Chapter 156 Quite Beautiful
Willow knew that Daniel was worried about upsetting his parents. She had met them on several occasions, and the first time might have been hard and quite upsetting, but after several meetings, one could get desensitized, right? Now, she could even greet them with a smile.
When they entered the living room, Mrs. Jonah wanted to invite them to sit down together, saying that young people often had more to talk about.
Willow made an excuse to Mrs. Jonah, "Auntie, I need to take off. Um... there's something at the office I have to take care of."
Mitchell frowned slightly upon hearing that she had to deal with office matters. Was there an emergency at the company today? He wasn't aware of anything.
He glanced at Willow discreetly and said nothing.
"What's so urgent that you have to run off? Have lunch before you go; you're not in such a rush. Look, Mitchell's here, isn't he? Tell us what work is so urgent that you can't even eat," Mrs. Jonah said as she nudged Mitchell with her foot.
Willow was startled by Mrs. Jonah's words, and she hastily waved her hands to clarify, "Mitchell doesn't directly oversee my work. I still report to Luca above him, so Mitchell isn't in the loop."
Mrs. Jonah, still holding Willow's hand, insisted that she stay for lunch. "Come on, you can stay for a meal. It won't take long, and I've made your favorite beef ribs."
Willow stood there, looking troubled, undecided whether to stay or go.
Daniel was about to tell his mom not to keep Willow, suggesting that she could come over for a meal another time when she wasn't busy. But before he could say anything, his brother Mitch suddenly chimed in.
Everyone heard Mitchell, who had been silent until then, cut off Mrs. Jonah's entreaty: "There is indeed work to be done today at the company, and I need to head over as well. I'll take Willow. We'll grab lunch near the office."
Mrs. Jonah heard her son say he had to get busy and immediately became irritated. It wasn't easy for her to invite Marigold to dinner, and this rascal was now talking about work.
"What urgent work do you have to attend to? Tell me," Mrs. Jonah asked Mitchell with a tone of dissatisfaction.
"Mom, I really have a last-minute issue. Would Marigold stay to keep you company for dinner?" Mitchell was already getting up to go upstairs and change his clothes.
Seeing him act this way only made Mrs. Jonah angrier. "What do you mean, 'Marigold staying to eat is fine'? What fun is there in keeping an old lady company? You must eat dinner before you go, no matter what."
Mitchell went upstairs without looking back as Mrs. Jonah shouted at him angrily.
Willow felt extremely awkward amidst this. She was still determining whether Mitchell actually had something to do or if it was something else entirely. If it was to give her a ride to the company, it was unnecessary and only served to upset everyone.
Marigold quickly stood up to calm Mrs. Jonah down, "Auntie, don't be mad. Mitchell probably really does have urgent work to handle. We can always plan dinner some other time, and if you don't mind my chatter, I'll come over more often."
Mrs. Jonah's face softened a bit, "The kid is always so immersed in work and doesn't care about anything else. Talk some sense into him later."
"Of course, Auntie, I'll have a word with him," Marigold replied.
Willow listened to the two converse, and it sounded just like a delightful mother-in-law and daughter-in-law chat.
She thought she'd become numb to the situation, but apparently, some things still hurt...
Mitchell came downstairs, dressed and holding his car keys, and approached Willow, "Let's go."
"Okay," Willow mechanically followed Mitchell.
At that moment, Marigold called out to Mitchell, "Mitchell, it turns out I have a matter to attend to as well and can't stay for dinner. We might as well leave together. Could you give me a lift?"
Then she turned to Willow, "I hope this doesn't inconvenience you, Willow."
Willow quickly replied, "Not at all. If you're in a hurry, let Jonah take you. I can take a taxi."
Mitchell turned to look at Willow, appearing somewhat angry, but he quickly regained his composure, turned back to Marigold, and said, "Let's go together, then. I'll drop you off first."
Marigold then reached for Mrs. Jonah's hand with a beaming smile, "Auntie, I apologize for the sudden work call. I have to leave now, but I'll come back with Mitchell another day to have dinner with you."
Turning her head, she spoke to Daniel, "Willow, I'm heading out. Let's plan a shopping trip together next time."
Her manners were impeccable, a mirror image of the ideal daughter-in-law of the Jonah family.
Since everyone had work to attend to, Mrs. Jonah couldn't keep them any longer and reminded Marigold to visit more often when she was free.
Finally, as Daniel watched the trio walk away, the strange yet harmonious scene played out as they exited the villa's grand gate.
Mitchell's car was parked right outside the villa. Marigold and Mitchell walked ahead, with her heading straight for the passenger door and getting in. Willow followed behind them, noticing how well-matched the two looked even from the back.
Watching them get into the car, Willow stood by, dazed, until Mitchell rolled down the window and urged her to get in, snapping her back to reality. She hurriedly opened the back door and scrambled inside.
Once in the car, Marigold teased Mitchell with a smile, "You're such a charming younger Madison."
Mitchell glanced back at Willow and said in a leisurely manner, "She sure is a handful."
Then he started the car and drove off.
Willow's face turned red with embarrassment, and she smiled awkwardly without a word.
The silence was golden at that moment.
Caught off guard by Mitchell's comment, Marigold quickly adjusted her face to smile at Willow and said, "You Jonahs are such jokers."
Throughout the ride, Marigold enthusiastically engaged in conversation. She was certainly accomplished and independent with her ideas. However, most of the chat was between her and Mitchell, with Willow sitting quietly in the back, listening to them discuss things unfamiliar to her.
Suddenly, Marigold asked Willow, "Where do you like to shop? We should go together sometime."
Willow came to her senses and replied politely, "Oh, I usually just browse around the mall near our company. Willow is pretty busy; sometimes she spends her weekends on set."
"We can plan ahead the next time I visit Mitchell and maybe shop together," Marigold offered warmly.
"Sure," Willow nodded, though she wasn't keen on the idea of going shopping together at all!
Based on our conversation, Marigold would often visit the company to see Jonah. Thankfully, they worked on different floors, so Willow decided to avoid going up to see Jonah in the future to prevent awkward encounters.
Mitchell first dropped Marigold off at her workplace. After getting out of the car, Marigold looked mischievously through the window and said, "Mitchell, you owe me a meal since we didn't get to eat today. Let's make a date for another day." She then turned and flashed a radiant smile toward Willow, who was sitting in the back seat.
Willow, appearing somewhat dazed, nodded with a strained smile. "Sure," she replied tersely.
With that, Marigold, carrying her designer limited edition purse, sashayed away from the car.