Facing the chatter of the crowd, Deanna, holding Lance's arm with one hand and leading Gregory with the other, confidently walked towards the hotel.
At the hotel entrance, Landon watched the approaching family and raised an eyebrow, jokingly saying to Deanna, "Tonight, the spotlight of my birthday might just be stolen by your family."
"Shall we leave then?"
Deanna joked back, pretending to walk away with Lance.
But before their laughter ended, Mr. and Mrs. Sherman emerged from the venue.
Surprised and excited to hear of Lance's arrival, they came out to greet him personally and to find out what was happening.
After all, the Sherman family had no relations with the Mercer family.
"It truly is Mr. Mercer, having Mr. Mercer here is an honor for us."
Mr. Sherman approached Lance with a sycophantic smile, resembling a jovial Buddha.
Indeed, despite Landon's impressive appearance, his father was a stout man.
After greeting Lance, Mrs. Sherman's gaze shifted to Deanna, her expression changing slightly as she hesitated, "This is Deanna, right?"
"Mr. and Mrs. Sherman, long time no see," Deanna greeted politely with a nod.
Only then did Mr. Sherman notice her standing next to Lance, expressing surprise, "You're the Jones family girl, weren't you driven out by the Jones family... How come you are with Mr. Mercer?"
Realizing his words might have been inappropriate, Mr. Sherman quickly amended them.
His gaze then fell on the two children beside them, growing even more astonished.
Looking at the children who resembled Lance a lot, he asked, "These children are..."
"These are my children with Lance, from that time," Deanna said openly, though in a low voice meant only for those nearby to hear.
Mr. and Mrs. Sherman gasped in shock.
Deanna pretended not to notice and continued, "I don't want this matter to go public for now; I would appreciate it if Mr. and Mrs. Sherman could keep this confidential."
"Don't worry, Anna, we won't speak of this outside," Mr. and Mrs. Sherman nodded in assurance.
They then personally invited Deanna and Lance into the venue.
Watching his parents take them away left Landon speechless.
It seemed Deanna and Lance were his guests after all, but he dared not argue with his parents.
Inside the venue, Deanna and Lance were immediately surrounded by many people greeting them.
These people rarely had the chance to interact with Lance and didn't want to miss this opportunity to connect with him, making it tough for Deanna and the children.
Not good at socializing, Deanna felt uncomfortable with all the compliments.
It was also the first time the children witnessed such a scene and were somewhat scared.
Lance noticed their discomfort and softly said to Deanna, "Find a place to rest; I'll handle things here and then join you."
Normally, with Lance's status, he could dismiss anyone with a cold look.
However, everyone there was intent on connecting with him, thus ignoring the cold aura he emitted.
This was a first for Lance as well.
Deanna noticed his helplessness and nodded with a slight smile, "Then I'll take them to get something to eat."
Soon, the mother and children moved away from the crowd to the dining area.
The children sighed in relief.
Chloe dramatically patted her chest in fright, "Those adults were so scary; I thought they were going to eat us."
Deanna couldn't help but laugh at her daughter's words but agreed with her sentiment.
The situation had indeed been a bit frightening.
As she was lost in thought, she felt a tap on her shoulder.
Turning around instinctively, she saw Julia who had approached unnoticed.
"Julia, when did you get here?"
"Godmother," the children called out politely.
Julia couldn't resist pinching their soft cheeks as she looked at their adorable faces before smiling, "I arrived just before you did. I wanted to come over and say hello, but seeing you surrounded by so many people made me reconsider. You and Mr. Mercer are really popular."
"It has nothing to do with me; it's all because of Lance," Deanna said, spreading her hands to show it wasn't her doing.
Julia was about to say something else but seemed to notice something and smiled at Deanna, "It looks like you want to stay out of it, but I think that might be unlikely; someone is looking for you."
"Looking for me?"
Deanna was surprised and was about to ask when she heard several ingratiating voices nearby.
Several elegantly dressed ladies approached Deanna with cheerful greetings, "Mrs. Mercer is so beautiful, and your children are adorable too. Mr. Mercer has really kept it well hidden; we had no idea he was married."
"Indeed, Mr. Mercer is really good at hiding."
"I don't blame Mr. Mercer for keeping it so secret; if I were him, having a wife as beautiful as Mrs. Mercer, I'd definitely keep her hidden too."