Chapter 263
"Look who's talking. Didn't your boyfriend come to pick you up too?"
I gestured with my chin toward the man across from Jason.
Who else could it be but Ryan?
Lily grinned. "What can I do? I spent quite a bit of his money today, so of course he had to come see what's going on."
I laughed. "Come on, you don't need to make excuses. As if Ryan would care about that little bit of money."
As we talked, the two men had already walked up to us.
They naturally took the bags from our hands.
Jason weighed them and frowned slightly.
"You bought so much stuff? Why didn't you call home and have Lila come pick it up first? Carrying all this for so long, you must be exhausted."
I smiled and shook my head.
"I'm fine. This is nothing."
Back when I was working multiple part-time jobs to make money, I'd been through much worse.
Now carrying some heavy bags of things I actually liked was a million times better than before.
"No way, I feel bad for you."
Jason took my hand and lowered his head to kiss my palm.
The warm touch made my heart flutter.
Lily clicked her tongue beside us. "Can you two save the flirting for when you get home?"
My face flushed, and I suddenly realized what we were doing. I quickly pulled my hand back.
Jason grabbed my hand back, looking displeased, and shot Lily a sideways glance.
"I'm kissing my wife. Do I need to worry about where we are?"
Lily gave him a look and smoothly complained to me.
"Sue, look at your husband. Just because you two got married first, does he have to show off in front of me like this? You're breaking my heart!"
She clutched her chest dramatically as she spoke.
Ryan walked over at just the right moment, put his arm around her, and said with a smile, "Lily, if you want, we could go get married right now."
Lily pushed his hand away and rolled her eyes at him. "Well, you'd better deal with your parents first!"
Ryan looked at her helplessly.
"Lily, you really misunderstood. My parents didn't mean it that way..."
But Lily refused to talk to him.
I took Jason's hand and said goodbye to Lily. "Well, we're heading home. See you later."
"Bye!"
On the way home, I told Jason about Lily meeting Ryan's parents.
Looking at Jason's profile as he focused on driving, I asked, "Jason, what's your expert opinion on this?"
Jason kept his eyes on the road. "I wouldn't call it expert opinion. Relationship matters can only be handled by the people involved."
I countered, "But this is really about two families now, isn't it?"
Jason nodded slightly.
"That's right, but we're just outsiders in this. No matter how much we see or say, it won't help. The key is how Ryan handles it."
He raised an eyebrow, his tone taking on a hint of pride.
"For example, he should learn more from me. Look, I've never put you in such a difficult position."
I was a bit speechless at Jason's narcissism, but I had to admit he was right.
The next day, before I even got up, Jason walked in carrying a dress.
"There's a party at noon today. Come with me, honey."
"What kind of party? Do I need to prepare anything in advance?"
I nodded and got out of bed.
"Just get your hair and makeup done. Nothing special to worry about, given your status."
Jason explained, "You can think of it as just another ordinary high society party where people mingle and discuss new business partnerships."
"Okay, I got it."
I got out of bed and went to the bathroom to freshen up. I was planning to change into casual clothes to go to the styling studio, but Jason had already brought the styling team to our house.
Being suddenly surrounded by several people made me uncomfortable.
I looked past them at Jason, feeling helpless.
"Wouldn't it be easier to just go there?"
"You were tired from shopping yesterday, so let's make things easier today."
Jason said matter-of-factly.
The makeup artist smiled and chimed in, "Mrs. Cooper, you and Mr. Cooper have such a great relationship. He really spoils you."
I snapped back to attention and smiled with a nod. "Thank you."
Since it wasn't a very formal party, the styling didn't take too long.
Everything was done in an hour and a half.
Putting on the dress Jason had chosen, I was very pleased with my reflection in the mirror.
The dress was sapphire blue, making my skin tone look especially beautiful.
The silk flower on the side shoulder was elegant yet striking.
"It's really beautiful."
I couldn't help but praise it sincerely.
Jason nodded in agreement. He was holding the butterfly brooch Tamsin had given me and walked over to pin it on me gently.
"The moment I saw the brooch, I felt it would be perfect with this dress. Sure enough, once you put it on, its true value finally shows."
I looked at him with amusement.
"Could it be that the brooch and dress are just beautiful on their own, and it has nothing to do with me?"
"But they only look this good on my wife. How could anyone else wear them with such grace?"
Jason shook his head seriously.
He wrapped his arms around my waist from behind and buried his face in my neck, breathing deeply.
I quickly slipped out of his embrace. "Stop it, we need to leave soon!"
Jason licked his lips with lingering desire, his eyes burning as he stared at me.
"Then you'll make it up to me tonight when we get back."
At the party, people were coming and going constantly.
I held onto Jason's arm with an elegant and appropriate smile on my face.
In this setting, I just needed to maintain my composure.
After more than an hour, Jason was worried I was tired, so he took me to the dessert corner to rest.
Someone came to find him midway.
He looked at me.
I smiled slightly. "I'll rest here. You go ahead."
"Okay, wait for me."
Jason lowered his head to kiss me before leaving.
Also sitting not far from the dessert corner were two wealthy ladies.
One of them looked somewhat familiar, but I was sure I hadn't met her before.
The two ladies were chatting.
One of them asked, "I heard Ryan brought his girlfriend home the other day? How was it?"
The lady I found familiar sighed and shook her head.
"The girl is pretty enough, but her family background is too ordinary. My husband and I weren't really impressed, but Ryan likes her, so we didn't say much."
My eyes flickered, and I instantly recognized who she was.
Ryan's mother, Katya Scott.
The other woman looked shocked.
"Really? Which family's daughter is she? With the Scott family's status, as long as her family isn't too ordinary, there shouldn't be much to worry about, right?"
Katya curled her lips with disdain.
"She's from the most ordinary family. Otherwise, my husband and I wouldn't be so conflicted."
"I don't know what that girl did to brainwash Ryan, making him so infatuated that he says he won't marry anyone but her. We're a wealthy family, so we should care about matching social status, right? What if she's just after the money?"
Katya sighed.
She was about to say more when the other woman glanced in my direction.
Only then did Katya close her mouth.
I lowered my eyes, a touch of sarcasm flashing through my mind.
What a coincidence—wasn't I also a daughter from an ordinary family who married into wealth?