A young butler approached James respectfully and asked, "Mr. Quigley, Mr. Norman is wondering why you're still not dancing."James didn't respond and dismissed the butler with a wave. However, his cousins happened to overhear the conversation. Hayden was still trying to get in James' good graces. So, he leaned over with a smile and said, "I think you should just go and dance, James. "Aside from you, no one in our generation has the right to the first dance. If you don't get on that dance floor, no one will."Claire immediately rushed forward and grabbed onto James' finger. "He's right, James. Why don't you just partner up with me for the first dance?"Once she popped her question, the other girls started quarreling with each other."No way. If he does plan on dancing, he should do it with me."Soon, the venue became rowdy once again.Typically, the most important man of the family would be tasked with leading the first dance. Thus, it was a huge privilege to be chosen as the
Summer shook her head lightly and wanted to decline. She'd never been good at dancing, and she was incredibly stiff. She'd definitely trip and fall if she tried. However, she didn't have time to say no. In one swift motion, James took her hand and promptly led her to the middle of the dance floor."Music." At the snap of his fingers, the music began playing again. A soft waltz music echoed through the room. The melody was beautiful and resembled the sound of flowing water.In the middle of the huge hall, Summer began dancing under James' lead. Her footwork was all over the place. Anyone could tell that she was an amateur. "James, you idiot. What are you doing? Do you want me to make a fool of myself?" She felt incredibly awkward. Her dancing was terrible. Hence, suddenly, being asked to dance in front of so many people made her extremely anxious. James lowered his head and looked into her eyes. "Don't worry—just follow my lead. We've done this before, remember?"Half a year
More and more people made their way onto the once-empty dance floor. The party felt like it had reached its peak. The waltz concluded after half an hour. Summer and James danced for about ten minutes before they excused themselves. Now, they were by a pillar in the main hall. James took off his jacket and draped it over Summer's shoulders. "Your outfit isn't exactly the warmest—you should be careful not to catch a cold.""Thank you." The latter shot him a light smile. Then, she leaned toward him and asked enthusiastically, "So, how did I do? I did a pretty good job at dancing, didn't I?""Yes, you did. You managed to pull it off in the end.""Of course I did—I'm the one and only Summer Charter, after all." Now that she thought about it, she couldn't believe it herself either. She didn't think she danced exceptionally well, but Susanne proceeded to shower her with compliments as soon as she got off the platform. On top of that, everyone was looking at her with admiration as we
"You said you'd help me get together with James, Mrs. Quigley. Haven't you heard? James danced with Summer earlier," whined Suzanne."What?" Caroline froze for a second before realizing what happened. She wondered why everyone was crowded around the dance floor. As it turned out, James and Summer seemed to have caused quite a stir.However, she wasn't surprised. Since Summer was back, it was only natural that James would dance with her. "Don't worry," said Caroline. "I'll be sure to stand up for you." Subsequently, she marched outside with Suzanne in tow. She was undoubtedly looking to teach Summer a lesson. She already had plans to do so a while ago, but the waltz was going on. Additionally, some of the guests were also trying to talk to her. Hence, she didn't get the chance to look for her.With a cocktail in hand, Summer was talking to James' cousins. The girls used to be incredibly hostile toward her. However, after seeing how well she danced, most of them developed a newfou
Caroline stormed over with Suzanne and a group of butlers in tow. At the sight of Caroline, all of James' cousins swiftly greeted her respectfully."Hello, Aunt Caroline…""Please excuse us, kids. I need to talk to James and Summer." Since there were other people present, Caroline suppressed her anger. Instead, she put on a smile and spoke to them kindly. Immediately after they left, her expression switched, and her face turned dark."Summer Charter!" She yelled at Summer.Her voice was extremely loud. Taken by surprise, Summer almost lost her footing. If it weren't for James' hold on her, she would've slumped to the ground.Now, trying to stabilize herself, she asked timidly, "Is something wrong, Caroline?""What do you think? You've made quite a few mistakes tonight." What did Summer do? First of all, she arrived at the Christmas party fashionably late. This was the worst thing she could've done. The Quigleys' Christmas party was an important event that happened annually.
Caroline must've ordered them to apprehend them. Upon seeing this, James asked coldly, "Do you know what you're doing, Mom?""Of course I do.""In that case, you should know that I won't allow that to happen."Of course, she knew. She could tell by the look in his eyes—James was determined to protect Summer at all costs. However, she didn't care about what he said. Instead, she turned toward the bodyguards and said, "Grab her." Subsequently, she added, "But you are not to injure James.""Yes, ma'am." All seven of the men obeyed. They were skilled fighters with a strong build. They look extremely intimidating.Despite that, James didn't seem afraid at all. Going up against these people was an easy feat for him. The only problem was that it was a public setting. Since there were so many of their relatives present, it'd affect the family's reputation if he were to get into a fight.However, he had no choice. If he stayed put, they'd just take Summer away. He couldn't possibly let
If James wasn't involved, Summer couldn't care less about this matter. Caroline was his mother. He can't possibly avoid her forever. Hence, it'd be better if they were on good terms. Summer only chose to intervene as she didn't want James to be unhappy.So, she ignored Caroline and tugged on James' sleeve before continuing. "Let's not argue any further. Your mother is right. Besides, this isn't the first time she's disciplined me.""But Summie…" James lowered his head and stared at her. He was at a loss for words.By the looks of it, Summer was willing to accept her punishment. However, she was his wife. How could he just stand idly by and watch as she was unreasonably mistreated?"All you did was arrive a bit later—that's hardly a cause for concern. You don't need to be punished at all," he said.Then, he turned toward his mother and continued with a serious look, "You're too harsh on Summie, Mom. You're clearly picking on her."Caroline was indeed picking on her. How else was
James stepped forward. He looked domineering, and his gaze turned sharp. Everyone, including Caroline, was startled by his sudden change in demeanor."If you insist that Summer isn't good enough to be your daughter-in-law, then I'll let you have your way," he said.Everyone became confused. He sounded as though he just agreed that Summer wasn't suitable to be his wife. However, he hadn't finished his sentence yet. He continued and said, "If you don't want her to be your daughter-in-law, then I'll simply cut ties with you. "If you're not my mother, she won't be your daughter-in-law. Summer is my wife no matter what!"His declaration was firm and unwavering. Summer was the only person he'd marry, and no one was able to change that. All of the younger guests began cheering for him immediately afterward."Maybe you should stop pressuring him, Aunt Caroline," said Claire. "He really loves Summer.""You can't possibly disown him, right? You should probably let this go, Aunt Caroline