Bella's face turned grim upon hearing the news. She wanted to rush upstairs, but her rationality held her back.
"If that's the case, I'll wait here until Lance is willing to see me!" she declared, then turned and sat on a nearby sofa in the lounge area.
Xavier frowned slightly at the scene but said nothing. He turned and went upstairs to report to the president.
Lance saw him return and coldly asked, "What's she up to now?"
"She refuses to leave and is sitting in the lounge area, saying she will wait for you to come down," Xavier reported truthfully.
Lance remained indifferent. "If she wants to wait, let her wait."
That evening, Bella sat in the lobby of Mercer Group, enduring the curious glances from all directions, her eyes fixed on the elevator doors. She was determined to see Lance today. But she waited and waited, until everyone had left for the day and it was dark outside, yet Lance never came down.
Finally, a security guard approached her to lock up and had to tell Bella the truth. "Miss Cody, you should go home. Mr. Mercer has already left."
"Impossible! I've been here all afternoon, and he never showed up!" Bella retorted sharply.
The security guard remained calm. "The president didn't come down because he took the elevator directly to the underground garage. You wouldn't have seen him."
Hearing this, Bella felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her. Anger surged through her chest, her face turning even more unpleasant.
The security guard, slightly intimidated, still mustered the courage to urge her again. "Miss Cody, please leave, or come back tomorrow?"
"Get lost!" Bella shouted angrily, pushing him aside as she stormed out of Mercer Group.
Standing on the street, her chest heaved with rage. Why? Why did Lance humiliate her even when she had lowered herself so much?
Unwilling to give up, she took out her phone and called her assistant. "Find out where Lance is right now."
"Yes!" The assistant nodded and hung up to investigate.
Within minutes, he called back. "Miss Cody, Mr. Mercer went to Deanna's house right after work."
"Deanna!" Bella gritted her teeth, her eyes darkening. Once again, it was because of that woman that Lance refused to see her! Damn it, she would never let that woman off!
Meanwhile, at Deanna's apartment, Lance was helping the kids with their homework and playing with them in their room. Deanna was cooking in the kitchen. Old Ashley sat on the living room sofa watching TV.
Chloe couldn't hold back her excitement and happily jumped into Lance's arms. "Uncle, we saw your mom and dad today! They don't seem to dislike me and Gregory anymore; they even played soccer with us."
Lance was surprised but not entirely shocked. His parents had been doing a lot lately to meet the kids. He had heard they even remodeled the old house to create two children's rooms and bought many children's items.
Smiling, he looked at the kids and asked, "Do you like them?"
The kids were silent for a moment. Lance raised an eyebrow in surprise. "What's wrong? Don't you like them?"
Chloe glanced at Gregory, unsure how to respond.
Gregory understood and answered, "It's not that we don't like them; it's just strange. Gramp and Grannie didn't like us before."
He blinked his eyes, looking for an explanation.
Lance understood that they wanted him to clarify. "Maybe there were some misunderstandings during your first meeting. Once those misunderstandings were cleared up and they saw how well-behaved and adorable you are, they naturally changed their minds."
"Really?" Gregory still felt something was off.
But Chloe believed Lance's words and happily wriggled in his arms. "Of course! Uncle wouldn't lie to us."
"That's right; Uncle wouldn't lie to you," Lance promised with a nod.
Gregory's doubts were dispelled, and he asked, "If Gramp and Grannie like us now, does that mean they can accept Mommy too?"
Lance was taken aback; he hadn't expected the little guy to be concerned about this.
Smiling, he quickly replied, "Of course. Your mommy is just as excellent; they will naturally accept her too."
Hearing this, the kids were overjoyed. If Uncle Lance's parents could accept Mommy, then there would be no problem with Uncle being with Mommy.
Just as they were about to ask when Uncle would confess his feelings to Mommy, there was a knock on the door.
Deanna entered from outside. "Dinner is ready."