Chapter 588 Meeting the Parents
Elara and Zara exchanged confused looks, totally clueless about the weird vibe between Jesse and Harry.
"You guys act like strangers," Elara tried to break the ice, glancing between them. "What's up with the distance?"
Harry frowned, his eyes narrowing at Jesse. "Is something wrong?"
"I need to talk to you privately," Jesse finally decided to be upfront with Elara's parents. "Is now a good time for you?"
"Sure," Harry replied right away. "No problem at all."
Elara chimed in, "What about me?"
"You stay here," Harry said, wanting to hear what Jesse had to say.
What was going on? Elara watched, puzzled, as Harry and Zara led Jesse to the study upstairs.
Worried Elara might eavesdrop, Harry turned back before heading up. "Ryder, keep an eye on her. If she tries to listen in, let us know."
"Got it." Ryder nodded.
Elara wasn't happy but kept quiet, waiting there obediently. She waited for over two hours. It was getting dark outside, and the three still hadn't come down. Elara got up and headed upstairs.
"Ms. Elara Gonzalez, Mr. Harry Gonzalez said you can't go up without his permission," Ryder reminded her.
"I'm just calling them for dinner," Elara said, raising her voice as she walked up. "How much longer are you gonna talk? I'm starving! Dad, Mom, Jesse!"
She called out a few times, but no one in the study answered. Their conversation was wrapping up, and Jesse had laid everything out for Harry and Zara.
Jesse had already decided that if Harry and Zara weren't happy with him, he'd work hard to win them over.
"Does Elara know?" Harry asked, his expression steady.
"She knows," Jesse nodded.
"Just follow her lead on this," Harry said. Though he wasn't thrilled about Elara getting married, he felt better knowing it was Jesse. "If she's okay with it, so are we."
Jesse paused, his usually cool eyes showing some emotion. "But."
"Don't stress," Harry finally relaxed, patting Jesse's shoulder. "We just care that you'll be devoted to Elara, loyal, and love her for life, that's all."
"I'll treat her right," Jesse promised. "She's everything to me."
"What are you still talking about?" Elara's voice came from outside the door as she knocked a few times. "If you don't come down for dinner, the food's gonna get cold."
"Alright," Harry said, opening the door and seeing through her act.
"It's dinner time," Elara pointed out, glancing at the three of them. "What were you talking about for so long?"
"Don't worry, we didn't bully your boyfriend," Harry joked.
Elara shot back, "As if you could."
The four of them made their way downstairs, with Harry and Zara leading the way. Elara, sensing the more relaxed vibe, leaned in and whispered to Jesse, "What were you guys talking about for so long?"
"Family stuff," Jesse replied honestly.
"Then why didn't you let me listen in?" Elara asked, puzzled.
"If you were there, you'd definitely back me up," Jesse knew Elara too well. "I wanted to hear your parents' real thoughts."
Marriage was a big deal, important to both the couple and their families. If Elara had been there, Harry and Zara might have just said they were okay with everything to make her happy.
But Jesse didn't want that. He wanted Harry and Zara to genuinely feel comfortable entrusting Elara to him.
Elara felt a warm glow inside and affectionately called him, "You goof."
Jesse just smiled.
They all had dinner together that night.
Around ten o'clock, Jesse mentioned he should head back.
"I'll go with you!" Elara insisted, not wanting to be apart from him.
"I'll come see you tomorrow," Jesse knew it wasn't right to take Elara away so late. "Text me when you wake up."
Elara gave him a look, clearly not satisfied with Jesse's response. On their first day together, did Jesse have any sense?
"Just go with him," Harry said, "You really can't stand being apart from him."
"On your first day with Mom, did you want to be apart?" Elara shot back, knowing how to get to Harry.
"We're going on a trip tomorrow, not sure when we'll be back," Zara chimed in, understanding Elara's feelings and now reassured about Jesse. "Elara will be in your care for the next few days."
"Don't worry, I'll take good care of her," Jesse promised.
Elara was all set to leave with him.
Jesse initially wanted to refuse but knew he couldn't stop her.
After saying goodbye to Harry and Zara, Elara practically dragged Jesse out the door.
"You should stay home tonight," Jesse sighed, buckling her seatbelt while nagging, "And help them pack for the trip."
"No need to worry, my dad will handle everything," Elara replied quickly.
In reality, Elara knew there was no trip. Zara had just made up an excuse so Jesse wouldn't worry about taking her out.
Jesse didn't know this.
Seeing him driving seriously, Elara smiled and asked, "By the way, when are you going to take me to meet your parents?"
"No need," Jesse refused flatly.
"For something as important as marriage, we should meet them," Elara argued. "After all, they are your parents."
Jesse pressed his lips together, not speaking. He didn't need to guess to know what would happen if he took Elara back.
He didn't care what his parents said, but he didn't want Elara to face any unpleasantness. It was better not to meet them.
"Why aren't you talking?" Elara poked him, pressing for an answer.
"If we really need to meet my parents, we should meet Ms. Murphy's parents," Jesse stopped mid-sentence.
Daphne's mother, Jasmine, had already passed away.
"My current life is all thanks to Ms. Murphy," Jesse continued, his eyes filled with seriousness and gratitude for Daphne. "Without her, I wouldn't be who I am today."
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