Dorothy looked up and met Credence’s tender eyes.
Under everyone’s watchful eyes, she felt anxious and her face turned red. She wanted to break free of his embrace, but he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his embrace again.
Credence narrowed his eyes, then used his free hand to lift her chin up, looking both rascally and gentlemanly. He leaned in close to her ear, satisfied at her blushing face. He chuckled lightly and said, “Mrs. Scott, are you still mad at your husband?”
Dorothy’s head was forced up, and she met his eyes. His handsome appearance fell into her eyes, and she could almost feel him oozing tenderness.
He had perfect jaws, a sexy Adam’s apple, and a cold and slender neck that was covered by his white shirt…
The longer she stared at him, the more she felt like her heart was aflutter, but it was mixed in with a feeling of grievance. Her eyes felt a little sour.
She took a deep breath and pushed away her inappropriate thoughts, then pushed his hand away with a frown. “Credence, you know why I’ve been mad at you.”
He wasn’t bothered by her rejection. He wrapped a hand around her waist again and said, “You’re not even happy to be reconciled with your biological mother?”
Was she happy to be reconciled with Leilani?
A little bit.
However, she was not that delighted.
At least, in comparison with Leilani, who was shedding tears of joy, Dorothy was extremely calm. She was so calm that her heart didn’t even race.
Hence, Dorothy shook her head honestly. “I wouldn’t exactly say that I’m overjoyed, but it’s definitely different from what I expected.”
If Leilani did not look exactly like her, she would never think that they were related.
They were mother and daughter, and they were related by blood. Shouldn’t they be connected in some way?
However, how was it possible that she was able to stay so calm in front of Leilani?
“You have never seen her before, it’s natural for you to feel distant. You will feel better after getting along with her for a little while longer.” Credence hugged Dorothy and comforted her in a low voice.
“Let’s hope that’s true.” Dorothy did not give a definite answer.
At this moment, melodious music rang out. He held her in a gentlemanly fashion and led her onto the dance floor before inviting her to dance.
When they started dancing, Dorothy’s face and lips inadvertently brushed against Credence’s warm, sturdy chest, and her heart pounded uncontrollably.
The two of them cooperated nicely together and finished the dance while the crowd watched with envious eyes and applause.
This was Dorothy’s first time being at the center of attention, and she felt a little self-conscious. She took a step back and moved out of the limelight, then said to Credence softly, “She’s the surprise you wanted to give me, right? I may not be as delighted as you would have expected, but I still want to thank you.”
“Thank you for putting so much effort in preparing this banquet for me.”
“This isn’t the only one. There is still another surprise.”
Credence didn’t let her go. He pulled her into his embrace again, his voice surprisingly gentle. “You were so beautiful when we were dancing that I almost couldn’t resist kissing you!”
He was shameless enough to flirt with her in public, and Dorothy’s face burned. She didn’t say anything in response, and turned to play with Belle to avoid meeting his eyes.
Benjamin had kept a hand on Belle the whole time, and her eyes shone at the sight of her parents dancing so beautifully. “Mommy, you and Daddy looked amazing just now! I almost fainted.”
She paused, then looked at Leilani, who was sending her friendly looks. She pouted, then asked, “Mommy, Mr. Scott said that she’s my grandma, is it true? What’s a grandma? I’ve never heard of a grandma before.”
Err…
For a moment, Dorothy didn’t know how to explain the concept of a grandmother to Belle. She couldn’t resist caressing Belle’s head and laughing at the sight of her staring at her curiously. “A grandma isn’t a thing, it’s the way you address someone. Actually, I’ve never met her before, and this is our first meeting.”
“So, I really don’t know how to explain all of this to you. In the future, after we get along well with her, you will understand that having a grandmother is the same as having another person who loves you.”
Leilani had been in the complex entertainment industry for a long time, and she’d long since mastered the ability to quickly adapt to situations.
On the surface, she looked like a calm, elegant, composed woman, but she’d actually been listening in on Dorothy’s conversation with Belle.
Once Dorothy finished talking, she took the opportunity to get close to Belle. She slowly squatted down and looked at Belle at eye-level with a gentle smile. “You must be Belle, right? What a beautiful little girl you are! I’m your Mommy’s mother. Can you call me Grandma?”
Leilani’s smile was impeccable and filled with the doting kindness of an elder, but Belle just felt like she hated this woman who looked like her Mommy but was much older. She huffed unhappily and said, “I don’t know you, so I’m not going to call you that.”
Leilani did not expect a six-year-old girl to be so hard to deal with. Her eyes flashed with displeasure, but soon, it disappeared.
She stared at Belle, who was so obviously a carbon copy of Dorothy. Her smile gradually stiffened.
Not only was Dorothy indifferent towards her, but even this brat with leukemia was also unkind to her.
It seemed that this family reunion would not be as simple as she hoped it to be.
Dorothy looked down at Belle who was suddenly throwing a tantrum and frowned. “Belle, I taught you to be polite whenever we’re outside, remember?”
At Dorothy’s darkened face, Belle knew that she’d angered Dorothy and obediently apologised to Leilani. “I’m sorry!”
“You must not do that again in the future.”
Under the bright lights, Dorothy’s beauty wasn’t hampered by her light anger.
She still looked gentle, though she was frowning slightly, and her fair neck was vaguely visible through her hair.
Her skin was fair, and it made Credence’s heart throb. He strode over to them and pulled her into his embrace. His gaze swept over to Benjamin, and he said, “Let’s begin.”
“Sure thing, Mr. Scott.”
Benjamin nodded, passed Belle over to Dorothy, then took a microphone from Jonathan, who’d popped over just at the right moment. He then passed it to Credence.
Credence took the microphone and walked over to a stage, with Dorothy in tow. He abruptly leapt up.
In that instant, from Dorothy’s viewpoint, he stood in the limelight and placed the microphone by his mouth. He was the perfect gentleman, and he said with a gentle smile, “Thank you, everyone, for being here tonight. Now, I want to announce two important matters about myself.”
“Firstly, my wife, Dorothy, has finally been reunited with her biological mother; secondly, I’d like to take the opportunity to officially propose to my wife!”
Was he going to propose to her in front of everybody?
Dorothy’s body trembled violently, and her heart felt like it’d been soaked in a jar full of honey and vinegar. It was a bittersweet moment.
She’d been looking forward to him loving her as much as she loved him for so many years.
Oddly, though he was announcing his love for her to the world, she felt like she was dreaming. She was completely taken by surprise, and she couldn’t bring herself to believe that this was happening.
This was especially true when Credence jumped down from the stage and knelt on one knee in front of everyone to propose to her. She thought it was really incredible, and a look of disbelief could be seen in her eyes.
She got dizzy and felt like she was carried to the skies by the wind. It was all too good to be true.
“Credence, do you know what you are doing right now?”
Dorothy stared at him. She thought that he’d lost his mind, and maybe his nerves had been wrongly connected during his craniotomy.
Her disbelief made Credence feel like he was suffocating.
He’d hurt Dorothy over and over again, to the point that her trust in him was at a breaking point.
No matter how sincere he was, her first reaction would never be excitement and joy. It would always be an excessive shock.
However, wasn’t he the one who caused this pain and engraved these reactions in her?
Jonathan, ever the troublemaker, hid behind the crowd and called out, “Credence, Dorothy isn’t agreeing to your proposal because you’re not sincere enough!”
Credence turned back and shot him a malicious look. Jonathan immediately shut his mouth and backed up to hide behind Marvin.
Marvin snorted. “Can’t you just quietly watch from the sidelines? You just have to poke at Credence right when he’s pissed off. With his personality, I guarantee that he’ll make sure you’ll never end up with Minnie.”
At this, Jonathan immediately wailed, “F*ck, Marv, I made a huge mistake! I just did it in the heat of the moment. You have to help me out here! The rest of my life depends on you!”
“Get lost!”
Marvin kicked Jonathan away.
Credence slowly looked up and raised an eyebrow at Dorothy. He said in a low voice that only she could hear, “Babe, if you don’t agree soon, I’ll make sure that you won’t be able to get out bed every night.”
How could Dorothy possibly refuse at such a special (sexual) threat?
“Mommy, hurry up, say yes to Daddy!” Belle cheered them on happily.
In the end, thanks to Belle’s cameo, Dorothy glared at Credence before finally accepting a huge diamond ring from him.
It was a 50-carat diamond ring, and it was huge!
Jonathan suddenly popped out again and teased, “Dorothy, that diamond ring of yours is the only one in the world. Credence is giving you everything he has!”
“There’s no need for you to give me everything!”
As Dorothy spoke in a low voice, she reached out to pinch Credence on an inconspicuous part of his arm, a fake smile on her face.
“You’re Mrs. Scott, and it’s only right that you have everything I have, including myself!”
Credence loved seeing her like this. A trace of joy flashed in his eyes.
His sweet talk was too much for her, and Dorothy couldn’t help looking down on herself for giving in to him so easily. At the same time, she couldn’t help wishing that he could sweet talk more, much, much more.
The proposal was followed by a grand buffet.
The place was filled with fine wine and delicious food, and a delightful and happy atmosphere filled the place.
Within the harmonious atmosphere, no one noticed that there was a tiny camera behind a curtain. It had recorded everything that just happened.