Since the two families had their formal dinner, the Mercer family began planning a public banquet.
Because the banquet would also announce Deanna and Lance's engagement, Logan and Samantha decided to make it grand. They planned to invite not only relatives but also business partners and family friends.
As a result, Logan and Samantha had been very busy lately.
Logan even handed over all company matters to Lance so he could focus on preparing for the banquet.
Lance accepted this willingly and was busy every day.
Deanna, on the other hand, was the most relaxed among them.
She felt sorry for Lance, who came home late every night.
One night, Lance returned home very late again.
Seeing the exhaustion on his face, Deanna couldn't help but say, "If you keep going like this, your health, which you worked so hard to improve, will deteriorate again. Why are you so busy?"
"Sorry to make you worry, but it's almost done. I want to free up time for this weekend."
Lance apologized and pulled Deanna into his arms.
Deanna was puzzled and asked, "Is there something special this weekend?"
"I invited my aunt from abroad to make our engagement outfits."
Lance didn't hide it and gently explained while nuzzling Deanna's cheek.
Hearing this, Deanna felt an indescribable sweetness.
She held the hand that was around her and looked at him affectionately. "I know you want to give me the best, but I don't want you to exhaust yourself. Nothing is more important to me than you."
"I know."
Lance looked into Deanna's eyes and, moved by her words, lowered his head to kiss her soft lips.
As their lips met, the room's atmosphere grew increasingly warm.
The night was still long.
...
Soon, it was Saturday.
Deanna woke up early and saw the man beside her still sleeping soundly. Not wanting to wake him, she got up quietly and went to wash up.
Downstairs, she saw her grandmother and the two little ones in the living room and walked over with a smile.
"Good morning, Grandma, Gregory, and Chloe."
"Good morning, Mommy," the two little ones greeted sweetly.
Old Ashley nodded with a smile.
Noticing Lance wasn't there, she asked, "Where's Lance?"
"Lance is still sleeping. He's been very tired lately, so I wanted to let him sleep a bit longer. Let's have breakfast first."
"Alright, I'll have the kitchen keep a warm breakfast for him," Old Ashley agreed and headed to the kitchen.
Later, after breakfast, Lance still hadn't woken up.
Deanna didn't mind and took the two little ones to inspect the herb garden.
About half an hour later, Sam approached from outside and respectfully said, "Missus, Mr. Mercer's aunt has arrived. Should we wake Mr. Mercer?"
"Amy is here? No need to wake Lance. I know why she's here," Deanna said as she led the two little ones to the living room.
In the living room, Amy was leisurely sitting on the sofa with a cup of tea, observing her surroundings.
Hearing movement behind her, she turned and saw Deanna approaching hand in hand with her children. She teased, "Anna, you've given me a huge surprise."
She looked at the two little ones and said mischievously, "I always thought they looked like Lance and were very close to him. Turns out they really are his children."
Deanna smiled and brought the children over to Amy.
Amy waved them over warmly. "Come here... uh, what should they call me now?"
She looked at Deanna in confusion.
"They should call you grandaunt," Deanna replied with a smile.
"Yes, grandaunt," Amy nodded and then kindly said to the children, "Come here so I can have a good look at you."
The children weren't strangers to Amy and sweetly called her "grandaunt" before rushing over.
Their soft voices melted Amy's heart.
After some playful banter between the aunt and nephews, they got down to business.
Noticing Lance wasn't there, Amy asked, "Where's Lance? Didn't I tell him I was coming today? He didn't go to the office again, did he?"
"Lance didn't go to the office. He's probably still resting upstairs. He's been working late at the office recently. Today is a rare day off, so I wanted him to sleep in," Deanna quickly explained.
Amy didn't press further and smiled. "In that case, let him sleep. We can discuss things ourselves. Did he tell you why I'm here?"
She took a file from her bag and placed it on the table.
Deanna nodded with a smile. "Yes, he told me. Thank you for helping with the outfits."
"It's no trouble at all. Besides, I'm not doing it for free," Amy joked as she pushed the file towards Deanna. "These are some designs I came up with based on your style. See if there's anything you're not satisfied with or need modifying."