which Barty Willow had played the role of a character who seemed to be a litt
Christopher’s words did not really comfort Harold in any way at all.On the contrary, what he had said was too pragmatic, and this instantly made Harold feel in despair about his future life.He had always thought very highly of himself, and he had always felt that he would definitely become a big shot in the future. He even felt that his future wife would have to be a good, first-class woman. She must not only have the best looks and the perfect figure, but she also had to have a strong and extraordinary family background.That was also the reason why he had been so intent on pursuing Loreen with all of his heart. He had wanted to become the son-in-law of the Thomas family.But now, his father’s words made him realize that he would have absolutely nothing to do with a woman such as Loreen anymore in the future.In the future, he might only be able to become a blue-collar worker who had to work hard to earn money, and he was also afraid that he would have a hard time finding a wom
Claire wiped the sweat off her forehead and smiled as she said, “It might look like there are a lot of dishes, but it will not seem too much when we eat it. Moreover, since it’s your birthday dinner, it’s only natural for it to be a little grander. Besides, it was no hard work at all.”Jacob also smiled and said, “Charlie, why don’t the both of us have a drink together too?”Charlie nodded and said, “Of course I will have to drink with you. I’ll go to the storage room and get some liquor.”Elaine hurriedly said, “Charlie, bring a bottle of red wine here too. Claire and I can also drink a little with you.”“Okay,” Charlie agreed before he asked Claire, “Wife, can you drink?”Claire nodded as she smiled and said, “I’ll have to drink even if I cannot drink, but if the both of us are going to drink, we will not be able to drive to the concert later.”Charlie spoke up, “It’s fine. I have a way to metabolize all the alcohol within a short period of time.”Claire laughed helplessly and
Jacob instantly regretted his words as soon as he was done saying them.He had just been momentarily agitated, and that was the reason why he had blurted those words out. It was only after he had finished speaking when he realized that he had stirred up a hornet’s nest. Sure enough, as soon as Elaine heard this, she stretched out her hands as though she wanted to fight with him as she cursed, “Jacob, you b*stard! It’s fine if you don’t want to give me anything, but you are actually coming up with all those damn f*cking ideas when my good son-in-law is giving me something! Just wait and see if I will f*cking tear your face up into pieces!”Claire did not expect that the both of them would start fighting as they talked. So, she hurriedly stepped forward and stood in between them to block them as she said helplessly, “Oh! Dad! Mom! How long are the both of you going to keep this up?! Don’t forget that it is Charlie’s birthday today. It’s supposed to be a happy and joyous occasion, but
Charlie made a silent wish amidst the sound of Claire’s singing before he blew out the candles.After that, Claire spoke up, “Husband, close your eyes. I have a gift for you!”Charlie nodded, and he gently closed his eyes.Claire took out a gift box from behind her, and she held it up with both hands before placing it into Charlie’s hands as she smiled and said, “Okay! You can open your eyes now!”Charlie lowered his head, and he saw that there was actually a watch box placed in his hands.There was a simple line of English letters written on the box. Charlie recognized it at a glance, and it turned out to be Patek Philippe. Charlie looked at Claire in surprise and spoke up, “Wife, why did you buy such an expensive gift for me?”Claire said shyly, “It’s not expensive. Hurry up and open it to see if you like it!”Charlie nodded before he opened up the package. There was a Patek Philippe Nautilus watch lying serenely inside the box.At this time, Claire said softly from the sid
The family of four dined and wined to their heart’s content. Jacob was already a little drunk, and he had already started to speak with a lisp. It was obvious at first glance that he had drunk too much.Both Elaine and Claire could not hold their liquor very well, but after Elaine had heard that a bottle of wine costs more than a hundred thousand dollars, she ground her teeth and drank more than half a bottle of the wine. She drank until she was delirious, and she looked foolishly happy as she held onto the bottle of wine.Claire drank less, and although her cheeks were also a little flushed, she was still very sober. When she saw that everyone had already dined and wined to their hearts’ content and there was only an hour left to the concert, Claire then said to Charlie, “Husband, I’ll go upstairs and change my clothes. The both of us can just head to the concert directly in a short while!”Charlie nodded, and he smiled as he said, “Go ahead. I’ll wait for you downstairs.”At this
As such, intent on keeping up his pretense, Jacob answered the phone, "Looking for me, Matilda?""Uh-huh," Matilda replied, and asked, "You didn't show up at Senior University, and your sub is saying you probably won't be coming for a while? Is that true?""Oh—right, that," Jacob quickly said. "Well, it's true—the gist of it is that the Association is getting busy with a project. As the vice president, I probably shouldn't be staying at Senior University all the time, right?""Heck, Mr. Bay called me last minute, telling me how busy we're going to be and that I was needed. That's why I had to go back, but I will head over to campus again when I have the time."Matilda knew right then that those were all excuses.However, she did not expose Jacob, instead asking, "Well, when are you free? So that I can send you my wedding invitation?""Oh, the invitation?" Jacob quickly chuckled. "You really didn't have to come to me—just pass it to Walker, my sub lecturer. He can pass it to me wh
The next afternoon, there was a sudden change of lecturers for the calligraphy class.Despite being the vice president of the Calligraphy and Painting Association, Jacob never showed up, instead getting a substitute instructor to replace him.Matilda had come with the invitation Yolden had written for Jacob, but seeing that Jacob wasn't at the lecture hall, she waited until the class was over to ask the sub, "Excuse me, can I ask why Mr. Wilson wasn't teaching this class?""He's busy at the association," the sub replied. "So, I'm taking over his class."Curious, Matilda pressed, "Then, would you happen to know when he will be coming?""Probably not for a while," the sub replied. "He delegated other classes to me as well, telling me that I could just stick to the PowerPoint slides."Then, he asked, "Do you have business with Mr. Wilson?"Matilda nodded. "Yes, but I can call him myself. Thank you."Leaving the lecture hall, Matilda called Jacob, who was goofing off in his office
On the other end, Matilda was left staring at Jacob's reply in confusion.She had presumed that Jacob would understand when she mentioned inviting his whole family that he should be coming up with an excuse to skip attending her wedding.That was the most ideal solution.As such, she was shocked that instead of playing along, Jacob's reply was short and blunt.[No problem. The four of us will be there!]Perplexed, Matilda was left wondering what Jacob meant. Was he really going to attend her wedding with Elaine?The thought left Matilda frowning as she absolutely didn't want to see Elaine—especially not at her own wedding.Yolden was writing an invitation when he saw the somber look on her face, and he couldn't help asking, "Is there a problem?""Jacob replied," Matilda admitted. "And he's saying that he will bring his whole family.""Really?" Yolden was confused too, as he was hardly as eccentric as Jacob. "But he's afraid of his wife and shouldn't be telling her at all…
Charlie was driving Jacob to Thompson First when the latter received the text from Matilda.Seeing that they were reaching the front gates, Jacob promptly snapped at Charlie, "Charlie, stop the car now!"Charlie did so and asked in curiosity, "What's wrong?""Matilda just texted me," Jacob replied, showing the chat log between him and Matilda.Charlie was just glancing at it nonchalantly when he saw that Matilda's contact name was 'AAA July Florist'."Wait, why is that Aunt Matilda's contact name?" He exclaimed in surprise."I changed it."Jacob explained gingerly while reading through the text Matilda sent. "Her profile picture is an iris, so I changed her contact name to a florist since I'm mostly worried Elaine would peek into my phone.""Anyway, she's asking if I'm attending her wedding with Yolden. They would send us an invitation if I accept, extended to our whole family… what do you think I should say?"Charlie asked in return. "You're planning to skip it, aren't you? T
Then, Matilda suggested, "How about this—I'll ask him before deciding." "I'll pass on inviting the rest of my former classmates too. They're too vain and love comparing, so I'd rather not have anything to do with that. Also, there are our Korean friends who have it together, and they were telling us to invite them if we were going to get married. We have to keep our promise, right?""Yeah—then, it's basically decided. Aside from Charlie, we shall invite our colleagues and Korean friends while we wait for an answer from Jacob."Yolden nodded and said, "Now, I'll talk about the honeymoon—cut me short if you have a different opinion."Matilda nodded, resting her chin on her hands and smiling. "Shoot. I'm all ears."Feeling a little embarrassed by Matilda's glowing stare, Yolden took a sip of his ice water before continuing, "My idea is to head to the States for our honeymoon after the wedding…"He trailed off, staring at Matilda and waiting for a response.However, she was merely
"Oh, Jacob…?"Matilda chuckled awkwardly. "Just today, he offered to buy me dinner, but I said I didn't have the time, and I also told him about our wedding… So, we should invite him since he's aware of it.""Jacob offered to buy you dinner?" Yolden exclaimed in surprise. "Did he say why?""Nope," Matilda shrugged, smiling. "Probably just dinner between old classmates."However, she was actually smart enough to guess Jacob's intention even though Jacob was inviting her somewhere near campus. That was why she had also mentioned she was marrying Yolden while turning down Jacob, all so that he would give up on her.After she had managed to get over their past fling completely, she didn't want to give Jacob false hopes before she walked down the aisle.In the same regard, she didn't want to worry Yolden, and therefore, had deliberately discouraged Jacob.Be that as it may, Yolden was smart too.He knew about Matilda and Jacob's past and that her son, Paul's full name was Paul Jam
Before Charlie had arrived, Jacob was still furious that Matilda would soon marry Yolden.After Charlie came, however, he was instead worried that Matilda would send him a wedding invitation.Meanwhile, Matilda and Yolden were discussing their list of guests.They had different social circles, but most of their friends were Stateside, and they only had some distant relatives in this country.Still, they had colleagues in Aurous Hill. Matilda had classmates too, but she was out of touch with them aside from Jacob, whom she often met.Still, as they discussed who should be invited, Matilda first suggested, "Let's go through everyone. First, our Stateside friends… I don't think we should tell them at all since it's a long journey, and inviting them would seem tactless. What do you think?"Yolden nodded, smiling, "I was just thinking the same thing. We're close with our Stateside friends and always keep in touch, but inviting them to our wedding might be a stretch. We'd just hit a wa
With that being said, once Matilda was thrown in the mix, Elaine would suddenly become an African honey badger, with every bit of black air force energy that was implied.As such, if Jacob had managed to be brave and take that one step back then, Charlie would have tried to help, stopping Elaine from harassing Jacob or Matilda.However, the reality was that Jacob had to bungle the chance when Matilda offered it to him.That was why the best option was for Jacob to understand that he couldn't get together with Matilda now so that he would feel much better.And since he had always been a coward, Charlie's slight intimidation cleared his head considerably.He then sighed, "Well, that's just life—you don't always get what you want, and you should never try to claim what you couldn't. I couldn't bring myself to choose Matilda over thirty years ago, so not being together now only makes sense.""Now, I can only pray that Elaine never finds out… or at least that things don't get out of h
Then, Jacob quickly pressed, "Dear boy, maybe you could stay a few days instead of taking more jobs. At least you could be there to stop my wife if she snaps.""Sure," Charlie chuckled, cheerfully agreeing to it. "Don't worry—Claire's returning in a couple of days too, and you'll be fine with us around. You're cheating in your mind, anyway…"Pausing, he then added a reminder, "But if she's really furious, just bear with her beatings and clawings. Live and let live, as they say."That left Jacob sulking, however. "What the hell! If I knew this would happen, I should have just taken her to court and divorced her openly! That way, I'd definitely make things work with Matilda. Yolden wouldn't even stand a chance!"Charlie had to keep a straight face. "Now, you're not quite right there—don't you know what would happen to your wife if you took this to court?"Jacob snorted coolly. "Elaine would just snap at me, hit me, and make sure I don't get a cent in the divorce. That's no big deal—