At the same time, Deanna opened the brocade box in her hand and was astonished by Old Mercer's generosity.
Inside the box was a finely crafted bracelet made from a top-quality ruby, gleaming with a subtle green light under the sunlight. It was extremely beautiful.
Lance also saw the bracelet and a look of surprise flashed in his eyes.
That bracelet was something his mother had once asked his grandfather for, but he had never given it to her. Yet now, his grandfather was giving it to Deanna.
Deanna looked at the valuable bracelet in her hand and felt it was too hot to handle.
"This gift is too precious; I can't accept it."
She intended to return the gift, but Lance stopped her.
Holding her hand, Lance smiled and said, "Since Grandpa gave it to you, just accept it."
"Yes, Miss Jones, take the bracelet. To be honest, you're great contributor to our Mercer family. You gave us two excellent children. If it weren't for you, I always thought my grandson might remain single forever."
Old Mercer chimed in, not forgetting to tease Lance a bit.
Lance showed a helpless expression.
Seeing this, Deanna smiled softly and accepted the bracelet.
The family then sat in the living room, chatting amicably as the atmosphere grew increasingly harmonious.
Later, the butler came to inform them that dinner was ready.
Old Mercer invited Deanna to dine with them.
During the meal, everyone chatted and laughed, creating a warm and cozy atmosphere.
Old Mercer was so happy that he drank two more glasses of wine.
Just as he was about to pour a third glass, Lance stopped him. "Grandpa, you've already had enough today. Butler, take Grandpa's wine glass away."
The butler nodded with a smile and took Old Mercer's wine glass away.
Although Old Mercer was not pleased, he didn't say anything because he knew Lance was looking out for him.
Deanna noticed this and curiously asked Lance, "What illness does Grandpa have?"
"It's nothing serious, just common ailments in the elderly like high blood pressure."
Lance understood Deanna's concern and didn't hide his grandfather's condition.
Hearing their conversation, Old Mercer looked at Deanna with hopeful eyes. "Anna, I heard you're skilled in medicine. Do you have any way for me to drink and eat meat without getting sick?"
"I'm afraid not, but I can write you a couple of medicinal cuisine recipes to help improve your health," Deanna replied gently.
However, Old Mercer strongly opposed the idea. "No medicinal cuisine for me. I can't stand the smell of medicine."
Seeing Old Mercer's resistance, Deanna didn't insist.
After dinner, the two little ones started feeling sleepy.
Having climbed the mountain all morning, their bodies were already exhausted.
Seeing this, Old Mercer asked the butler to take them to their rooms to rest.
That day, Deanna and Lance decided not to descend the mountain and stayed to accompany Old Mercer.
With his two great-grandchildren around, Old Mercer became playful and took them to play hide-and-seek in the back garden.
By the end of the day, the two little ones were so engrossed in playing and they became even closer to Old Mercer.
Especially when it was time to descend the mountain the next day, they were reluctant to leave.
Old Mercer was also reluctant to see them go but rationally didn't keep them since they had school to attend.
The two little ones promised to come up the mountain during their holidays to keep Old Mercer company.
And so, they descended the mountain together.
The following days were peaceful and happy for Deanna.
Soon it was time for both families to formally meet and discuss the wedding arrangements.
That evening, in an upscale private club.
Logan and Samantha sat across from Deanna's family at the dining table.
Both sides were dressed very formally, indicating their importance on this dinner meeting.
After some pleasantries, Logan and Samantha brought up the wedding arrangements.
"Lady Ashley, do you have any requirements for the betrothal gift?"
"I have no specific requirements for the betrothal gift as long as Lance treats our Deanna well."
Old Ashley said this while looking seriously at Lance.
Lance solemnly promised, "Rest assured, Grandma. I will always treat Deanna well. You can supervise me."
"Of course, I will keep an eye on you." Although she said this, Old Ashley was very satisfied with Lance's response.
The two little ones also chimed in with smiles, "We will help Grandma supervise Daddy too."
Hearing their innocent words, everyone couldn't help but smile indulgently.
After some laughter, the conversation returned to the main topic.
Seeing that Old Ashley had no specific requirements for the betrothal gift, Samantha took the initiative to mention what they had prepared.
"Logan and I discussed it. For the betrothal gift, we plan to give Deanna some company shares and real estate worth about one billion dollars."
"That's too much; we can't accept it."
Deanna and Old Ashley were both stunned by Logan and Samantha's words.
A one-billion-dollar betrothal gift was beyond their imagination.
But Samantha insisted, "This is what Deanna deserves. Please don't refuse."