Chapter 279 The End of the Wedding Changes
After Lauren and Matthew bailed, the White fam finally let loose about the whole thing.
Ethan was fuming. "Mom, Dad! Why won't you give Lauren a chance? Why!"
Esme's face went ghostly white with rage. "How dare you ask us why! Out of all the women in the world, you pick Quentin's ex-wife!"
"So what! They're done. I don't care."
Kevin, hearing Ethan's words, started hacking up a storm. "You don't care? Even if you don't, the White family does! Do you even know who Quentin is? Marrying Lauren means pissing him off, and they have a kid together! You wanna be a stepdad? You think Quentin's gonna let his kid call you dad?"
Ethan knew Lauren being divorced with a kid was a big no-no for Kevin and Esme. He softened up, trying to win them over. "Mom, Dad, you've known Lauren since she was a kid. She's awesome. Didn't you always want me to marry someone sensible and caring? Lauren's all that. Please, just say yes."
"Ethan, why can't you get it?! It's not that we don't like Lauren, but we can't afford to piss off Quentin! Listen, marry anyone but Lauren!" Kevin was firm; this time, he couldn't let Ethan have his way.
Marrying Lauren would bring a world of trouble. He couldn't risk the White family's future over someone like Lauren.
Ryan pulled Ethan back, who was ready to argue more and said, "Ethan, chill. You wanna upset our parents over Lauren? Say sorry now!"
Ethan looked at Kevin and Esme, feeling guilty. But he'd waited so long for this moment; he didn't want to blow it. He insisted, "Mom, Dad, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have argued. But I really love Lauren. She's amazing. Please think about it."
Ethan backed off. This whole thing had already stirred up Kevin and Esme big time, so he couldn't push it. This was gonna need a long game plan.
Kevin and Esme looked at Ethan with disappointment, sighing and not wanting to argue anymore. To them, Ethan was always a troublemaker.
Walking out of the White Villa, Matthew let out a heavy sigh.
"Mommy, don't be sad. I'll be with you," Matthew quickly comforted Lauren, worried she'd be upset.
Surprisingly, Lauren smiled, squatting down to ruffle Matthew's hair. "Matthew, were you scared by all that yelling from Ethan's family?"
Matthew shook his head. He wasn't scared at all. He didn't get what was going on with the adults; he just knew those people didn't like Lauren.
"Mommy, those people don't like you. Let's just ignore them. If Uncle Ethan can't protect you, then I'll do it. We don't need him, okay?" Matthew said angrily.
Lauren felt a warmth in her heart from Matthew's words.
"Matthew, Ethan's got his own problems. We need to understand him. We can't forget that for the past three years, Uncle Ethan's been looking out for us and helping you with school. We should be grateful, so let's give him more time and wait for him, okay?" Lauren gently explained to Matthew.
Matthew, being the sensible kid he was, understood. He was grateful for Ethan's care over the past three years, but accepting Ethan as his dad out of gratitude was still tough.
"I get it," Matthew mumbled, looking down, feeling a bit bummed. He really wanted to find a way to tell Quentin about all this. He believed his dad would know how to fix everything.
Lauren pulled Matthew into a hug. "Let's head home and see what Grandma whipped up for us."
Lauren felt a bit heavy-hearted saying that. She could already picture Kimberly bombarding her with questions. She She wasn't bothered by the fact that the White family didn't want her around, but Kimberly's constant worrying was starting to feel like a weight on her shoulders.
Sure enough, when Kimberly saw them come back so soon, she started grilling Lauren until she spilled the beans.
Kimberly lost it. "The White family clearly ain't feeling you! I told you not to bring Matthew the first time you met them, but you just had to go your own way. If you had listened to me and let them get used to you and Matthew slowly, your thing with Ethan wouldn't be such a mess!"
Lauren managed a weak smile, realizing Kimberly was so riled up that nothing she could say would soothe her.Seeing Lauren's calm face, Kimberly got even more pissed. "How can you still smile! Why do you always make me worry! You and Matthew were about to have a good life, and you blew it. What's your next plan, huh?"
Lauren kept her head down like a scolded kid. No, she hadn't done anything wrong; she just didn't want to argue with Kimberly. For those who didn't get her, no amount of explaining would help.
Lauren's silence only made Kimberly angrier, she yelled, "Say something! Are you mute or something?"
Lauren smiled bitterly, "Mom, you never listen to my explanations. Just get all your complaints out. Once you're done, you'll feel better."
Kimberly rolled her eyes, feeling like she'd been stressing all day with no payoff. "If you're not gonna listen, fine, I'll zip it. But mark my words, if you let Ethan slip away, you're gonna kick yourself!"
"I have nothing to regret. If Ethan and I are meant to be, his parents wouldn't be a problem. Even if we can't get married, I can handle things on my own. Plus, I have Matthew!" Lauren said calmly.
She truly felt no burden in her heart. After meeting Ethan's parents, she felt even more at peace. Everything that was bound to happen had happened; she had nothing to worry about.
Ethan couldn't get through to Kevin and Esme at the White Villa. He planned to find Lauren quickly to comfort her, but his phone rang.
After the call, Ethan looked downcast.
Seeing Ethan's serious face, Ryan walked up, worried. "Ethan, what's up?"
Ethan looked at Ryan with a distant gaze, sighing, "The architectural design company is in trouble. A major client claims our design was plagiarized."
"How could that be? Our company doesn't plagiarize. Besides, most clients don't care about that. Who's this client?" Ryan asked with concern.
Ethan didn't say much. He walked away quickly, but before leaving, he turned back to look at Ryan, "Ryan, did you hide anything about Lauren from Mom and Dad?"
