Chapter 85
Chapter 85
In the grand living room of the McAdams Manor.
"Aria, are you sure you want to marry Hansen?" Earl asked, frowning at Aria, who was sitting on the opposite couch. He was gripping a newspaper in his hand, and his face was as pale as a ghost.
"Dad, I love him. I must marry him." Aria's eyes were red and swollen. She replied with certainty, "Dad, I have been with him for so many years. We have so many memories together and I love him. Why can't I marry him? Where else would I be able to find such a good husband like him in A city?"
Aria was in denial, and was deeply unhappy. She was determined to make Hansen her husband no matter what.
"Alas." Earl shook his head, sighed. Then he said as he handed the newspaper to Aria., "You better take a good look at this for yourself. It's your decision after all. Don't blame me for not giving you a head's up."
After Aria took the newspaper and looked at it, she said casually, "Dad, I know about this. The paparazzi have been taking a lot of pictures of him and his ex-wife together these days. What about it? He has no feelings for her anymore. In fact, he loathes her, and besides, they are already divorced."
"Aria, how do you know that Hansen does not have feelings for Jenna? Look at this photo. This is what a happy couple looks like. They are smiling, looking all lovey-dovey. How can you tell that he hates her?" Earl's eyes were dead- serious. He looked at his smitten daughter and felt a little heartbroken for her.
If Hansen loved his daughter, would he bear to hurt her? Would he even refuse to label their relationship? This was not gentlemanly at all. If a man did this, there was only one explanation: he was either incompetent, or he didn't love the woman at all. However, Hansen was not incompetent,
so it must be the latter. He, as an observer, could see this as clear as day. However, his daughter who was deeply in love with him, could not see this.
Through his conversation with Hansen, he understood his intentions. All these were just an excuse. He knew that he did not want his daughter to get married. He was the Mayor of City A, yet his daughter wanted to marry Hansen as his second wife. He was furious at the thought of it. His excuse was that Grandma Richards opposed the marriage, but Earl didn't think so. Grandma Richards can disapprove of their marriage, but Hansen was the one marrying her. If he loved her and wanted to marry her, he would do everything in his power to make it happen. He wouldn't hesitate at all.
A man like Hansen was smart, arrogant and would dare to do anything he wanted to do. If he put his mind to something, no one would be able to stop him. However, with regards to his marriage with Aria, he adopted a state of disregard, which further angered Earl.
As the Mayor of A city, the McAdams family was considered a rich and powerful family. Furthermore, Hansen was a divorcee. His daughter was smart and beautiful, which was more than enough for him. On the other hand, Hansen was not very enthusiastic about their marriage. Earl was embarrassed as his family had to initiate the topic repeatedly despite being the bride's family. Was his daughter so mean that no one wanted to be with her?
That was why he forced Aria to come home with them that night after going over for Grandma Richard's birthday celebration.
He did this for several reasons. First of all, he wanted to give Aria a chance to calm down and let her think through Hansen's motive. He was trying to persuade her against marrying Hansen, at least until Hansen proposed to her himself. If Hansen loved her, he would know what to do.
As a matter of fact, he did not want his daughter to marry such an outstanding man. That was not a good thing for women. Secondly, he wanted to try to change Grandma Richard's negative
perception of his daughter. NôvelDrama.Org exclusive content.
There were not many wise elders who would refuse to change their minds once in the presence of Mayor McAdams. Besides, his daughter's marriage to Hansen would only boost the reputation of the Richards family.
Moreover, he wanted to save his daughter from embarrassment. After all, a bride's family could not always obey the groom's family. It would only bring shame to the family. That was the reason why he had asked his daughter to go home with them that night. He wanted to know how Hansen would react.
However, he was disappointed by his actions. Not only did Hansen not take the initiative to meet up with his daughter, but he recently saw a lot of pictures of him and his ex- wife together in the newspapers. What did it mean then? What was his daughter to him?
Therefore, he decided to convince Aria to give up the idea of marrying Hansen. His daughter did not need to marry a man like that. They had a reputation to protect. He had to protect his family's honor and let Hansen take the initiative to either propose, or cancel this marriage. How could his daughter be a mistress?
"Dad, men are all so unfaithful. The news used to report about him having a woman around him, and it was obvious that it was that woman who pestered him. I have to admit she is beautiful so I am not surprised that he would take advantage of her. Once he gets bored of her, he will automatically come back to me. After all these years, I know him inside out. I'm sure that he hates that woman. They separated after a few years of marriage. I know what's going on." Aria explained, not taking it seriously.
"Aria, are you sure that Hansen truly loves you?" Earl muttered, his eyes gleaming. He stared at Aria and asked sincerely.
Aria was stunned. She raised her confused eyes and looked at Earl. Her face was a little embarrassed. After a long time, she affirmatively said, "Before Jenna came back from abroad, I was sure that Hansen had feelings for me."
"What about now?" Earl's voice became harsher.
"Now, now... I am not too sure, but aren't all men like this?" Aria hesitated. She didn't know how to answer her father. Her eyes were full of anger and dissatisfaction.
"Ridiculous," Earl shouted. He held up his gold-framed glasses with one hand and said bitterly, "Aria, I'm so disappointed in you. Do you know what love is? You're going to marry him, but you don't know whether he loves you or not. How can you not know? How can you be so sloppy when it comes to marriage? You are our only daughter. You've always got what you wanted ever since you were young. You've never got mistreated. However, you'd rather suffer all these grievances than be alone. Why can't you be more reserved? What's more important than self-respect? How about this? Let's drop this topic. Just tell me what kind of men you're into, and I will ask my secretary to go and look for one for you? What do you think?"
Earl was dead set on his decision. Nothing could make him change his mind.
Aria didn't listen but felt embarrassed and afraid. She suddenly burst into tears, choked with sobs, and hugged herself tightly. She said with tears in her eyes, "Dad, I love Hansen. I've loved him for so long. I have spent so much time and energy on him.
I will not give up, even until the day I die. He must marry me, otherwise, I will not let him go. Dad, please help me. Please let me marry into the Richards family. We are so close to the finish line. I must be his wife, I must be able to live in Richards Manor, and I must be recognized as part of their family. Otherwise, dad, I would rather die than to marry someone else."
She said while weeping continuously. "Nonsense." Earl's eyes flashed with rage. A sense of grief and annoyance rushed to his head. He almost passed out due to anger. What hurt him more was that he understood a cruel fact: his daughter's love for Hansen was deep. However, Hansen didn't love his daughter. Instead, he would rather give her the title of a mistress. His only daughter loved him with all of her heart, but he didn't care about it at all. It was too disrespectful for him.
"Earl, don't blame Aria. It's not wrong to love someone. All young people are like that. What's more, my daughter is committed when it comes to love. This kind of feeling is rare and precious. What kind of person is Hansen? How dare he look down on my daughter? How dare he treat her like this?" Georgia came and hugged Aria as she wiped the tears from her own face. She was so angry that she gnashed her teeth.
The sight of his wife and daughter in tears made Earl's heart very anxious. He stood up with a gloomy face and walked towards the balcony. He narrowed his eyes.
Ever since they brought Aria back from the Richards Manor, she had been absent-minded and sad every day, and now she was wailing as if she was dying. Earl finally understood what was going on in her mind.
However, he restricted her and did not allow her to find Hansen. He just wanted to see what Hansen's true intentions were. Unfortunately, his worst nightmare has come true!
Hansen did not have any reaction. Instead, he recently became closer to his ex-wife, completely ignoring Earl's daughter.
What should he do? He couldn't bear to see his only daughter be so devastated. As she said, she had loved Hansen for many years. He couldn't stop his daughter's love for Hansen. Was he just going to watch as his daughter threw herself at a man who had no interest in her?
Earl's heart sank, and he felt an unprecedented dilemma. In the officialdom, he was free and easy. However, he felt completely helpless this time.
By the time the sun rose, people in the Richards Manor began preparing for the day.
It was Grandma Richards, Vivian Delia's 90th birthday. Although Grandma Richards repeatedly told everyone that she just wanted to be able to pray to the ancestors and have a reunion dinner with the relatives, all the workers in the Richard Manor began to get busy.
The Richards family manor was located in the golden district of A City, and it was a large, old- fashioned garden in the modern city. It was centered on the ink garden and was surrounded by flower gardens and luscious trees. The thousand-year- old trees and all kinds of rare plants were picked from all over the world. The garden pavilions were very similar to the ancient gardens. After it was repaired a few times, and some modern elements were added, it became even more beautiful. It was like a fairytale. Some people have said that entering the Richards family manor was like entering a dream.
There was an enormous clubhouse in the middle. It was equipped with a jacuzzi, gym, and all kinds of entertainment facilities, which were exclusively for the masters of the Richards family. The Richards family did not have many descendants. Old Master Richard had two sons and two daughters. His two sons were Trevor and Claude. Claude married his second wife, and together they had Norton and Andrea. Trevor only had one child, Hansen. As for Old Master's two daughters, even though they had gotten married, they would still come back quite often. They did not like to be away from the family.
Therefore, in Grandma Richards' opinion, the descendants of the Richards family were not very prosperous. She was eager to have grandchildren.
Especially Hansen, whom she introduced to Jenna as soon as he graduated from college. She had hoped that they would get married and start a family, but things went contrary to her wishes. Her
heart had been broken by them ending their marriage.
Grandma Richards was sitting on a rocking chair in the Ink Garden, wearing a luxurious vintage robe. She was resting with her eyes closed.