Chapter 642
Old Mrs. Wilkinson, who had overheard the remark, smacked him hard on the back
of the head. “You little brat, what kind of nonsense are you spouting now?”
Being from a traditional generation, she desperately wanted her granddaughter’s relationship to be smooth sailing.
Hearing her grandson spew such pessimistic garbage felt like a bad omen.
The older woman hadn’t held back, delivering a resounding smack that almost made Rowan break into a full grin.
Rex winced, rubbing his head as he desperately tried to defend himself. “Grandma, I’m just reminding him that he needs to treat Vera right.”
“Rowan is a hundred times more reliable than you. He doesn’t need your reminders,”
Old Mrs. Wilkinson fired back, firmly taking Rowan’s side. After praising him, she turned her attention to the man in question. “We’re leaving our girl in your and your grandmother’s capable hands.”
“Oh, nonsense,”
Janice Garrett, who had been listening with a slightly confused smile, quickly chimed in. “Elissa is the one carrying the baby for nine months. She’s doing all the hard work. It’s our absolute duty to take care of her.”
Her words were completely sincere.
Old Mrs. Wilkinson felt a wave of profound relief that her granddaughter had found such a reasonable and loving family.
Amidst the lighthearted banter, Laurel walked out with her purse, and the Wilkinsons finally made their departure.
As their car slowly pulled out of Rivercross Residence and merged onto the main road, Laurel turned to look at the unusually quiet Suzanne.
“Missing Vera already?”
Suzanne tore her gaze away from the window and shook her head. “I’m just thinking about how redibly hard her life has been up until now.”
“The worst of the storm has passed,”
Laurel said firmly, her tone hovering between a statement of fact and a solemn vow. “From now on, things are only going to get better for her.”
She swore she would never let Vera suffer another day in her life.
As for the people who had wronged her in the past, Laurel was already settling those debts, one by one.
Old Mrs. Wilkinson let out a heavy sigh. “I just wonder what Rowan is thinking. When is he planning to finally make it official and marry Vera?”
She turned to glare at Rex in the backseat. “Do you have any idea?”
Rex blinked.
He muttered under his breath, “The guy would drag her to the altar tomorrow if he could.”
Old Mrs. Wilkinson’s hearing wasn’t what it used to be. “What did you say?”
“Mom,”
Laurel had a different perspective than the older woman. “There’s no rush for them to get married. At the very least we need to officially welcome Vera back into our family first, so she can have a proper wedding from her own home.
II
Furthermore, she wanted to ensure her sister had a solid foundation and plenty of security before tying the knot.
Rowan seemed like a great guy right
now, and she genuinely hoped the
two of them would stay deeply in
love forever. But people changed, and the future was never guaranteed.
Rex enthusiastically agreed. “I second that.”
“You just want to milk the situation for all it’s worth,”
Jesse Wilkinson pointed out dryly from the side.
Even though Rex and Rowan were thick as thieves, Rowan’s sharp tongue usually left Rex utterly defeated.
Now that he finally had a chance to make Rowan suck up to him, there was zero chance he was going to let it slide.
After seeing their guests off, Janice and Rowan turned and walked back inside.
“I really never expected the Wilkinsons to care so much about Elissa,”
Janice couldn’t help but marvel. “That girl has such a good heart, she just naturally draws good people to her…”
Rowan glanced toward the living room before calmly cutting in, “What do you think of Elissa’s family?”
Janice froze. “What family?”
“The Wilkinsons.”
Rowan paused briefly before summarizing the entire truth in a few succinct sentences.
Janice stood rooted to the spot.
It took her a solid minute to process the bombshell revelation before she slapped knew there was her thigh something off about the Wilkinsons today! That explains everything!”
“You little brat, why didn’t you give me a heads-up? Oh dear, I didn’t say anything inappropriate, did I? Did I host them properly?”
The older woman immediately started agonizing over every detail of the evening.
She was terrified that if she had offended them in the slightest, they might just pack up her granddaughter-in-law and great-granddaughter and take them away.