Lance listened to the conversation and laughed in anger, even taking it out on Bella. "If you want to marry her, go ahead. I won't marry someone I don't like. As for the news online, I'll handle it!" With that, Lance hung up the phone.
Samantha put down her phone, fuming, and couldn't help but complain to her husband. "What's wrong with our son? He doesn't appreciate a good girl like Bella but is infatuated with a woman who has had children."
Logan heard this for the first time and immediately frowned. "What woman with children? What's going on?" He looked at his wife in confusion.
Samantha explained Deanna's situation. Logan, upon hearing this, immediately stated his position. "I absolutely won't allow a woman who has had someone else's children to marry into the Mercer family. It would be a joke to the whole city!"
"I feel the same way, but our son is so infatuated that he won't listen to reason," Samantha said, sounding very aggrieved.
Logan listened but didn't respond immediately. He was thinking about whether their son's resistance to the marriage alliance with the Cody family was because of this. After a moment, he thought it was very likely and said, "The marriage alliance must proceed, whether he agrees or not."
After Lance put down his phone, his face was also very grim. Xavier, who was nearby, couldn't help but wonder if Mr. Mercer had quarreled with his parents.
As he was thinking, Mr. Mercer's cold voice interrupted him. "Before I went on my business trip, didn't I tell you to block the rumors about Bella and me on the internet? Why are they still there and even getting worse?" Lance handed his phone to Xavier.
Xavier was stunned and then very surprised. "How could this happen? I clearly told someone to handle it." He looked at Lance in shock.
Lance gave him a cold glance and ordered, "Find out what's going on."
Xavier nodded and immediately turned to investigate. Soon, Lance was left alone in the office. Suddenly, he thought of Deanna and the two children, and his breathing became rapid. If his parents could misunderstand him so much because of the news online, Deanna and the children probably wouldn't be any better off.
Thinking of this, Lance quickly picked up his phone and called Deanna. The call connected shortly after.
Deanna's cool voice came through the phone. "Mr. Mercer, what can I do for you?"
"Nothing much, just wondering when my next treatment session is," Lance asked casually.
Deanna didn't think much of it and replied professionally, "Are you feeling unwell? If not, there's no need to come over for now. If you are unwell, give me an address and I'll come to you."
The words sounded no different from before, but Lance sensed a distance in them. His eyes darkened further. "I'm not feeling unwell; I was just asking."
Deanna responded with an "Oh," and the call fell into silence. Finally, Deanna broke the silence politely. "If there's nothing else, Mr. Mercer, I'll hang up now."
"Wait!" Lance immediately stopped her.
Deanna asked, "Is there anything else, Mr. Mercer?"
Hearing her indifferent voice made Lance's heart ache painfully, almost suffocating him. He pursed his lips and deliberately tried to make conversation. "I have nothing else; I just realized I haven't spoken to Gregory and Chloe in a few days. Could you hand the phone to them so I can talk to them? I don't want them to forget me."
"Sorry, Mr. Mercer, Gregory and Chloe are already asleep," Deanna declined his request.
In fact, the two kids were not resting at all; they were right next to Deanna, eavesdropping on the call. When they heard that Lance wanted to talk to them, they shook their heads vigorously. Deanna didn't want the kids to get too close to Lance to avoid future heartache.
Despite this, Lance sensed something was wrong. Although the kids didn't speak, the apartment was very quiet, and he could clearly hear three sets of breathing over the phone. It was obvious that due to the online news, the kids had misunderstood him and were starting to distance themselves from him.
Realizing this made Lance anxious. After hanging up the phone, he decided to cut his work trip short and return home immediately. Consequently, he worked overtime the next day to finish his tasks and finally boarded a flight home at midnight.
After a long flight of over ten hours and having not rested before, Lance was utterly exhausted. But as soon as he got off the plane, he rushed straight to Deanna's rented apartment.