Chapter 32: I Can Cancel the Engagement at Any Time
Hugo stood up abruptly, glaring at Jared with such ferocity that he seemed ready to tear him apart and devour him. His fists were clenched tight, seething with anger, “Tell me, did you threaten Tina? I’m telling you, others may fear the Farrell family, but I do not. If you dare force my daughter to marry you, even if it costs me my life, I will fight you to the end.”
Jennie nodded in agreement, “Yes, I will fight you too.”
“Cough!” Tina pulled Hugo back, whispering, “Mr. Reed, don’t get worked up. It was my own decision to get engaged to him.”
Upon hearing this, both Hugo and Jennie were shocked, taking a long time to process the information.
After a while, Jennie was the first to come to her senses, urgently saying, “Tina, didn’t you say before that you didn’t want to marry him? Why now… It must be that he threatened you, right? Don’t be afraid, tell us. Your dad and I might not be very capable, but we will never let you marry someone you don’t want to.”
After speaking, Jennie glared at Jared, “If he dared to threaten you, we’ll sue him. I don’t believe the Farrell family can be above the law, no matter how powerful they are.”
Hugo didn’t speak, but his eyes, sharp as knives, seemed ready to stab Jared to death. How dare he covet his daughter!
Jared was silent. Threaten? That had never happened.
Tina pinched the bridge of her nose, “There was no threat. I just want to get engaged.”
“This…” Hugo was at a loss for words for a moment. If Tina herself wanted to marry, he had no reason to stop her. But Jared…
His gaze fell on Jared’s legs. With his disability, could he protect Tina? The Farrell family had many rules, and Tina, who had grown up in the mountains, was unfamiliar with the etiquette of such illustrious families. What would she do if she encountered difficulties with the Farrells in the future?
Jared seemed to understand his concerns and spoke with a gentle tone, “You needn’t worry. If Miss Reed marries me, I will not let her be wronged.”
Besides, that girl didn’t seem like one who would easily suffer grievances. Her medical skills alone would earn the respect of many.
Hugo didn’t respond but looked at Tina, “Have you really thought this through?”
Tina nodded, “Yes, don’t worry. It’s just an engagement, I can cancel it at any time.”
The corner of Jared’s mouth twitched involuntarily. This girl, they weren’t even engaged yet, and she was already thinking about calling it off.
Hugo didn’t know what had happened between Tina and Jared, but he assumed that they must have grown familiar with each other over the past few days; otherwise, Tina wouldn’t have treated Jared’s sister. So he didn’t say anything more, “If you’ve decided, then I’ll listen to you.”
Still, it surprised him to learn that Tina had studied medicine, something he hadn’t known.
“The engagement will be set for ten days from now. We’ll discuss the specifics after the banquet,” Jared said, showing a clear interest in the engagement to Tina.
“Alright.” Although Hugo did not further oppose the engagement, he felt extremely uncomfortable inside. He had just been reunited with his daughter, and not even a month had passed before she was about to get engaged to someone else.
Half an hour later, Amber returned.
She entered with two boxes in her hands. She had everything Jared gave her brought over, her expression not looking good, “Mr. Farrell, everything is here. You’d better check it to avoid any disputes later.”
Jared didn’t even give her a glance, simply saying, “Nathan.”
Nathan stood up and went over to meticulously check everything.
Seeing this, Amber’s expression darkened even further.
That damned Jared! He was actually checking.
“Mr. Farrell, everything is in order,” Nathan reported after checking.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.
“Mhm.” Jared hummed in acknowledgment, then turned to Tina, “Miss Tina, I apologize for the misunderstanding earlier. Tomorrow, I will prepare a new gift and come to offer my apologies.”
“There’s no need!” Tina’s voice was flat, “This has nothing to do with you.”
“The gift must be…”
Before he could finish, Tina raised her eyes, her expression cold, and said word by word, “It has nothing to do with you!”
Jared’s words were stuck in his throat.
The atmosphere turned a bit awkward.
Even Sophia noticed.
She tilted her head and solemnly advised Jared, “Jared, this is between Miss Reed and me. If anyone should apologize, it should be me.”
Then she turned to Tina, “Right, Miss Reed?”
Tina’s lips curled slightly, “Correct.”
Sophia grinned triumphantly at Jared, “See, Jared, I matter more to Miss Reed than you do.”
Jared was silent.
Amber, seeing them laughing and talking while no one paid attention to her, clenched her fists, her facial expression almost unable to maintain its composure. Today, she had lost face in every way possible.
Just wait!
She would surely regain her ground.
She stopped looking at them and turned to leave.
Halfway through the banquet, a nanny came around with drinks, placing a glass for each person at the table.
When the glass was placed next to Tina, she looked up with a devilish smile, “I don’t drink alcohol.”
“Ah?” The nanny was momentarily stunned and then flustered, “I’m sorry, Miss Tina, I didn’t know. I will get you a drink right away.”
The nanny took the glass away in a fluster and soon brought back a beverage.
Tina held the glass, her gaze fixed on the drink within the transparent glass, her beautiful phoenix eyes slightly narrowed, the smile at the corner of her lips enigmatic.
After a moment, she downed the drink in one go.
From a distance, Amber saw her finish the drink, her eyes cold.
Minutes later, the same nanny came back to offer more drinks to everyone.
Jennie glanced at her, puzzled, “You’re being unusually diligent today, aren’t you?”
She didn’t mean anything by it; usually, whether at family gatherings or various banquets, sitting in the corner as they were, they didn’t receive this kind of attention.
Not to mention serving drinks, even when they wanted a napkin, the nannies would be too busy and ask them to get it themselves.
Today was a surprise, with the nanny coming over several times.
“Ah, I…”
The nanny immediately seemed flustered. She intended to explain but accidentally shook her hand, spilling the drink on Tina. She hastily grabbed a tissue to wipe it off Tina, “I’m sorry, Miss Tina, it wasn’t on purpose.”
Tina stood up, giving her a deep look.
The nanny, feeling guilty under her gaze, quickly said, “Miss Tina, let me take you to change your clothes.”
Tina’s lips curled slightly, “Into yours?”
The nanny was about to answer when Amber suddenly approached, “Let her change into mine. Tina, I’m sorry, they’re so clumsy. They’ve dirtied your clothes. I’ll bring a new set; you can change in the nanny room on the first floor, okay?”
“Heh~”
Jared chuckled.
He was holding a glass in one hand and resting the other on the edge of his wheelchair, his voice mocking, “The Reed family has good manners.”
Amber’s face turned red; she could not miss Jared’s sarcasm about her, the adopted daughter, acting like a spoiled young lady, and suggesting Tina, the real lady of the family, should go to the nanny room to change.
She clenched her fists, holding back her resentment, still smiling, “Tina, don’t get me wrong…”
“Show me the way.” Before Amber could finish, Tina interrupted indifferently.
“What?” Amber was momentarily taken aback.
“Aren’t you going to take me to change clothes? Let’s go?” Tina’s eyes swept over Amber, her lips always bearing a faint, inscrutable smile.
Amber felt inexplicably panicked by her smile. Had she found out?
No, that couldn’t be!
She was just a country girl from the countryside; how could she have noticed?
With that thought, Amber said no more and led Tina to the nanny room.