"You came uninvited, and you still have the nerve to speak."
Dalilah said angrily from the side.
However, the next second, she couldn't help but scream, covering her face.
Julia's fiery temper flared up instantly, and she slapped Dalilah as soon as she finished speaking.
This woman had caused trouble repeatedly, and Julia felt that if she didn't show her temper, Dalilah would think she had none.
Julia glared at Dalilah. "Considering you're the daughter of Lionel's family friend, I've tolerated you again and again. But that doesn't mean you can disrespect my family! Yes, the Grant family didn't invite my family today, but out of courtesy, we came to pay a visit. Is that wrong?"
Julia directed her last sentence at Lionel.
Her stance made it clear that if Lionel disagreed, there would be consequences.
Lionel quickly tried to calm Julia down. "I didn't mean that, please don't misunderstand."
Julia snorted coldly and questioned, "So what now? Do we go in or leave?"
"Of course, come in, come in!"
Lionel said, flashing a seemingly ingratiating smile at Deanna and Lance.
Deanna and Lance had never seen Lionel act this way before, but they understood he was doing it for Julia.
Thinking of Julia, Deanna said nothing and walked into the dining room with Lance, following Lionel.
It was only then that Dalilah realized what had happened. Ignoring her anger, she quickly took out her phone to call Cristal.
"Dalilah, what's wrong? Did you pick up your brother Lionel?"
"Cristal, it's bad. Julia's family is here."
Dalilah quickly recounted what had just happened, not forgetting to complain.
Cristal was already unhappy with Julia's family for showing up uninvited. Now that Julia had hit her preferred daughter-in-law candidate, it felt like a slap in her face.
Cristal's face turned dark with anger, but she held it in and told Dalilah to come back before hanging up.
Seeing her put down the phone, Tristan and the Patels looked over with concern.
"What happened?" Tristan asked.
Cristal took a deep breath and was about to explain when the door to the private room was pushed open from the outside.
Lionel stood at the door holding Julia's hand and gestured for Deanna and Lance to enter.
Deanna and Lance didn't hesitate. They walked into the room and saw several people sitting inside. They raised their eyebrows but said nothing.
Lionel followed them in and was surprised to see the Patels. "Mr. and Mrs. Patel, what are you doing here?"
With his words, Deanna and Lance immediately knew who this couple was-they were clearly Dalilah's parents.
Deanna gave Lionel a meaningful look. She remembered that Lionel had said this was a welcome dinner for Dalilah earlier in the afternoon. Now it seemed like a family dinner between two families.
Especially since Dalilah had just said something about not letting Julia and her family in, it made people think even more.
Not only did Deanna realize this, but Julia also caught on.
If not for her upbringing, she would have turned around and left right then.
On the other side, Tristan and Dalilah's father were stunned to see the group walk in.
"Mr. Mercer?"
They called out uncertainly.
It wasn't their fault; their status meant they rarely had a chance to get close to Lance and could only watch from afar.
Lance nodded indifferently when he saw they recognized him. "Today I'm here with my fiancée to meet her god-sister's in-laws. Let's not bring business into this. Julia's parents are still abroad, but I heard Mr. Grant's parents are here. As her family, we can't neglect our future in-laws. I'll cover tonight's dinner."
"Thank you for your kindness, Lance, but I don't think this marriage will happen."
Julia looked gratefully at Lance.
She knew Lance was elevating her status for Deanna's sake.
But the Grant family's actions disgusted her.
She didn't want to marry into this family!
Tristan never imagined Julia had such a high status. He was momentarily stunned until he heard Julia say the marriage wouldn't happen. Then he snapped back to reality.
He looked at Julia anxiously with a fawning smile on his face. "How could the marriage not happen? Lionel has already set a date. We came here today to discuss the specifics with your family."
At this moment, he had completely forgotten how he used to look down on Julia's modest background.
He also didn't forget to glare at his son. Julia had connections with the Mercer family, and his son hadn't told them!
Lionel naturally noticed his father's look and frowned deeply.
The Patel family's expressions changed slightly when they heard Tristan's words.