Chapter 26 Mr. Stafford Makes a Grand Entrance
Regarding the matter of having Evan pretend to be my boyfriend, I explained to my mother that I just wanted to resolve things quickly and avoid further entanglements with Samuel and his family. Evan was the perfect choice for this.
My mother refused without even thinking. After all, a man as outstanding as Evan wouldn’t just go along with such
nonsense.
I clung to her arm and smugly hummed. “Whether I can get him to agree or not is my skill. All you have to do is cooperate.”
Knowing me well, my mother quickly saw through to my true feelings, realizing that the man I liked was Evan. And since Evan seemed to treat me differently, he wouldn’t waste his
time with me otherwise.
She patted my head and said, “Well, if that’s the case, then give it a try.”
Ha ha. It seemed my mother was quite satisfied with the idea
of Evan as her future son–in–law. But who wouldn’t be?
I had managed to convince him to come over and pretend to be my boyfriend with a little trick. To my surprise, Evan even brought along a trunk full of gifts–not particularly expensive ones, but thoughtfully chosen, like a son–in–law visiting his
future mother–in–law.
“Oh dear! You didn’t have to bring all these gifts just to come visit!” I said cheerfully while hurrying over to help.
Evan played the role of my fake boyfriend perfectly.
affectionately pinching my nose. They’re a bit heavy. Let me carry them
And so, with Evan carrying the gifts and me clinging sweetly to his arm, we hadn’t even stepped inside when Wendy, who was in the living room, exclaimed in shock, “You… you two… Juju, aren’t you Samuel’s fiancée?”
Was she accusing me of cheating?
I immediately retorted, “Mrs. Stafford, that’s not accurate First, Samuel and I only had a verbal agreement between our parents. There was never a formal engagement between us.
“Second, on the day before the college entrance exams, Samuel, just like today, came early in the morning to break off the engagement. Have you forgotten already?
“Third, and most importantly, Samuel already has a girlfriend, doesn’t he? Any one of these three points proves that I couldn’t possibly be Samuel’s fiancée.”
“But… but…” Seeing how close I was with Evan, Wendy was flustered. “This isn’t right… you can’t just mix things up like this!
“How is it mixing things up?”
I understood what Wendy meant. Who wouldn’t want a backup plan?
Besides, my family background was much stronger than Madison’s, and Wendy always believed that Samuel was just confused and would eventually marry me. If I ended up with
Evan, he would become even more powerful.
There had been rumors that Bobby increasingly favored his younger son, Evan, and that he was likely to inherit the Stafford Group.
However, although Francis was the eldest son, he lacked
vision and was getting on in years, so his abilities were set. He could hold a high position in the Stafford Group but not
become its successor.
How could Wendy, who was jealous and powerless, be willing to accept the fact that I might become her sister–in–law since she was used to manipulating me?
“I…”
Just as Wendy was about to speak, my mother appeared after finishing her tasks upstairs in a black floral dress and high heels which made a loud noise as she came down the stairs.
Some people had a naturally imposing presence, and my mother was one of them. Without saying a word, she looked at Wendy with a calm smile, but the unspoken message in her gaze made Wendy fall silent.
“Evan’s here. Juju, why don’t you invite him to sit down and
rest?”
My mother wasted no time slipping into her role as a mother–in- law. Evan set down the gifts, nodded politely to my mom, and said in a warm voice, “I apologize for dropping by so early. I’ll make a proper visit another time.”
Tsk tsk. Their exchange was practically announcing to Wendy
that this wasn’t Evan’s first visit and that my mother was quite satisfied with him, which essentially meant that the daughter–in -law Wendy had her eye on had just slipped away.
How could she not be anxious?