"Do you see? Shane is a thousand times better than you!"
"He loves someone, so he’s spent his whole life avoiding romance, not looking for a partner, and never fooling around!"
"No woman in this world has ever been hurt by his faithlessness or indecisiveness. The only one who’s ever been hurt is him!"
"And you? You were eating from your bowl while eyeing what was in the pot, trying to have it both ways! You wanted a happy family, but you also wanted to do right by the one that got away. In the end, you failed on both fronts!"
"Vincent, oh, Vincent! Vincent!"
Old Mrs. Grant cried out Vincent Grant’s name again and again, tears streaming down her aged face.
Her heart ached for Shane, and she was furious with Vincent for failing to live up to his potential!
Sophia Shaw just stared blankly at the standing Old Mrs. Grant and the prone Vincent Grant, her mind a complete mess because of what Shane had said.
Then, she suddenly remembered: she had once grabbed a young man who was visiting her school as a drill instructor, mistaking him for Vincent.
That man... was Shane Grant!
’So that’s when he first met me!’
All these years, she had been completely clueless, thoughtlessly treating Shane as nothing more than her brother-in-law!
Sophia Shaw suddenly felt she couldn’t stay any longer and went to say her goodbyes to Old Mrs. Grant.
Old Mrs. Grant walked over and squeezed her hand, her eyes still wet with tears.
"Faye, I’m so sorry. Grandma wanted to give Bun a wonderful birthday, but it’s all turned into such a mess."
Nearby, Sue was still arranging balloons.
The decor at Grant Manor was usually rigid and by the book, reflecting a military-like austerity.
But for Bun’s sake, they were willing to make an exception. Old Mrs. Grant had specifically told Sue to learn how people on the outside decorate for birthday parties.
A wave of discomfort washed over Sophia Shaw.
Old Mrs. Grant didn’t insist she stay. Instead, she arranged for Sue to move all the little pastries she had made and the birthday cake into Sophia Shaw’s car.
Sue’s eyes reddened as she held the birthday cake. "The Old Mrs. has been a soldier her whole life; she’s rough around the edges. But to make this cake for Bun, she forced herself to learn, step by step, how to knead the dough and shape the layers. She ruined dozens before she finally made this good one... Sigh."
"What are you saying all that for!" Old Mrs. Grant took the cake and placed it in Sophia Shaw’s car. "Bun and Faye will get to eat it, won’t they?"
Sophia Shaw lowered her gaze to the cake, which represented countless hours of the old woman’s painstaking effort, and felt a pang of guilt.
"I’m sorry, Grandma."
Old Mrs. Grant heaved a deep sigh, glancing at her grandson in the distance, who stood covered in injuries with his arms hanging limp, looking like a soulless husk.
She shook her head.
"Go on."
Vincent Grant started to follow her.
Old Mrs. Grant shouted, "Stop him!"
Sue immediately stepped in front of Vincent Grant.
Vincent Grant couldn’t possibly raise a hand to Sue. He said in a low voice, "Grandma, I’ll just see them off."
"Faye has hands; she knows how to drive. She doesn’t need you!" Old Mrs. Grant watched as Sophia Shaw started the car and drove away. "Since you haven’t left, you’re staying for a blind date!"
Vincent Grant was speechless.
"First you set one of us up, then the other. Grandma, are you really determined to split us up?"
"Yes!" Old Mrs. Grant’s reply was firm and resounding. "As an elder, I failed to help Faye when my own grandson was causing so much trouble. Now, I will not let you go and ruin her life again, no matter what!"
On this matter, Old Mrs. Grant had always felt she owed Sophia Shaw.
She picked up her phone. "York? Isn’t your union holding a matchmaking event for singles today? Get a spot for my grandson, too."
The person on the other end, not knowing she meant Vincent Grant, readily agreed. "Sure thing. Your fourth grandson really should find someone. It’s just that he’s so capable and handsome, I’m afraid the girls we have here might not be good enough for him."
"There’s no such thing as ’not good enough’! Divorced, with kids—arrange them all. We’re not picky!"
After saying that, Old Mrs. Grant shot a disgusted look at Vincent Grant. "With his character? He’d be marrying up no matter who it is!"
Vincent Grant was speechless.
Sue couldn’t bear to listen and secretly cast a sympathetic glance at Vincent Grant.
York didn’t dare to actually follow Old Mrs. Grant’s instructions. He picked the woman with the best qualifications and had someone bring her over to meet Vincent.
After hanging up, Old Mrs. Grant ordered people to watch all the exits. In short, Vincent Grant could forget about walking out that gate until the blind date was over!
Sophia Shaw drove a long way off. When she saw that Vincent Grant wasn’t following, she knew Old Mrs. Grant must have stopped him.
She slowly pulled the car over to the side of the road, opening the window to breathe in the fresh air.
Only then could she finally breathe normally.
The image of Vincent Grant letting Shane beat him without fighting back, the way Shane had so earnestly confessed his feelings to her... it all flashed through her mind like a movie reel.
Every frame felt like a stone, weighing heavily on her heart.
Bun was already fast asleep, lying in her car seat and contentedly blowing bubbles.
Sophia Shaw couldn’t help but sigh softly. ’It really is better to be a child.’
Just as she was sighing, she heard a loud BANG.
Sophia Shaw jumped, turning to see that two cars had crashed head-on.
Eleanor Crawford and Miles Grant jumped out of their respective vehicles.
Miles Grant ran to the front of his car, saw the smashed headlight, and put his hands on his hips, displeased. "What do you think you’re doing? Have you no sense of discipline? Ramming into people’s cars just like that? If your director finds out, you’ll be reprimanded, you know that?"
Eleanor was utterly sick of Miles Grant’s bureaucratic tone. She held out her hand to him. "Give me back the files!"
"No!"
Eleanor’s eyes reddened with anger. "Miles Grant, you can’t just bully me like this! You’re just my husband; you have no right to make decisions for me!"
"I can’t let you go get yourself killed! Your head isn’t clear right now; you can’t make a sound decision. As your husband, it’s my duty to help you!"
Miles Grant made it sound perfectly reasonable.
Eleanor gave a sad, cold laugh. "Miles Grant, don’t make it sound so noble. You’re just used to my submissiveness and letting you order me around. Without me, you’ve just lost someone you can enslave!"
"What are you talking about!" Miles Grant retorted defensively. "What century are we in, still talking about enslavement? A husband and wife are supposed to support each other. Why does it sound so ugly coming from you?"
Eleanor’s laugh was exceptionally bleak.
She used to think Miles Grant was just overly indecisive. But as his true colors were revealed bit by bit, she realized he was self-righteous to the extreme.
"’Support each other’ means if I help you, you help me too. In all these years, how have you ever helped me?"
"By finding me an emotional rival? And after she died, by letting her brother come and bully me?"
"Are you going to say you meant to use her brother to toughen me up, to make me stronger?"
Miles Grant was speechless.
"That’s not what I meant, it’s just... stop bringing up Claudia Murray! I have nothing to do with her!"
"She saved my life, so it’s only right that I take care of her brother. I admit, I didn’t handle some things well, and you suffered a little because of it. It’s my fault, and I apologize."
"Just... a little?"
Eleanor looked at Miles Grant in disbelief.
She had been hurt time and time again because of him, and even lost her ability to have children, yet to him, it was all just a casually dismissed "little" bit of suffering!
"Miles Grant, you’re not human!"
Seeing Eleanor so angry she was streaming tears, Miles Grant looked helpless. "I already apologized to you. Why are you still angry? Why are you still crying?"
He had a "can you stop making a scene" expression on his face.
Forget Eleanor; even Sophia Shaw, a mere spectator, wanted to get out of her car and give Miles Grant a few hard kicks.
"You can make a scene all you want, but you’re not getting the files back!" Miles Grant jumped into his car, reversed, and sped away.
He left Eleanor all alone, squatting on the ground and covering her face as she cried in frustration.