Hearing the ladies' conversation, Deanna realized they were mistaken but chose not to clarify, as it was inevitable.
She greeted the ladies subtly, "Hello."
"Hello, Mrs. Mercer."
After the reserved greetings, the initially awkward atmosphere among them eased significantly.
Especially after the two little ones greeted the ladies, their adorable, soft voices instantly captured the ladies' hearts.
"How can there be such well-behaved and cute children? I really want to take them home."
"Chloe, would you like to come and play at my house? I have lots of fun toys, and my sons can play with you."
"Your children are naughty; what if Chloe gets hurt? Better come to my home to have fun with my daughters, and girls will definitely have common topics to talk about."
The ladies began to vie for the chance to take the little ones to their homes.
The little ones, having never experienced such a situation, looked helplessly towards Deanna.
Deanna, rarely seeing them puzzled, felt a playful urge and pretended not to notice.
Julia noticed Deanna's mischievous mood and cooperated by staying silent.
She leaned close to Deanna and teased, "Who would have thought our Gregory and Chloe would be so popular?"
"Only now you notice?" Deanna responded with a laugh.
Meanwhile, the two little ones, seeing their mommy and godmother not coming to their rescue and whispering among themselves, felt quite frustrated.
At the same time, more people arrived at the banquet scene.
Landon looked at the approaching members of the Jones family with a flash of displeasure in his eyes.
"I don't recall sending an invitation to you Jones family; what are you doing here?"
His words caused others outside the hotel to look towards Garrett and his wife Mia, Emily, and Raphael with strange expressions.
Raphael noticed those looks and his face stiffened uncomfortably.
The rest of the Jones family didn't fare much better.
They didn't expect Landon to be so blunt.
Fortunately, Mia recovered quickly and said gracefully, "Mr. Landon, you must be forgetful. How could you possibly not have sent us an invitation? If you truly hadn't invited us, how could we have the audacity to come here uninvited? Look, here is the invitation your staff sent us."
She then took out an invitation from her handbag and handed it over while reminding her daughter, "Emily, quickly show Mr. Landon your invitation too."
"Okay, mom."
Understanding her mother's intent, Emily quickly took out her invitation.
Mimicking her mother's actions, she handed it to Landon with a cryptic smile, "Mr. Landon, you should recognize this invitation, shouldn't you?"
Years ago, she had a bit of a crush on this man.
After all, he was one of Deanna's childhood friends.
In the past, Emily wanted everything that belonged to Deanna.
Unfortunately, this man was not at all charmed by her and even often made her feel humiliated; eventually, she had to give up.
But she remembered those humiliations.
Now that she had found an opportunity for revenge, she was not going to hold back.
"We're guests. Mr. Landon, is it proper to drive us away? Is that the way your Sherman family treat the guests?"
"Guests should be invited. You come uninvited. Why should I treat you like guests?" Landon snorted dismissively in response.
Annoyed, Emily retorted, "Who says we came uninvited? Isn't this invitation issued by Mr. Landon?"
Hearing this, Landon glanced at the invitation in her hand and scoffed, "Mrs. Howard, are you sure you want me to tell the truth? It might not look good for everyone involved."
He knew that such banquet invitations could be obtained through underhanded means.
Landon had not sent invitations to either the Jones or Howard families; their only way to get them was through such methods.
Emily was left speechless.
Garrett and Mia also had nothing to say but were unwilling to give up entering the Sherman family banquet as they had their motives for being there tonight.
Raphael felt unbearable embarrassment from the surrounding stares and wanted to leave.
At that moment, Mr. and Mrs. Sherman heard about the commotion outside and came out.
They had already learned about the incident from their staff.
Although they disdained the Jones family members, Emily's words were correct-guests should be welcomed. If they sent people away today, negative comments about the Sherman family might appear tomorrow.
Thus, they scolded Landon and had the Jones family members invited into the banquet.
Landon was displeased, "Mom and Dad, don't forget what relationship the Jones family has with Deanna. She's inside right now; what if they cause trouble for Deanna?"
"With Mr. Mercer there, he won't let his woman be bullied. You should worry more about your own affairs. There are so many eligible young ladies here tonight; you must find me a daughter-in-law!"
Mrs. Sherman glared at her son. Clearly, she was well aware of her son's thoughts.