Part 91

"Don't speak carelessly, Abby," Julie scolded, frustration evident in her voice. The middle-aged woman began to panic at the thought that the family of her prospective son-in-law might not show up, potentially canceling the engagement at the last minute.

"Sorry, I misspoke," Abigail replied, shrugging her shoulders.

Claire bit her lip to suppress a smile, while Gladwin deliberately flashed a mischievous grin. "But what Abigail said could happen. Maybe they've decided not to come and are canceling this engagement because the bride changed his mind at the last minute," he said nonchalantly.

"It's been an hour past our schedule, but Auntie's fiancé still hasn't shown up," Abigail complained, her makeup starting to run from the sweat. "I can barely keep it together," she muttered, making sure her voice was loud enough for her grandmother to hear. "Aunty, didn't you accidentally cause a problem that made that guy suddenly not want to marry you?" she whispered, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

"What do you mean by that?" Julie snapped, clearly irked.

"What do you mean, what do I mean, Granny? I'm not saying anything," Abigail replied evasively. "If only he were marrying Uncle Antony, none of this would be happening. Who could stand his behavior except for Uncle Antony?" she continued, feigning indifference while checking her appearance on her phone. "It's a shame I didn't get to capture this beautiful face yet. If Flavia were here, we could have a beauty contest." She added, still mumbling to herself. Gladwin struggled to hold back laughter, impressed by his niece's acting skills, while Julie grew more agitated and anxious.

"Then why don't you call your friend's dad and ask him to come here to take the place of the groom? I'm sure he'd arrive in less than five minutes and beat the record of The Flash," Gladwin quipped, and Abigail nodded enthusiastically in agreement.

Meanwhile, Claire sat quietly, listening to the banter between her uncle and cousin, occasionally glancing at her mother, who was starting to control her breathing and hold back her anger.

"Granny, did you hear that? Wouldn't it be better to call Uncle Antony and ask him to come here to replace Uncle Joshua rather than having to endure the embarrassment of telling all the guests that the engagement was canceled because the groom never arrived? I'm sure Uncle Antony wouldn't refuse your request to get engaged to Aunty C."

"Let alone just getting engaged, I'm sure he'd agree to marry Claire right here and now," Gladwin chuckled, only to be met with a fierce glare from his mother. He quickly covered his mouth with one hand. "Oops, sorry Mom. I forgot you don't want a son-in-law who's a widower with a child like Antony," he replied, a teasing tone lacing his words.

"What's wrong with Uncle Antony being a widower?" Abigail asked, furrowing her brow as she looked at her uncle. "Even if he is a widower, he's handsome and a billionaire, right? A billionaire widower looking for love—wouldn't it be better to marry him than to be gossiped about as an old maid who keeps failing to marry?" Abigail laughed, causing Gladwin to furrow his brow, seemingly contemplating her words.

"You make a good point, Abby." Gladwin immediately draped an arm around Claire's shoulders. "Just be patient, Sister. If your Josh Grint doesn't show up today, there will definitely be another opportunity for an engagement. Our mother is a fighter; she won't give up on matchmaking you with the best man in her eyes. Besides, if our neighbors or family tease you about failing to marry, that gossip will only last a month or two at most, so you shouldn't worry. You won't even hear it because you won't be living here or joining the community clubs, right, Mom?" Gladwin asked his mother.

"Stop talking, Gladwin. The Grint family would never cancel this engagement. They might just be stuck in traffic on their way here. You'll check with Harry again," Julie insisted, her voice laced with determination.

Just before Julie could leave the room, Harry and Mary entered, both wearing somber expressions.

"What's going on? What did Mr. Grint say?" Julie asked anxiously. Mary and Harry both shook their heads, looking embarrassed. "What does that expression mean, Mary?" Julie asked her daughter-in-law.

"Mr. Grint canceled the engagement unilaterally without a clear reason," Harry replied, causing Julie Hampton to glare at her son with fury.

"Is this your plan?" she accused Mary, her voice thick with emotion. "Is this your way of getting back at me for being the only one against your marriage all this time?" She shot a piercing look at Mary.

"Mom!" Harry stepped in front of his wife. "This isn't Mary's fault," he said gently to his mother, trying to defuse the tension.

"If it's not because of her, then who else? She's angry at me. She's mad because I've never been nice to her. She's upset that I keep demanding grandkids, so she's taking it all out on me and Claire by humiliating us like this," Julie accused, causing Mary to blink back tears, visibly hurt by the words.

"It wasn't Mary who insisted on matchmaking Claire with Joshua Grint. You were the one who took an interest in him first and wanted him as your son-in-law. Besides, I've been against this matchmaking from the start, just like Mary and Claire," Harry reminded her. Julie turned her accusing gaze to Claire, her brows knitting together. Instead of apologizing, she glared at Claire as if she were to blame.

"Are you—"

"Is there a problem?" A man they had hired to be the emcee for Claire's engagement party suddenly appeared. He noticed the strange tension in the room and looked at the bride-to-be, who remained silent and unresponsive.

"The groom..." Abigail said hesitantly.

"Didn't he arrive?" The emcee interrupted before Abigail could finish. Everyone furrowed their brows, looking confused at the emcee's statement. "I saw a male guest being warmly welcomed by Mr. Richard Hampton; I thought it was him..."

Immediately, Julie Hampton stormed out of the room to find Richard. Less than five minutes later, she returned, her face flushed with anger.

"Did you plan all of this on purpose?" she asked Claire sharply.

Claire frowned back at her mother. "What exactly did I plan, Mom?" she feigned confusion.

"The man is out there with his parents, and he..." Julie narrowed her eyes at Claire, taking her in from head to toe with furious eyes. "He's wearing a tuxedo that matches your dress!" she snapped.

Claire fell silent, as did everyone else in the room, while the emcee discreetly exited, sensing the rising tension.

"What's wrong with that? It might have been unintentional. After all, there are several men wearing similar colors here," Gladwin commented, trying to defuse the tension.

"No. I'm sure you all did this on purpose, and I'm convinced you're involved in this too. You're all conspiring to have this engagement canceled, aren't you?" Julie shot back, her accusations growing bolder.

"Don't say nonsense, Mom," Gladwin replied firmly.

"Then why are they here? And why is that man wearing a tuxedo that matches your dress?" Julie hissed sharply beside Claire's ear.

"That's what they call fate, Mom," Gladwin responded. "They're here because Richard invited them." He continued, "Did you forget that Antony's family has been our business partners since the late father was alive?"

Julie glared at Gladwin before turning her attention back to the door, where Arthur was calling for her.

"This is my mother, Julie. And Mom, allow me to introduce Mr. Arthur Quirino and his family. They've been our business associates since my late father's time." Richard introduced the oldest man among the two middle-aged men. Julie was forced to smile and extend her hand to greet the eldest son of Richard's business partner.

Yes, she knew she couldn't retaliate when it came to matters involving Richard.

"And I've heard what happened with the Grint family," Richard whispered in Julie's ear. "That's why I decided that Claire's engagement would continue with Antony—who was also my high school friend—or be canceled altogether." He said this with a smile that made Julie realize who was behind the failure of this engagement. "I leave the decision to you."