Listening to her friend's angry words, Deanna's eyes were full of helplessness, but she still tried to persuade, "I don't think Lionel is unreasonable. Although he hasn't been decisive about this matter, his attitude towards you has always been consistent. Besides, those are his parents. It's normal for him to feel conflicted. And Lionel did say that you two would settle in Cloudmere in the future, so you won't be living with the Grants. The problem isn't that big."
Julia's anger subsided a bit after hearing this.
Deanna wasn't wrong. After all, they were Lionel's parents, and it was normal for him to have concerns.
Moreover, they would be living in Cloudmere in the future, so the attitude of the Grant family elders wasn't that important.
Seeing Julia's hesitation, Deanna continued, "Besides, if you don't marry Lionel, your parents probably won't agree either. And can you bear for your child to be born into a single-parent family?"
Julia pursed her lips, rendered speechless.
But she thought, even if it's a single-parent family, it's better than having the child suffer with her.
Deanna saw her friend's silent resentment and guessed her thoughts. She sighed.
"Julia, do you think being a single parent is easy?"
"I..."
Julia wanted to say something but was interrupted.
Deanna disagreed, "Being a single parent isn't as easy as you think. You saw my life back then. Having a child out of wedlock makes you a topic of gossip wherever you go. And the child suffers even more. Do you know why Gregory and Chloe had so few friends back then? Because the other kids, influenced by their parents, ostracized them and called them wild children."
Hearing this, Julia remembered those years when she visited Deanna and often saw Gregory and Chloe being bullied by the kids in the old town.
Lance, sitting nearby, felt even worse.
He tightly held Deanna's hand and said apologetically, "I'm sorry I came too late."
Just thinking about how his woman and children were bullied when he wasn't around made his chest ache like a knife was stabbing it.
Deanna was stunned by Lance's guilt.
Then she came back to her senses and smiled nonchalantly, "I didn't mean anything by it. I just wanted to advise Julia not to act impulsively. And you've already come at the right time and helped me a lot."
"It's nothing much. It's what I should do. From now on, I won't let you suffer any grievances."
Lance looked at Deanna seriously and promised, his eyes full of affection.
Their eyes met, and they only had eyes for each other.
Julia watched them display their affection and felt even more upset. "Can you two not show off your love when I'm feeling down? It's infuriating."
Hearing this, Deanna and Lance snapped out of their tender moment.
Deanna coughed lightly and tried to defend herself softly, "We're not showing off our love. Don't say that."
"Sure, you're not showing off your love. You're just flaunting it!"
Julia protested irritably.
Deanna looked embarrassed, "What flaunting? You have Lionel."
"I'm not talking about myself. I'm talking about Mr. Nelson. Isn't he still single? Aren't you afraid he'll feel unbalanced and drive into a ditch?"
Suddenly mentioned by Julia, Xavier felt quite upset.
He was quietly driving; why drag him into this?
Besides, what's wrong with being single? Being single is great!
Though he was silently complaining in his heart, Xavier maintained a serious expression and said, "I won't feel unbalanced. I'm happy for Mr. Mercer and Missus."
He meant it sincerely.
After all, only when his boss and Missus were happy could the subordinates have good days.
Julia looked at his sycophantic expression and felt speechless.
But because of this banter, the heavy atmosphere disappeared.
Soon, they returned to the manor.
The two little ones heard the noise in the courtyard and excitedly rushed out from the living room.
"Daddy, Mommy, you're back!"
"Godmother, you're here too!"
The two little ones shouted happily and quickly ran to Deanna and Julia.
Lance looked at their smiling faces and remembered what he heard in the car. His mind stirred, and he walked over to Xavier standing nearby.
Seeing this, Xavier quickly asked respectfully, "Mr. Mercer, what are your orders?"
"Investigate how many people helped Missus and Gregory and Chloe when they lived in the old town and who bullied them."
Lance spoke with an inscrutable expression.
Xavier didn't understand but still nodded and accepted the order.