Chapter Two

He remembered leaving her a huge amount of alimony after their divorce. The amount should be more than enough for her to live the rest of her life in luxury, so why was she in such a predicament? This was the question that has been filling up his mind ever since he left the hospital.

“Andrew, what are you thinking about?” Jenna asked curiously, to which Andrew responded dryly, “nothing serious.”

“You’re thinking about Caroline, right?” Jenna sighed, “Even I couldn’t believe that Caroline was the same woman we saw. Why did she choose to live her life like this when she has the resources for a much better life? Why is she so dense?”

Dense…. That was the exact way Andrew pictured Caroline. Sometimes dense could be cute but Caroline had the fatal combination of being dense and strong headed. Because of this, troubles tended to follow the stubborn woman and the people around her.

In actuality, their marriage could be said to have been ruined by her stubbornness and stupidity. However, he didn’t expect her to dumb enough to be unable to care for herself even with the sizable amount of alimony he had given her after their divorce. Simply put, his encounter with Caroline that day had left a great impact on him.

Andrew was lost in thought so he didn’t answer Jenna’s questions. Not quite long, the car arrived at the restaurant. Both of their families were already there waiting.

Since the purpose of the dinner was to discuss their upcoming nuptials, the people in attendance included both of their parents as well as his son Raymond. He had him with Caroline. The little guy was one when they divorced so he was four now.

“Why don’t we pick November 2nd as the wedding date? It’s an auspicious date. Andrew’s mom, Old Mrs Pierce said smilingly. Jenna’s mom nodded happily, adding, “I was going to suggest that day as well, it is certainly meant to be. Andrew, Jenna, are you both satisfied with the date?”

“Of course. Arrangements have always been left in the parent’s capable hands.” Jenna said bashfully. “ I fine with any date you choose,” Andrew shrugged.

Old Mrs Pierce clasped Jenna’s hand in hers happily “then the date is set. We can now put all our attention on the wedding preparation now. Jenna, God is still gracious towards me because you will finally be my daughter in law and part of our family. I feel so fulfilled now.”

Jenna practically grew up in front of her. She was very fond of Jenna’s personality, character and ability. She had been urging Andrew to marry Jenna so she could be part of the Pierce Family, and now her wish was about to be fulfilled. There was another woman at the table whose wish was also about to come true and that was Jenna Smith.

Eventually, Andrew Pierce was within her grasp. He is finally mine. The man was going to be hers at last. Right at that moment, the glass of juice Raymond held in his hands fell and shattered. He also somehow managed to splash his shirt with juice.

“Ray, you have got to be more careful,” Old Mrs Pierce scolded lightly. “Ray, are you hurt?” Jenna moved close to Raymond with a handkerchief to wipe the juice stain off his shirt but he quickly scurried into his father’s arms, avoiding her completely. Jenna’s hands hung awkwardly in the air.

“I’ll go get him cleaned up,” Andrew said as he carried his son to the bathroom. In the bathroom, Andrew set his son down on the sink counter. Raymond stared intently at his swaying legs, his brain churning. He suddenly slapped away his father’s hands that were dabbing the juice out of his shirt.

“What’s wrong?” Andrew said softly as he stared at his son, “you’ve been acting up since the dinner began, is something bothering you?” Raymond lowered his head wordlessly. When Andrew lifted his son’s face, he saw a pair of determined eyes staring back at him.

Andrew frowned and asked, “Raymond, tell me what is wrong.”

“I don’t like Auntie Jenna,” his son replied directly.

He understood his son’s feelings immediately.

“You don’t want me to get married to her?”

“….” The boy was silent so Andrew took that as a silent acknowledgment.

“Why don’t you like her?” Andrew continued his line of questioning, “She has been extremely nice to you, hasn’t she?”

One of the reasons Andrew agreed to the marriage was because he had seen how good Jenna treated his son. He didn’t actually mind who he ended up with but if he had to choose, he might as well find one that could be a good stepmother to his son. Jenna was the best candidate because his whole Family especially Old Mrs Pierce, approved of her and she was kind to Raymond.