A Warm Marriage After Rebirth

"This way, please, Vice Manager Hughes. We can discuss the details of the collaboration over our meal in a moment!" Elias Jennings seized on the interruption, trying to quickly change the subject.

"Wait! Sir, has there been some kind of misunderstanding? I didn’t come here to see you today! And I don’t know anything about a collaboration!" To this point, Hughes was still utterly confused, having no idea what was happening.

Elias Jennings: ...

’What in the world is going on? He’s not here to see us? The Vice Manager of the Grant Branch came all the way to our residence, only to say he wasn’t looking for us? Is there anything more unbelievable than this?’

"Vice Manager Hughes, you have a real sense of humor. As the vice manager of the Grant Resort development project, if you didn’t come here to discuss a potential engineering collaboration with us, then why did you come here in person?"

Quinn Jennings still wore an elegant smile, but it looked somewhat forced and stiff.

Hughes finally understood the reason for their misunderstanding. His face, which was already stiff and robotic, became even more severe.

"Don’t you think you’re overestimating yourselves? Your construction company is nothing but a third-rate little outfit. There are plenty of major construction firms vying for a Grant Group project. On what grounds did you think The Grant Group would even consider a company like yours, which has neither the expertise nor the financial backing? I’m genuinely curious. What made you possibly think that I, the Vice Manager of the Grant Branch, would personally come to your door to discuss a collaboration with a third-rate company?"

The expressions on Elias Jennings and his family’s faces instantly soured. This was a blatant slap in the face! And it was happening in front of the other members of the Jennings Family, not to mention Seraphina Sterling! Even Leo Jennings felt his cheeks flush with heat.

’For the first time, I’ve been so thoroughly rejected!’

’For the first time, I’ve been mocked so mercilessly!’

Quinn Jennings simply couldn’t accept this. Her family had been hoping for this for so long, only for it to turn out like this! Refusing to give up, she demanded, "If you’re not here to see us, then why did you come?"

Hughes glanced at Seraphina Sterling, who was eating with perfect composure. ’This girl really knows how to put on an act,’ he thought. "Seraphina, the young master has something to discuss with you."

Quinn Jennings stared in shock at Seraphina Sterling, who was eating with relish. "You know Vice Manager Hughes?"

Leo Jennings was even more stunned. "The young master? Does he mean Mr. Grant? The General Manager of the Grant Branch! The one in charge of the entire resort project!"

’Elias Jennings’s mind went blank. Could someone please tell him what was happening? Why was everything developing in a way that was completely different from what they had planned!’

The three of them turned to Seraphina Sterling in unison. Beyond their shock, they desperately wanted to see for themselves what was actually happening.

"It’s this late. What does Terrence Grant want with me?" Seraphina Sterling completely ignored the trio’s shocked and confused stares. She had no intention of explaining, casually asking Hughes for more information.

"Something very important," Hughes replied, his highly professional poker face snapping back into place.

Seraphina Sterling: ... ’That’s about as helpful as saying nothing at all!’

She put down her chopsticks and walked up to Hughes. "You know, you could try changing your expression once in a while. Sticking to just one makes you look like you have facial paralysis."

’Facial paralysis...’

Hughes decided not to say anything more. ’I can never win a war of words with her. In the past, I might have won if we came to blows, but now... even in a pure test of strength, my chances of victory are slim.’

"Seraphina, the young master is waiting," Hughes said, his cold poker face softening slightly, his tone tinged with helplessness. It was only when Terrence Grant wasn’t around that he dared to call her "Seraphina." Otherwise, he could look forward to a mountain of extra work flying "cordially" in his direction.

Elias Jennings and his family were so shocked they were rendered speechless. ’How dare Seraphina Sterling talk to Vice Manager Hughes like that?’

’And the most crucial part was, Vice Manager Hughes didn’t seem the least bit angry. In fact, he almost seemed to be indulging her! The trio suddenly felt a deep sense of foreboding.’

"And who says I have to go just because he’s waiting?" Seraphina Sterling lifted her chin, shooting Hughes a haughty glance. Inwardly, however, her mind was racing. ’What’s going on with Terrence Grant? If something happened, why didn’t he call me? We haven’t seen each other since New Year’s Eve.’

Hughes was left completely speechless. ’All I did was go home for the New Year celebration, what on earth happened in just a few days? How can Seraphina be talking to the young master like this?’ he lamented internally. ’But with both of them being so difficult to please, the only one who ends up suffering is me, the poor messenger!’

Just as conflicted as Hughes was Elias Jennings’s family. ’The "young master" Vice Manager Hughes keeps mentioning has to be Mr. Grant, right? And Seraphina is this arrogant even with him? We’ve gone numb from all the shocks!’

In the end, after a quick word to Kimberly Jennings, Seraphina Sterling went with Hughes to Grant Manor.

From start to finish, Elias Jennings and his family never managed to get another word in with Hughes. They certainly never had a chance to bring up the collaboration again. In the end, all they could do was watch helplessly as their target—the man they had spent over half a month trying to find—departed with Seraphina Sterling.

"What’s the relationship between Seraphina Sterling and Mr. Grant? Why is Vice Manager Hughes so deferential to her?" Leo Jennings, finally accepting the reality of the situation, remembered to ask.

Kimberly Jennings replied, "Mr. Grant was Seraphina’s private tutor. He used to help her with her studies. As for their relationship, I guess it’s just that of a teacher and student."

Teacher and student?

’Mr. Grant of Aethelgard was Seraphina Sterling’s teacher?’

’What good deeds did Seraphina Sterling do in a past life to become Mr. Grant’s student!’

Quinn Jennings was going insane with jealousy.

Meanwhile, Seraphina followed Hughes back to Grant Manor. As soon as they arrived, she keenly sensed that the atmosphere in the courtyard was off.