Deanna quickly disappeared down the hallway.
Seeing this, Eula's face turned dark, and she left shortly after.
Unbeknownst to them, as they left one after the other, a small door next to the restroom opened from the inside. Samantha emerged, holding two exquisite brocade boxes, her expression not too pleased.
Samantha was there because she remembered that they, as elders, had not yet prepared a gift for Eula as a token of appreciation.
The door she came through was one of the passages leading to the Mercer family's storage for valuable items.
Of course, it also housed countless treasures.
Samantha hadn't expected that taking a shortcut downstairs would lead her to witness such an incident, leaving her with mixed feelings.
She never thought Eula would have such feelings for her son.
In their usual interactions, she hadn't noticed anything.
But upon reflection, she realized that someone willing to risk their life for her son couldn't be motivated by mere friendship.
Eula was indeed good at hiding her feelings; neither she nor Lance had noticed anything.
From Eula and Deanna's conversation earlier, it was clear that Eula often picked on Deanna in private.
This realization made Samantha's impression of Eula plummet.
She felt that even if Eula liked her son, she shouldn't trouble Deanna.
Especially since her son was about to marry Deanna.
No, she couldn't let Eula cause any trouble.
Samantha quickly made up her mind and returned to the living room with the brocade boxes, her smile unchanged from before.
Neither Eula nor Deanna noticed anything unusual.
Seeing Samantha return, Deanna felt relieved.
With Samantha absent earlier, she had to entertain Eula as half the host of the Mercer family.
Honestly, she didn't want to say a word to Eula now.
Of course, Eula didn't want to interact with Deanna either, but to avoid revealing her thoughts, she had to engage in idle chat with Deanna.
When she saw Samantha return, she immediately greeted her warmly.
"Samantha, you're back."
"I just went upstairs to get something."
Samantha nodded at Eula and then sat back down on the sofa with everyone else.
Deanna noticed the exquisite gift box in Samantha's hand and had some guesses in her mind.
She said nothing and continued playing puzzles with the kids.
Meanwhile, Samantha handed the gift box to Eula with a gentle smile. "This is a little something from Logan and me, a token of our appreciation for saving Lance."
"Samantha, you're too kind. With my relationship with Lance, I couldn't just stand by."
Eula didn't want Samantha to be so formal and emphasized her relationship with Lance.
The underlying message in Eula's words made Samantha's smile fade slightly as she insisted on giving the box to Eula.
"I know you and Lance are close, but even the best relationships need maintenance. Besides, we have a saying here: 'A gift from an elder should not be refused.' So please accept it."
"... Alright then, thank you, Samantha."
Knowing she couldn't refuse, Eula accepted the gift while casting a smug glance at Deanna out of the corner of her eye.
She intended to flaunt it to Deanna but noticed that Deanna wasn't paying attention and seemed indifferent to Samantha's gift.
Just as Eula was pondering how to get Deanna's attention, the topic suddenly shifted.
"By the way, I don't know if Lance has told you, but his wedding with Deanna is in two months. You must come."
Samantha deliberately brought up this matter to dissuade Eula.
However, upon hearing this, Eula's eyes flickered. She smiled and said, "I know about it. I'll definitely be there."
But she wasn't planning to attend as a guest; she intended to crash the wedding if necessary.
Samantha felt more worried upon hearing Eula's natural response. She sensed that Eula's intentions were deeper than Bella's before her.
At least when she mentioned Deanna and Lance being together back then, Bella couldn't hide her emotions. But this Eula was completely unreadable.
"It's good you'll come. Many of Lance's friends will be there too. It would be great if Lance could introduce you all. By the way, do you have a boyfriend? If not, I can have Lance introduce you to some of his friends."
"Introduce a boyfriend?"
Eula was stunned.
She hadn't expected the conversation to take this turn.
Samantha pretended not to notice her reaction and continued cheerfully, "Don't worry. Lance's friends are all great-good family backgrounds and very handsome. If you don't believe me, I can have Deanna fetch Lance's phone upstairs; I'm sure he has their photos."