The Peony Pavilion private room.
Just as she reached the door, Eliza Sutton’s phone rang.
Eliza Sutton’s expression changed when she saw the number flashing on the screen. She said to Ivan Willow, "I need to take this call first."
Ivan Willow was instantly on guard. "Isla, you’re not planning to use this call as an excuse to bail on , are you?"
Eliza Sutton shot him a sidelong glance. "Do I look like I need an excuse?"
Ivan Willow shrank back. "Of course not. Isla, you have to co back, or I swear I’ll go to the Lockwood Group and cry my eyes out!"
"..." Eliza Sutton waved a dismissive hand and went to the nearby courtyard to answer her phone.
Ivan Willow shoved the door to the private room open.
Ivan Willow strode in like a little tyrant. "Old man, I’m here, and I brought my girlfriend. I guarantee that once you et her, you’ll toss that plain-faced girl aside and be on your knees, begging my girlfriend to marry ."
Master Willow snorted disdainfully. "Oh, really? I’d like to see what kind of ’outstanding’ girlfriend you’ve found. But let’s get one thing straight: if this girlfriend of yours doesn’t pass my test, you have to break up with her imdiately, get to know the granddaughter-in-law I’ve chosen for you, and give seven or eight plump grandsons!"
"No problem!" Ivan Willow said, full of confidence. "If my Isla can’t beat that holy girl, I’ll agree to marry her!"
"So where is she?"
"She’s just outside the room, on the phone. She should be in any second. I’ll go check on her."
"Don’t bother. I’ll go see for myself." Master Willow stood up. "Not just any riffraff can enter the room where I’m dining."
As he spoke, Master Willow stood up, leaning on his butler for support.
Ivan Willow remained seated, jiggling his leg and making a ’be my guest’ gesture. He was utterly confident in Eliza Sutton’s charm.
After all, Isla was the one and only woman who had dared to give him a sound beating and still make him yield.
Master Willow quickly walked out of the private room. The mont he pulled the door open, he saw Eliza Sutton, who had just finished her call, walking toward him.
Master Willow was instantly thrilled. "Granddaughter-in-law! You’re here to eat today, too? This must be fate! For us to et again like this."
"Old sir?"
"What ’old sir’? Call Grandpa." Master Willow’s face hardened. When Eliza Sutton remained silent, he imdiately looked aggrieved. "I’m already in my seventies. Can’t you even call Grandpa once?"
As he spoke, his expression turned utterly pitiful.
What could Eliza Sutton do?
She could only call him "Grandpa."
"Yes! Hearing my granddaughter-in-law call Grandpa makes my whole life worthwhile." Master Willow cheered up instantly. "Oh, by the way, my good-for-nothing grandson happens to be in the room today. No need to wait for Sunday. Let’s go see him right now."
Eliza Sutton said, "...There’s no need to be in such a hurry. I’m not prepared at all."
"Prepared for what? You’re just taking a look. When you’re picking a backup option, the face has to be up to par first. It never hurts for a girl to look at a few more options." Master Willow grabbed Eliza Sutton’s wrist. "Co, co, co! I guarantee you’ll be satisfied."
Eliza Sutton didn’t dare use any force, afraid she might make Master Willow fall, so she could only let him lead her into the private room.
Master Willow was very excited. "Grandson! Get over here! Today, I’m going to show you just how beautiful, how amazing the granddaughter-in-law I’ve chosen for you is!"
Ivan Willow was bobbing his head as he sipped his red wine. He casually glanced up, and when he saw the person Master Willow was dragging in, he did a spit-take.
Master Willow was thoroughly disgusted. "You’re a grown man, and you still act so inappropriately. Honestly, the only thing you have going for you is that face."
Master Willow doted on his grandson, so even in his disgust, he didn’t forget to advertise his grandson’s good looks.
"Grandpa, she... she..." Ivan Willow was too shocked to speak properly.
"’She’ what ’she’? This is your future wife and the granddaughter-in-law I’ve approved of!" Master Willow declared, his voice booming. "Well? The wife I found for you is great, isn’t she!"
"Grandpa, she’s the granddaughter-in-law you found for ?!" Ivan Willow finally found his voice, stamring, "But... she’s the girlfriend I brought here!"
"What?" Master Willow was astonished, but once the realization sank in, he was overjoyed. "Wonderful! This is absolutely wonderful! I knew you two were fated to be together. Excellent, truly excellent. Butler, quickly, bring the greeting gift I prepared for my granddaughter-in-law."
The butler hurried to retrieve it—a ten-carat diamond.
"Young Mistress, this is the greeting gift from the Master."
Eliza Sutton was completely bewildered. "Wait... hold on. Grandpa, the grandson you were talking about is Ivan Willow?"
"Yes."
Eliza Sutton turned to Ivan Willow. "Ivan Willow, this is your grandfather?"
"Yeah." Ivan Willow looked at Eliza Sutton with pure admiration. "Isla, can you please tell how on earth you won over my old man? I nearly cried my eyes out before, but Grandpa still insisted I marry that holy girl..."
"What ’holy girl’?" Master Willow slapped him in a fit of anger. "The person who saved was Eliza! It’s a debt of life, to be repaid with marriage. What’s wrong with having you, my grandson, repay this debt for ? Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do?"
"Grandpa, I was just trying to explain things to Isla. My Isla is so beautiful, she’s obviously not a holy girl."
Only then was Master Willow satisfied. He looked at Eliza Sutton. "Granddaughter-in-law, look, you two are clearly in love with each other. How about this? Let’s settle your matter today. You can go register your marriage so other day."
Eliza Sutton finally understood the whole situation.
It turned out the grandson Master Willow wanted her to et was Ivan Willow.
And the person Ivan Willow wanted her to pretend to be his girlfriend to reject... was her.
Eliza Sutton rubbed her temples, a headache brewing. She could hear Master Willow and the butler already starting to discuss wedding plans.
"Stop, stop, stop."
Eliza Sutton quickly cut in. Taking a deep breath, she looked at Master Willow and said, "Grandpa, my na is Eliza Sutton."
"Mm, a lovely na. As in bright, beautiful eyes and a lady as pure as autumn waters. Excellent. A fitting na for my granddaughter-in-law."
Eliza Sutton said, "...I am Shane Lockwood’s wife."
Master Willow froze. He vaguely recalled that the bride the Lockwood Family had recently married to Shane Lockwood to improve his luck was indeed the young lady from the Sutton Family.
"This... how can this be? The perfect wife I finally found for my grandson..." Master Willow was on the verge of tears.
The granddaughter-in-law he’d taken such a liking to was already taken. Who could he even complain to?
Eliza Sutton remained silent, her face impassive.
’So that’s where Ivan Willow gets his habit of crying at the drop of a hat. It’s a family trait.’
Throughout dinner, Master Willow was listless. He kept sighing as he looked at his grandson, muttering about his "poor, ill-fated child."
After dinner, as they were leaving the private room, Master Willow’s spirits suddenly lifted. "It’s alright," he said abruptly. "With a cold fish like Shane Lockwood, you definitely won’t last long with him. It won’t be too late to marry my grandson and beco my granddaughter-in-law then."
Yes, that was it.
Master Willow was particularly pleased. "Granddaughter-in-law, you should go ahead and start cultivating your feelings for my grandson now. That way, you can aim for two kids in three years right after you get married."
Eliza Sutton’s head throbbed. She was just about to tell Master Willow that she had no intention of ever marrying again for the rest of her life.
However, before she could speak, the sound of a wheelchair rolling across the floor reached them.
Reviews
All reviews (0)