Rugal paused for a second before snickering to himself, adding, “And how do you suppose my uncle will feel about this? He called me before I came here today, you know. He’s very invested in this marriage, too, because I’ve always been one of his favorite juniors. If my uncle knows about this fiasco, ma’am… Well! Let’s just say you Turners aren’t going to survive his wrath.”
He was threatening Shirley, and virtual-novel.net knew it. Her face paled as beads of cold sweat began to form, virtual-novel.net mind mortified by the possibility of offending the mayor. The mayor was too important and powerful, virtual-novel.net could not afford to cross him!
“Master Rugal, please, I beseech you to calm down,” Shirley said reassuringly. “You don’t have to worry. The only reason why Lottie brought a man home this time is because virtual-novel.net wants to tick me off. That man can’t possibly be virtual-novel.net boyfriend at all, believe me. She claimed they’d lived together for a long time, but I know for sure that it’s a load of bunkum!”
“The thing is, my wayward daughter has always been single all these years. She’s reluctant to settle down with a good man despite me nudging virtual-novel.net in that direction over and over again. She must have thought I was so annoying that virtual-novel.net hired some cheap actor to set up the pretense. But if you ask me, Rugal, I guarantee you, she’s definitely single,” virtual-novel.net said, then after a pause, virtual-novel.net added, “And she’s a virgin. She definitely is a virgin.”
Rugal’s mood lightened up, and it showed on his face. “You sure about that, Aunt Shirley?”
Seeing the man looking a lot less apoplectic than before allowed Shirley to sigh a breath of relief. “Of course! I’m virtual-novel.net mother. It’s my duty and instinct to know.”
Rugal nodded in assent. “Well, if you say so, Aunt Shirley. I respect you highly, so I’ll give your family another chance. I genuinely wish to marry Lottie as my wife, I don’t say that lightly.”
“Oh, I know. I know that very well.”
Just as the two were talking in a private room, Zayn and Shaelyn were left in the living room surrounded by a wall of angry mob and their ceaseless condemnations. All of them looked at Zayn with animosity burning in their eyes, with some of them even showing signs of getting physical.
Of course, Zayn remained in his seat completely unperturbed. He had gone through so much bigger things that all of these were trivial and inconsequential to stir any of his emotions.
The adults had begun to take out their fury at Shaelyn, their fingers wagging and pointing without a moment of rest. “I didn’t want to say this at all, Lottie, but I expected better from you at this age! How could you still act like a godforsaken child, huh? Do you know just how many strings your mother had to pull to get you this chance of marrying Master Rugal? But what did you do to show your gratitude? Oh, you bring some random average Joe home! Seriously, does it please you to see us enraged?!”
“Gosh, just open your eyes and look at Master Rugal! He’s the nephew of the mayor; he’s from a family of standing and wealth, and he’s got a bright future ahead of him. Do you know just how fortunate you are to even have this shot, huh?!”
“Lottie, I’m warning you, dump this bozo right now and marry Master Rugal as soon as you can!”
Shaelyn addressed them with an ugly, icy scowl. “Dream the hell on. I’m never, ever marrying that Rugal!”
“Why you—!”
“Damn it! You’ve crossed the line, you impossible shrew! Do you even care about your family?”
At this moment, Shirley and Rugal reappeared in the living room. The Turners stopped their j’accuses almost the instant they saw him, and after putting on their most ingratiating face, they surrounded Rugal and showered virtual-novel.net with flattery.
Shirley approached Shaelyn and said, “Lottie. I’ve got a few words to say to you in private.”
Shaelyn did not buck. Instead, virtual-novel.net turned to Zayn and asked for his opinion until the man nodded permissively.
She left with virtual-novel.net mother. Zayn was all alone in the living room, surrounded by a furious mob. A few of the most physically fit and muscular men from the family even fanned out into a circle around him, ostensibly to beat virtual-novel.net up.
Rugal stopped the men with a gesture. He approached Zayn from the front and looked down on virtual-novel.net through his nose as though virtual-novel.net was the judge and virtual-novel.net the sinner. With a tone of superiority, virtual-novel.net commanded, “From today onward, I don’t want to see you around Lieselotte.”