"Then, we'll vote for it." Debbie's sharp gaze pinned Carlos down, who couldn't even utter a word anymore.
Terilynn didn't want to let go of the opportunity, and she licked her lips. "Dad!" When Carlos turned toward her, she lowered her head and glanced sideways. "He'll spend the Spring Festival with us sooner or later..." She paused the words she spoke in a low voice for a moment only to raise her head at Carlos with determination in her eyes. "How about we ask Brother-in-law to come and practice it in advance?"
A smile appeared on Debbie's face, and she thanked her younger daughter in her heart.
"What Brother-in-law?" The words only ignited the fire within Carlos' heart as he sent a fierce glare at Terilynn. "No way! Don't call him that!" Carlos knew his persistence would be futile, but he couldn't just give up that easily.
The color on Debbie's face changed from pink to red in an instant. "Sheffield will be her brother-in-law sooner or later." She threw another sharp glare at Carlos. "There's nothing wrong for Terilynn to call him that in advance."
Evelyn was silently chewing her food, acting as if she was all alone. She knew everyone in her family very well. Even if Evelyn said nothing, she knew what the outcome would be. She believed that the heated debate among her family members would soon come to an end.
"Debbie," —Miranda, who had been sitting silently, raised her head and gazed at her daughter-in-law with a sincere smile on the face—"if you make Sheffield your godson, remember to bring him to me. I want him to call me Grandma."
"Okay, Mom." Debbie chuckled under her breath.
Both mother-in-law and daughter-in-law ganged up on Carlos.
They were the two most powerful women in the Huo family. If they were to come to a decision together, Carlos would be like a lost puppy, not knowing what to do. The situation in front of his eyes was the same, and he couldn't find any possible comeback to refute his argument.
Evelyn was right. Without even uttering a word, the discussion was settled in her favor.
She saw Carlos going back to his study when she was on her way upstairs after dinner. Evelyn shrugged, thinking it might be another video conference as usual. But then she thought of something and stopped right before the door to Debbie's bedroom. She knocked twice.
Debbie opened the door, and the corner of her mouth lifted. "Come in, Evelyn."
Evelyn walked into her parents' bedroom. After closing the door behind her, she gave her mother a tight hug. "Mom, thank you," she whispered and placed her head on Debbie's shoulders.
Debbie's heart melted when she saw her daughter's response. As a mother, she could only pat her head affectionately. Ever since Debbie found out about Evelyn and Sheffield's relationship, she wanted to do her best to bring them closer. She even had tried to find many opportunities for them in front of Carlos.
"You are welcome. It's not easy to meet a person you like. Of course, I will support you unconditionally."
Evelyn backed off and sat on the bed, urging her mother to sit beside her. She cast a sincere gaze at Debbie after a moment of silence. "Mom, I don't want to be engaged to Calvert."
If Calvert weren't in the picture, a huge burden would be off of her shoulders. She could go out with Sheffield without any concern.
"Your dad is indeed getting old." Debbie's voice turned harsh the moment Evelyn mentioned the engagement. "He's such a dotard!" She slipped a determined gaze at her daughter. "Evelyn, don't worry. I'll convince your dad to accept Sheffield."
Evelyn's eyes moistened at the thought of Sheffield. "I wonder if there is a chance for us at all..." She was going to be engaged to Calvert after the Spring Festival. The engagement time was vaguely clear for them. They were just waiting for the final date to be announced. Her face turned gloomy when she thought about the engagement.
Debbie's expressions weren't good either. She hadn't been sure if they could just sidestep the engagement like another trivial matter. Although Carlos had promised her that he would not let Evelyn marry Calvert, they had already reached an agreement with the Ji family about the engagement. Did Carlos plan to call it off after the engagement? Wouldn't it be too troublesome?
Debbie knew her daughter too well. Evelyn was probably anxious enough to be depressed. She calmed her heart down and rubbed Evelyn's back affectionately. "Evelyn, everything will be fine. The road to happiness is always covered with setbacks. Your father and I also suffered a lot before we got together. So trust me. You and Sheffield will be together!"
Evelyn nodded earnestly as she gazed at her mother with moistened eyes. She had been aware of her parents' love story from the start. When she was three-year-old, she had seen her father for the first time, and at the present moment, she could tell that Debbie and Carlos had suffered a lot. Hayden and Ivan helped Debbie in raising little Evelyn until Carlos came around.
When she thought of her childhood, a thought flashed in her head, and she darted her eyes at Debbie. "By the way, Mom, how's Godmother Kasie doing? Her son was about to get married, right?" A while ago, Evelyn heard that Kasie's son, Stewart Wen, was going to get married, but then there was no update about it.
Debbie smiled at her daughter, remembering the familiar faces in her heart. "I think it will be after the Spring Lantern Festival. The preparations for the wedding are almost done. We will attend the ceremony together."
"Okay." When Evelyn's three ex-boyfriends had died one after another, to comfort her, Debbie told her the story of Kasie and Emmett. The end was depressing because of Emmett's death. Luckily, Kasie met Ivan later, and they were now living happily with two children.
Evelyn was grateful for her mother's words. She knew the purpose of why her mother decided to speak about that story in the first place. Debbie didn't want Evelyn to dwell more on past affairs. She wanted Evelyn to wait for her future lover.
Her mother was right. She had lost her ex-boyfriends, but then she met Sheffield, the one true love of her life.
Evelyn was on cloud nine when she fell in love with Sheffield,. The present moment made her realize that she could lose him too, though.
The day passed, and Debbie decided to get in touch with Sheffield. It was around three o'clock in the afternoon when he got free time in his hands.
He swiped the screen of his phone and saw three missed calls on the top. Sheffield pressed the call button. "Hi, Auntie! Sorry, I didn't take my phone with me."
"It's all right." Debbie waved her hand in the air as if dismissing some trivial matter. "Are you free?"
"Yes, I'm having lunch now."
Debbie frowned at that. "Lunch? At tea time?" She lifted her hand to check her wristwatch once, and her frown deepened. It was already past three o'clock, and he hadn't had lunch yet. She guessed that Sheffield must have been busy these days. Her fragile heart ached for him.
"Yes. What's up?"
"Do you have plans during the Spring Festival?"
Sheffield was silent for a moment, thinking about his schedule hard enough and shook his head only to realize that she couldn't see his face. "No, not yet. What's the matter?"
At first, Sheffield had decided to visit his mother's tomb on the Eve, and then hang out with his group of friends or go to work during the rest of the festival, just like what he did on every Spring Festival in the past.
"If you are free on the Eve of the Spring Festival, would you like to come over to have fun at my house?"
Sheffield's eyes widened, and he stared at the table in front of him in a daze. Although Debbie hadn't clarified why she decided to invite him, he was aware of her intentions very well. His heart was moved to the point that he could only choke out some incoherent words in gratitude. It took him a long time to come back to his senses. "Thanks. But it's not good to bother you." The Spring Festival was meant for a family reunion, and he wasn't a member of the Huo family yet. Even if he decided to go, it would be a futile attempt.
Still, Sheffield couldn't help but think of Evelyn for a moment. Even though he said that to Debbie half-heartedly, he didn't mean it. He didn't want to be left behind. Sheffield almost wanted to yell something like, 'Auntie Debbie, please say it doesn't matter! It's not a big deal!'
And his wish came true when Debbie opened her mouth. "It's okay. You are a family already! Are you free then?"
"Yes, of course!" Sheffield's eyes brightened at that. Even if he had something else to do that day, he would alter his schedule.
"Okay, we make a deal." He heard a cheerful voice on his phone that made him blissful. "You must come over on time. I'll ask the chef to cook more dishes!" Debbie was thrilled to see that Sheffield readily agreed to come over.
Sheffield's smile reached his ears, and words stopped in his throat because of the intensity of emotions. "Thank you, Auntie!" Somehow, he was able to squeeze out a small thanks.
"You're welcome." Debbie paused for a moment before continuing as if she remembered something important. "Remember to eat regularly even if you're busy. Health is the most important thing."
"Yes, I will."
"Okay, please go ahead with your work. Bye."
"Bye!"
Sheffield stared at the phone for a long time, and a warmth embraced his heart. His mood lifted instantly after the phone call. Even the two simple dishes and one bowl of soup in front of him seemed to be delicious to him. He used his chopsticks to gulp the food one after another, savoring the taste in his tongue.
In the blink of an eye, time passed and only two days were remaining for the arrival of the Spring Festival. At that time, Sheffield had already decided to sneak into Evelyn's office as usual.
Evelyn was staring blankly at a piece of paper. Sheffield had written some words on it. Every curve of it looked professional and sweet at the same time. A gush of warmth flooded her heart at the thought of him.
Earlier, she had first seen that piece of paper when she failed to contact Sheffield for the entire night.
She had kept it in the drawer ever since as if it was her eternal treasure, occasionally staring blankly at it while working.
Evelyn had a missed call from her office. She just assumed that it had been one of her assistants calling her using the phone in her office, but now she realized that it was Sheffield.
The pin-drop silence in her office ended when she heard the creak of the door. She panicked, knowing exactly who entered her office at this time. By the time she raised her head, Sheffield was already inside the room.
He would always show up like this out of the blue. Evelyn hastily grabbed a file and put it on the piece of paper she was looking at a while ago. In her panic, she failed to cover the whole paper, and more than half of the written words were exposed to Sheffield, which she hadn't noticed yet.
The corners of his lips curved up, as he knew exactly what she was doing, but he pretended to be ignorant. He took out something from his pocket and placed it in front of her. "Do you know what it is?"