"Miss, you have a great eye. This is a classic design by our brand's chief designer. It's the only pair in the country, handcrafted with top-grade pure blue sapphires."
The store clerk greeted them warmly.
Although she didn't recognize their identities, she sensed that they were extraordinary.
Deanna smiled at the clerk and then turned to Lance, saying, "Give me your hand."
Lance cooperatively extended his hand.
Deanna grasped his wrist with one hand and picked up the sapphire cufflink with the other, fastening it to his cuff.
"It suits you perfectly. Do you like it?"
Deanna admired her handiwork and then looked up at Lance with a smile.
Lance, seeing her smile, felt a warmth in his heart and replied gently, "Since it's from you, I naturally like it."
"Good, then we'll take this one."
Deanna decided and handed the clerk a bank card.
A few minutes later, they walked out of the brand store hand in hand.
Lance's joyful mood was evident.
They spent the entire day outside, only returning home after dinner.
On the way back, Lance occasionally adjusted his cufflinks.
Deanna noticed his actions and asked, "What's wrong?"
Xavier, hearing this, glanced at Mr. Mercer through the rearview mirror.
Lance replied softly, "Nothing, just adjusting them to make sure they aren't crooked."
As he spoke, he raised his hand and adjusted the cufflinks again.
Deanna found his actions somewhat strange but didn't think much of it.
However, Xavier noticed something different and asked in surprise, "Mr. Mercer, are these new cufflinks? They look quite nice."
"They weren't bought by me; Deanna bought them. I think they look great too."
Lance answered with a subtle smile, clearly showing off.
At this point, if Xavier couldn't tell that Mr. Mercer was deliberately showing off the cufflinks bought by Missus, he would be a fool.
Deanna also noticed and felt both amused and sweet inside.
In contrast to their warmth, the atmosphere at the Walsh family was tense.
By evening, Leticia still hadn't returned, and her phone was unreachable.
Mrs. Walsh was extremely worried. "It's so late, and Leticia hasn't come back yet. Should we send someone to look for her?"
She didn't dare tell Ernest that she had taken Leticia to find Lance and Deanna.
As a result, Ernest didn't take it seriously and said calmly, "What's there to look for? Maybe she's out having fun with her friends and didn't notice her phone. She'll be back later. Don't worry so much."
In the end, he tried to reassure his wife.
Mrs. Walsh had no choice but to suppress her unease.
At that moment, she saw Lance and Deanna entering the house but didn't see her daughter.
"Mr. Mercer, where is our Leticia?"
Mrs. Walsh couldn't help but stand up and ask.
Lance's eyes flickered for a moment before he responded coldly, "What do you mean by that, Mrs. Walsh?"
Deanna was also getting angry.
What did the Walsh family mean by this? They knew she and Lance were a couple but kept letting Leticia approach Lance! Apparently, they didn't take her seriously.
"Mrs. Walsh, although we ran into each other in the park this afternoon, Lance and I left first. As for where Miss Walsh went afterward, shouldn't you know best?"
Mrs. Walsh was at a loss for words.
Ernest sensed something was wrong and frowned at Mrs. Walsh. "Didn't you say you took Leticia shopping this afternoon? How did it turn into looking for Mr. Mercer?"
His face darkened as he spoke.
Mrs. Walsh realized she had made a mistake and felt a pang of regret.
Even so, she tried to cover it up. "We didn't specifically go to find Mr. Mercer and Dr. Deanna; we just happened to run into them. Later, Leticia said she wanted to go shopping with Mr. Mercer and went after him. Didn't Mr. Mercer see Leticia?"
"No," Lance replied coldly.
Deanna shook her head as well. "I didn't see her either. We must have missed each other."
Hearing this, Mrs. Walsh's face turned pale.
But given Lance's status, she didn't dare say anything more. "I see; I must have misunderstood."
Lance and Deanna nodded and didn't intend to stay in the living room any longer; they excused themselves.
Soon, only Mr. and Mrs. Walsh were left in the living room.
Ernest glared at Mrs. Walsh and scolded lightly, "Didn't I tell you to discipline Leticia properly? Why are you helping her get close to Mr. Mercer? Don't you know how this makes our family look? What will Mr. Mercer think of us? What will Dr. Deanna think? And what if Father hears about this?"
Mrs. Walsh felt humiliated but couldn't help defending herself.
"I want to discipline Leticia, but her heart is set on Mr. Mercer. As her mother, I can't just watch her suffer. Besides, I thought if Leticia could be with Mr. Mercer, it would be good for our family too. If we establish a connection with Mr. Mercer, we wouldn't be oppressed by the second branch all the time. Even when it comes to dividing the inheritance, we would have an advantage."