Tanya was shaking. “What’s wrong with my father? He was wronged back then. He was forced into his current situation!”
Even though she was complaining about him just now, she couldn’t help but defend him when others badmouthed him.
Joel’s mother sighed and said, “Don’t be so averse to us. We are Mia’s grandparents, we won’t harm her.”
Pretty much right after she said that, though, an icy-cold voice came from the door. “The two of you don’t have to worry yourselves about this.”
Joel strode in.
The man, who had always been a wolf in sheep’s clothing, didn’t have a smile on his face at the moment. He looked at the couple in front of him very coldly and said, “Neither are you two Mia’s grandparents.”
At the sight of Joel, the couple looked a little flustered.
Joel’s mother sighed and said, “Joel, you can’t say that…”
Joel raised his eyebrows. “Didn’t the two of you already say so back when I was five? That you don’t want a son like me anymore! That you’re severing ties with me! You even wanted to kick me out of the Smiths at that time… If it weren’t for Uncle Ian, I’d probably have already starved to death.”
Joel’s father suddenly shouted angrily, “Watch the way you’re talking to us! No matter what, we are still your parents!”
Joel chuckled. He sounded a little sarcastic as he repeated, “Parents?”
His words made both his father and mother shut up.
Nora looked at them.
Although she had heard from Louis a long time ago that Joel didn’t get along with his parents, she hadn’t expected it to be this bad.
What exactly did they do to Joel to make him dislike them so much? To the extent that he would even mock them for calling themselves his parents?
Was he saying that despite being their son, they didn’t even treat him as well as Ian, who had adopted him?
While she was wondering, Joel’s mother said, “Joel, you’d better not be so ungrateful! If it weren’t for us, you would never be what you are today! Let alone inherit the Smiths!”
Joel smiled. “It’s Uncle Ian who agreed to me inheriting the Smiths, not the two of you.”
His words made both his parents choke.
Joel narrowed his fox-like eyes. “If you don’t want me to get angry, then please leave and live your own lives. Don’t ever attempt to dictate mine.”
His threat made his father choke. Then, he snorted, turned, and went out.
Joel’s mother took a deep breath and said, “Do you think I want to meddle in your affairs that much? You have no idea how many people out there secretly look down on that woman you’re marrying! Everyone is saying that she doesn’t even have an elder to give her hand away today! This wedding is no different from a joke!”
She raised her chin and said, “Doesn’t matter if you acknowledge us or not, I won’t attend such a wedding. I will never accept a daughter-in-law whose father is a criminal! Goodbye!”
When Nora craned her neck, she saw the woman saying something to her husband. Then, the two of them left the place for real.
As parents, they weren’t even going to attend their son’s wedding?
What weirdos.
Nora frowned.
Joel had already walked behind Tanya and was holding her shoulders.
Tanya was still shaking and there was sadness in her eyes. She suddenly asked, “Did I embarrass you?”
Joel hurriedly replied, “Why would you? Don’t talk nonsense. Don’t worry, I have already made all the arrangements for the wedding.”
“… But they are all gossiping in private…” Joel sneered, “Do you know why they only dare to say those things in private?”.
“Why?”
“Because they don’t dare to say it in front of me!” Joel said coldly and seriously, “Who would dare to badmouth you in front of me? And how would they dare to talk nonsense in front of you? Aren’t they afraid that Mrs. Smith would get angry and make them bankrupt overnight?”
“Pfft!”
His words made Tanya laugh.
Joel was about to say more when the door was pushed open. Justin strode in. He was here as the best man today.
He stood beside Joel and slowly said, “Mr. Rogers has called it quits.” Mr. Rogers was a middle-aged man with a lot of prestige to his name in New York. The few of them had approached him to ask him to give Tanya’s hand away today. After all, without a father to give her hand away, the wedding would seem incomplete.
But why had he suddenly called it quits?
Joel’s brows drew together. “What happened?”
Justin looked at Tanya and sighed. “Those people outside are saying rather unpleasant things. Mr. Rogers overheard them and left in anger.”
Then, his jaw tensed up and he said, “Unfortunately, I don’t have any reliable elders. The main issue, though, is that the wedding is about to start. There are only ten minutes left.” Joel also clenched his fists. Just as the few of them were at a loss as to who to invite over at the last minute, Nora slowly said, “I’ll give her hand away!”
The two of them looked at her in unison.
Nora walked over to Tanya and said, “Tanya and I were already disapproving of asking Mr. Rogers to do it when you guys asked him to. I am Tanya’s one and only best friend. Now that she is getting married, I will give her hand away! From now on, I will be Tanya’s family!”
There was a moment of silence in the room.
A brief moment later, Joel gave the final word. “Okay!”
He looked at Tanya and smiled. “I was just in denial when I approached Mr. Rogers. I can’t shut those people up anyway. In that case, why should we let others control us? It’s our wedding today, I only want the people closest to us to bear witness to our love!”
Tanya’s eyes were red. She nodded heavily and said, “Yeah!”
The wedding began.
After the lounge was opened, Nora held Tanya as she stood at the door, where there would be a red carpet leading to the stage where Tanya would meet with Joel.
As soon as the two of them appeared, a buzz went through the crowd.
“What’s going on? Why isn’t there anyone giving away the bride’s hand in marriage?”
“Her father escaped from prison. Of course there wouldn’t be anyone!”
“Isn’t a wedding like this a little too weird?”
“Yeah… I also heard that Tanya isn’t even bringing anything with her into the marriage. All her father gave her was a bank card. How much money can there be inside!”
“The two families are not a good match! That must have been some sheer dumb luck for Tanya to be able to marry Mr. Smith!” “To tell the truth, although Hillary Jones is not that great either, she is ultimately still the precious young lady of the Joneses. Back then, when she got engaged to Mr. Smith, the Joneses gave them a full 30% of their company shares! In comparison, Tanya is really pitiful…”
IIII
Everyone’s comments reached Tanya’s ears.
Tanya clenched her fists.
She looked at the red carpet ahead and suddenly thought of Karl.
The man was crude but meticulous.
Although she knew that he had escaped from prison, Tanya still wanted to record the wedding and show it to him in the future.
She took a deep breath.
She knew that without corresponding social status and without having a family with enough power to contend with the Smiths, life would be very hard for her in the future after she married Joel.
But she was not afraid.
She stretched out her hand, upon which a large warm hand enveloped it.
Tanya was taken aback. When did Nora’s hands become so rough?
She turned her head and looked over…
