Hassan ignored her and looked at Mrs. Walsh, saying in a deep voice, "Aunt, Mr. Mercer and Miss Jones are Grandpa's esteemed guests. If you let my cousin act recklessly and offend them, aren't you afraid Grandpa blame you?"
Mrs. Walsh's face turned a bit awkward. Clearly, her schemes had been seen through by her nephew. She hesitated for a moment. Would her plan really succeed?
Perhaps noticing her mother's wavering, Leticia quickly shouted, "Hassan, stop pretending to be a good person. You talk like you're a man of integrity, but aren't you coveting Lance's girlfriend?"
Hassan frowned and reprimanded, "Don't talk nonsense!"
Leticia sneered, "You're so hypocritical. You like her but don't want to fight for her."
"That's my business, not yours," Hassan retorted coldly.
Leticia, seeing this, angrily said, "It wasn't my business either, but you're hindering my pursuit of happiness, so it is now my business. Besides, by ruining Deanna and Lance's relationship, I'm helping you. If they break up, won't you have a chance to pursue Deanna?"
Hassan felt his cousin was simply unreasonable. He forcefully shook off Leticia's hand and said coldly, "Don't involve me."
He then looked up again at Mrs. Walsh, who had remained silent, and continued, "Aunt, you must think clearly. The Mercer family is not someone our Walsh family can afford to offend. Don't think Mr. Mercer's gentle attitude yesterday was out of respect for our family; he didn't want to make things difficult for him just for the sake of Old Hughes."
Mrs. Walsh's face darkened with frustration. As an elder, she was being lectured by a junior and couldn't even refute it. Indeed, Lance had clearly shown his dislike for her daughter and had made his stance clear earlier. If she insisted on scheming, things would not end well.
"Alright, Leticia, stop making trouble. Your cousin is right; Lance is not someone we can offend. Let's go back," Mrs. Walsh decided after weighing the situation.
Leticia was furious. Her mother hadn't said this before. "I don't want to go back; I want to find Lance." She turned and ran off, disappearing into the crowd in no time.
Mrs. Walsh's face changed slightly as she tried to chase after her. Hassan quickly followed as well. However, after a few steps, they couldn't find any trace of Leticia.
Mrs. Walsh was very worried. Of course, her biggest concern was that Leticia might do something reckless and anger Lance.
"Quickly, notify someone to find Leticia."
"Even if we find her, she might not come back," Hassan said solemnly, then looked at Mrs. Walsh and continued, "You shouldn't have brought her out in the first place. Now we can only hope she doesn't do anything too outrageous."
Mrs. Walsh's face turned grave. It was almost impossible for Leticia not to cause trouble. She also felt a growing dislike for her nephew who kept making sarcastic remarks but didn't show it. She pursed her lips and said, "Regardless, we need to find her first."
Hassan didn't say anything more and took out his phone to arrange for bodyguards to search for Leticia.
Deanna and Lance were unaware of what was happening on the other side. After leaving, they went to the commercial street behind the square.
The rose in Deanna's hand had already been taken by Xavier. However, she didn't look very happy; the appearance of the Walsh family mother and daughter had affected her mood.
Although it was said to be a coincidence, she could tell they had come deliberately to block them.
Lance also noticed this and looked down at her with a smile, "Upset?"
"A bit," Deanna admitted.
Lance smiled and said, "Don't let irrelevant people affect your mood. Don't worry; no one will disturb us anymore."
Indeed, Leticia chased in the direction Lance had left but couldn't find him. She stood there stomping her feet in frustration as a plan suddenly formed in her mind.
On the other side, with Lance's company, Deanna's mood gradually improved as they strolled leisurely through the commercial street, buying clothes for her grandmother and the two little ones.
Passing by a men's brand store, Deanna suddenly realized she had bought many things but nothing for Lance.
"Let's go in and take a look," she said without thinking and pulled Lance inside.
Upon entering, the store clerk's eyes lit up when they saw them. "Welcome! What would you like to see?"
"We'll just look around first," Deanna declined the clerk's introduction and pulled Lance along the counters.
She knew Lance had custom-made suits, so she didn't plan on buying suits but wanted to look at ties or cufflinks instead.
Of course, Lance noticed her intentions as well. He watched quietly as Deanna seriously picked out a gift for him, feeling extremely pleased.
After a few minutes, Deanna's eyes lit up as she pointed to a pair of cufflinks in the display case and said to the clerk, "Please take these out for me to see."