Pursuing Her

Unable to keep her thoughts to herself any longer, Charmaine asked Yale, “Do you think Clayton harbors ulterior motives? Does he truly want to marry our Willow?”

I can't help feeling uneasy. No matter how I look at it, Clayton doesn't seem to have feelings for Willow at all.

“What's with that wild imagination of yours? Regardless of how terrible the Zales are, they're still an upper-class family. What could they possibly want with Willow? For goodness' sake, stop letting your imagination run away with you. No matter how much Mr. Tristan likes Sophie, he isn't willing to marry her. Isn't that as clear as day now that Mr. Zales and Willow are getting engaged?” he replied. That'll be the pride of our family, and I'll be able to hold my head high in the future.

After a brief pause, he continued, “To be honest, I thought at first that Willow had lost. After all, Mr. Tristan never paid any attention to anyone. But now that I've seen how he treats Sophie—the way he keeps hiding and being secretive about their relationship—it clearly shows he's only fooling around. Wealthy men are all the same.”

It's a joke to think that one can get into a serious relationship with these capitalists. As long as we can gain something from them, that's enough. There's really no need to care about other things.

“Is that really how it is?” Charmaine was still a little worried. Nonetheless, now that Willow had her heart set on being with Clayton, she knew it would be pointless for her to say anything more.

Clayton's and Willow's engagement ceremony was widely reported in the media. Naturally, that was partly Clayton's doing.

As for Willow, she basked in the widespread attention and did not feel he was using her in the slightest.

Meanwhile, Josiah flew into a rage when he found out about it.

“Morgan, call Yale and tell him to bring Willow back immediately!” he roared. No matter what, Willow is still my granddaughter. How is it that I'm completely in the dark about her engagement? I can tell that Clayton Zales isn't a decent person. How could she get engaged to a man with ill intentions like him?

“I'll go and call him now. Just be careful not to get so upset that it affects your health,” said Morgan.

Getting mad now won't do any good and will only be detrimental to his health. Ms. Willow has always been like this. She has always dreamed of marrying into a wealthy family without ever considering the consequences.

“Go and make the call. I'm fine.” Josiah was infuriated, so he kept insisting on calling them and telling them to return.

Yale was watching the engagement ceremony when Morgan called. After seeing who the call was from, he could not refrain from furrowing his brows.

However, the thought of Josiah's wrath still made him go to one side to answer the call.

“Mr. Yale, Old Mr. Tanner would like you to bring Ms. Willow back and call off today's engagement,” Morgan said, conveying Josiah's wishes accordingly.

Yale frowned upon hearing that.

“Tell my father what's done is done and that he shouldn't concern himself with this matter,” Yale answered bluntly.

“Mr. Yale, you know how Old Mr. Tanner's temper's like. There'll be serious consequences if you don't return now.” Morgan was genuinely not trying to threaten them and was only telling them what would happen.

However, Yale grew enraged. “Do you still have any respect for me? Do you think I'm particularly useless? Is that why you're always threatening me? Is Sophie the only person you care about now?”

Whatever it is, I'm still a Tanner in blood and technically his superior. How can he, a mere butler, talk to me like this?

“I apologize if you think I'm being rude, Mr. Yale. Nonetheless, Old Mr. Tanner disapproves of this marriage, so you should come back soon.”

“We'll return once the engagement ceremony is over.” With that, Yale hung up and turned to go back into the venue.

When Charmaine saw the look of anger on his face, she could not help but ask, “What's wrong? Who was the call from?”

“It was Morgan. My father opposes this marriage and wants us to bring Willow back now.”

“Now? But there are so many people here. Wouldn't the Zales family get offended if we take her away now?” she responded. There were also many media present, and she fretted over how they would explain things to them.

“That's enough. You don't need to bother about this. We'll leave after the ceremony. We can't afford to upset the Zales family at this point, no matter what. Otherwise, how will we live our days in peace after this? As Willow's biological parents, as long as we have no objections to this marriage, it doesn't matter if Dad opposes it,” Yale replied firmly.

Hearing that, Charmaine felt slightly more at ease.

My only hope now is for this union to proceed without any hiccups and that we can all get what we want. That's all I ask for. As for the other matters, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Meanwhile, Morgan dared not tell Josiah what happened after the call ended abruptly. Josiah was so short-tempered that Morgan was sure the former would not be able to take it if he told him what Yale said.

“When are they coming back?”

“You should get some rest first, Old Mr. Tanner. What do you feel like eating? I'll get the kitchen staff to whip it up for you,” Morgan replied. Since Josiah was getting on in years, the doctor had advised having small but frequent meals, and it was time he ate.

“I asked you when they're coming back.” With things as they were, Josiah was in no mood to eat. All he wanted was to resolve the matter.

Hence, Morgan had no choice but to reply, “They'll be back soon.”