Aurora and Julian embraced each other happily, feeling incredibly fortunate to have met such a man in her lifetime. It was as if all the flowers in the world bloomed at once and the sunlight poured down just on her. People were cheering, clapping, and offering their blessings. Of course, there was one exception; Lindsay glared fiercely at the couple and declared, “I will never bless you!”
before running off, her skirt billowing behind her.
Joaquin had just arrived and was about to explode in anger at the scene before him, but then he noticed the happy smile at the corner of Julian’s mouth. He hadn’t seen his son smile so genuinely since his mother had passed away.
“If you don’t want this son, I’m quite fond of him as my grandson-in-law,” Oswaldo chimed in sharply.
“Humph,” Joaquin snorted.
The Gilpin family was also restless.
“Mr. Alvarez, he was engaged to my daughter, and now he proposes to someone else in public. Where does that leave my daughter’s dignity? Or do you think our Gilpin family is just for amusement?”
they protested.
“Mr. Gilpin, I’m truly sorry. It seems we need to discuss this matter again. The youth today are rebellious; it’s not like in our time when children simply obeyed their parents,” Joaquin conceded to reality.
Now that Julian and Aurora were engaged in front of so many people, and they were clearly in love, how could he interfere? “But you owe the Gilpin family an explanation, or this isn’t over!”
Lindsay’s grandfather demanded angrily.
“Mr. Gilpin, today is my grand celebration. Please, give me this courtesy and let’s not dwell on these unpleasant matters. Let the younger generation sort it out themselves,” Oswaldo quickly interjected.
“Hmph, you’re just happy to have such a fine grandson-in-law,” Mr. Gilpin commented, his agreement to the marriage largely due to Julian’s exemplary qualities.
He wasn’t as mercenary as Joaquin; he valued a person’s potential over their family background, and his judgment was not misplaced. Moreover, his granddaughter truly liked Julian. It was a match blessed by heaven, which he had agreed to, and now, losing Julian as a grandson-in-law was not easy for him.
“This is their fate; what can our insistence do? Come, let’s have a drink; it’s been a long while since we last gathered. We are all nearing the end; let the younger ones have their blessings,” he suggested.
Today, Oswaldo was in high spirits and played the peacemaker, leading the trio to drink together. Aurora stepped out of Julian’s embrace, her face flushed with embarrassment as many raised their glasses in congratulations.
“Congratulations, Mr. Barnet, you’ve finally realized your dream. When do you plan to marry?”
someone asked.
Julian smiled softly, his arm around Aurora’s waist.
“I’d like to get married soon, but my Little Bunny thinks it’s still a bit early. We’ll wait for her to graduate, then get married.”
“How enviable,” some murmured, envious or jealous. Aurora, a bit embarrassed, gently pushed Julian away.
“Julian, I need to step out for some air.”
“Alright.”
Julian, knowing she was still shy by nature, let her go.
Ivy and Susan exchanged glances and quietly disappeared into the crowd. Aurora had only intended to get some fresh air in the back garden and return, but suddenly she heard a child crying and followed the sound.
It was unclear who the fallen child belonged to, but Aurora helped him up and dusted him off.
“Where’s your mom? Shall I take you to her?”
“My mom ran away with another man. She doesn’t want me anymore. People say I don’t have a mom and they pushed me down,” the little boy sobbed.
Aurora’s heart softened. She understood this feeling more than anyone, having also lost the most important person in her life.
“Sweetheart, your mom didn’t leave you. Be good, and one day she’ll come back. You still have your dad, right?”
Aurora said gently.
“You’re so nice. I wish you were my mom,” the little boy said, smiling broadly as he clutched the corner of Aurora’s clothes.
Seeing him smile through his tears, Aurora smiled too.
“I hope to have a child as adorable as you one day,” she said, patting his head.
“This is candy my dad gave me. I want to give it to you,” the little boy said, pulling a piece of candy from his pocket for Aurora.
Aurora had never seen such candy before and, rarely eating sweets herself, she didn’t think much of it and accepted the candy gently, “Thank you. How about I treat you to some cake and we go find your dad?”
“Okay, but why don’t you try the candy? It’s really tasty,” the little boy insisted eagerly.
With no reason to be suspicious of a young child, Aurora ate the candy to appease him, though it tasted bland.
“Is it good?”
Facing the boy’s curious look, she nodded, “It’s tasty.”
“Then you have to finish it all.”
“Okay, I’ll finish it,” Aurora said, crunching the candy.
“There, all done. Let’s go find your dad.”
However, the boy pulled away from her grip.
“I just remembered where my dad is. I’ll go to him first, thank you.”
He ran off like the wind.
Aurora found it strange; the boy’s sudden change in behavior was quite stark. But children are like that, she thought, without dwelling on it further.
Unbeknownst to her, as the boy ran to the corner, he said, “I gave her the candy. Where’s the money?”
His face bore none of his earlier innocence.
“It’s all here. Don’t show up again,” Ivy handed him a stack of cash, which the boy counted expertly, more so than many adults.
“Good, it’s all here. I’ll be off then.”
“Where did you find this actor? He even fooled Aurora, that sly fox,” Ivy asked.
“As long as there’s money, even ghosts will grind corn, let alone finding someone to act. Let’s start the next part of the plan,” Susan said coldly.
“I didn’t expect you to be more impatient than me.”
“Of course, I want to show him how his saintly woman enjoys herself with other men,” a dark look crossed Susan’s face.
“You’re insane, way beyond me. How did you find so many beggars, just thinking of their smell is unbearable, they mustn’t have touched a woman in ages,” Ivy laughed heartily.
“Alright, the drug’s effect should be wearing off now,” Susan commanded the next step of the plan.
Aurora was about to head back to the hall when she encountered a strange woman.
“Miss Montgomery, my earrings are missing. Have you seen them?”