After Anna drove Helen to the Howard family’s mansion, she accidentally realized that Raymond was there as well.
Valeria invited Helen to sit down while Raymond took his nephews to the children’s play area in the garden with Anna.
Helen didn’t waste any more time. “Valeria, I came to talk to you about Abbie. She asked Leonard to come to our house and told us that she would marry him. I didn’t agree with her decision, but she adamantly went against us. It made me so anxious that I came to you. Valeria, can you help me persuade her?”
Valeria had already known Abbie’s decision from the start, and she said after thinking for a while, “You know how temperamental she is. Since she has decided to do this, I’m afraid it will be useless to persuade her. On the contrary, it will make her go against you even more.”
“Then what should we do? I can’t just stand by and watch her marry a man who already has a child. You said that Leonard isn’t a good guy as well. I knew that he saved Abbie and I can give him money or something else to thank him, but I don’t agree with Abbie marrying him.”
“I know what you mean. Don’t worry too much, let me think about it.” Valeria pretended to think for a while and said, “I think you can pretend to agree to Abbie’s marriage with Leonard and state a few conditions. You can tell Leonard that you’ll only agree if he meets your requirements.”
“This… this is too much, isn’t it?” Helen felt that listing out her requirements like this was not in line with her status, so she didn’t want to do it.
Valeria advised, “No one can stop Abbie if you don’t do this, and neither can I. Being the bad guy means nothing if you really consider Abbie’s marriage with Leonard and her happiness.”
Helen was still hesitant, so Valeria said, “Leonard is not a good person and he has played around with countless women. Although he saved her, he has an ulterior motive. You’ll be digging her grave if you don’t stop this marriage. Auntie, I know that you are not a snobbish person and you don’t want to do something like this. But I’m afraid that you have no choice but to do this.”
Helen sighed. “What kind of conditions would be difficult for Leonard?”
“Ask Leonard to change half of the properties under his name to Abbie’s as a betrothal gift. Also, he has to give Abbie an extremely grand wedding and everything has to be of the highest standard.”
“What if Leonard agrees to everything?” asked Helen.
“You can delay the wedding date if that happens.”
“Valeria, what if Abbie doesn’t change her mind even after I do all that?”
“Don’t worry, that won’t happen. Just do as I say and I’ll think of a way to make Abbie change her mind after I show her Leonard’s true colours. Trust me!”
Helen agreed after she heard that. “Okay, I’ll do as you say.”
Helen got up and she wanted to go home after the discussion, only to find that Anna was not there. “Where is Anna?”
“She and my brother took the two children to the park, I’ll call her.”
When Anna came back a few moments after Valeria called her, her lips looked a little red.
Helen asked her curiously, “Why do your lips look so swollen?”
“It’s nothing.” Anna’s expression was awkward and her gaze was evasive, which made Helen feel even more bewildered. “Anna, did something happen?”
Anna blushed and said, “Auntie, aren’t we going home? Let’s go now!”
Not long after Helen and Anna left, William came back and asked, “Where’s the children?”
“They’re playing with their uncle in the amusement park.”
“Aren’t you worried that something will happen when they’re with Raymond?” William said as he walked out, “I don’t know what he’ll do to them.”
Valeria followed William to the park and told him about Helen’s visit as they walked.
William gave her a few words of praise. When the two of them arrived at the park, they could hear Cade and Santhos’ loud and clear laughter.
When the two of them went in and took a look, they saw Cade and Santhos lying in the sand as they played with their toys.
The two of them were having so much fun that their hair was drenched in sweat and their bodies were covered in sand.
Raymond was sitting by the side as he played with his phone. William snorted and said, “See? Didn’t I tell you that he’s unreliable?”
Raymond turned to look at William when he heard his voice. “Aren’t you at the company? Why are you here?”
“Can’t I come back and take a look ar them?” William argued.
Cade and Santhos stopped playing when they saw their parents and stumbled over.
Valeria saw that they were dirty, so she took a wet towel and wiped their faces.
Cade was thirsty and he said that he wanted to drink some water, so Valeria handed over his water tumbler.
After drinking the water, he reached out and grabbed Valeria’s hand. “Mom… Uncle… Aunt…”
He didn’t really know how to speak yet, so he kept making gestures while he was talking. Valeria thought he was asking about Anna, so she immediately told him, “Auntie Anna went back home, we can visit her and play with her next time.”
Cade shook his head and tried to explain, “Uncle… Auntie…”
He gestured again with his little hands as he spoke, which made Valeria look at him in confusion because she didn’t know what he was trying to say.
“Honey, what is he trying to say?”
William squatted down and said, “What are you trying to tell us? You can speak slowly.”
Cade tried to act out his words, but he still couldn’t explain them clearly. Then, he reached out and kissed Valeria on the lips before he continued, “Uncle, Auntie…”
Before Valeria could figure it out, William sneered and said, “Raymond, how can you and Anna kiss in front of my son?! That’s too much!”
Valeria also came to her senses after hearing this. When she recalled how red and swollen lips Anna’s lips were before she left, she glared at Raymond and said, “Don’t you know that children will see it? Can’t you do it without them around?”
Raymond laughed awkwardly. He thought that the two kids didn’t know how to speak yet, so he kissed Anna without a care in the world. However, he didn’t expect that Cade would convey what he did to William and Valeria like this.
Valeria was annoyed as well. “When are you going to get married? Don’t tell me you’re going to keep dating her like this!”
“I’ll visit the Anna’s family soon.”
William sneered and said, “Who the hell do you think you are?! Do you think you’re qualified to do such a thing? You’re already an adult, but don’t you know that you should ask your father to go with you instead?”
Raymond blushed. “Weren’t you and Valeria the same…”
“Can you be more shameless? How can you compare with my husband? Besides, your situation is completely different from mine.” Valeria retorted. Raymond also considered the difference in capabilities between himself and William. He had no achievements at all, but William was the president of Wolf Group. He then massaged his temples and said, “Then I’ll tell Dad to go with Grandpa to visit Anna’s family with me.”
William nodded. “That’s more like it. Hurry up and carry on with your business. Remember, don’t do those things in front of my sons in the future!”