Chapter 577: Epilogue (4)

Chapter 577: Chapter 566: Epilogue (4)

The Grants were probably the only family of four to ever return from a honeymoon trip in less than two days.

But this family of four was quite happy to be back.

Especially the two children.

They were absolutely ecstatic, because they had friends to play with at home.

After they arrived home, Mrs. Grant called. She explained that since Second Uncle and Third Uncle hadn’t been able to attend the wedding, she was hosting a small banquet at home. It would just be two tables for the whole Grant family to get together for a meal.

Quentin Grant agreed.

He took the two children with him back to the Grant Residence.

Just as they reached the entrance, Nora Ainsworth heard Second Aunt’s voice coming from the living room. “Is there any family quite like ours? For the wedding, fine, don’t invite the cousins. But to not even invite your own aunts and uncles… And that’s Quentin. What about Nora Ainsworth? She’s supposed to become The Grant Matriarch, but she has absolutely no class at all.”

Second Aunt’s daughter, Tanya Grant, chimed in, echoing her mother. “Exactly. I haven’t even met my new sister-in-law yet. I was hoping to, but I guess they never planned on inviting our family at all. People would laugh their heads off if they heard about this. How can a woman with no manners become The Grant Matriarch?”

Quentin Grant glanced back at his wife, his expression incredibly dark.

Nora Ainsworth squeezed his hand, signaling for him not to get angry. ‘We clearly sent them an invitation for the wedding. They were the ones who didn’t show up, so how could they blame us for not inviting them?’

“Second Aunt is absolutely right. I have no class at all. My mother-in-law and I wrote the invitations together and had them sent to you. You chose not to come the day before the wedding. We couldn’t just wait for you forever, could we?”

Second Aunt snorted. “A niece-in-law should know to respect her elders. What was the point of sending someone to deliver it? You didn’t even bring it yourself. For all we knew, it could have been fake.”

Nora Ainsworth sat down on the sofa. “Fake or not, shouldn’t Second Aunt know best? We’re all family here. What else is there to say?”

Second Aunt looked at Quentin Grant. “Quentin, look at this. This is the fine wife you’ve married. She hasn’t even taken over as The Grant Matriarch yet, and she already has no respect for her elders.”

A faint smile played on Quentin Grant’s lips. “You have quite a sense of humor, Second Aunt. My wife has always had a simple policy: she treats people exactly how they treat her. Speaking of which… Martin. Since we’re all family here tonight, why don’t you explain to our uncles, to their faces, how you conspired with Nicholas Ainsworth and Toby Dalton from Grestin to try and usurp my position and take down the Grant Group?”

Martin Grant felt everyone’s eyes turn to him. His palms began to sweat, but he staunchly denied it. “I don’t know where you heard such rumors, Brother. The Grant Group was founded 52 years ago. It’s the empire our grandfather built. How could an ordinary junior like me possibly bring it down? Besides, I’ve never forgotten that I’m a member of the Grant family. Someone is just trying to sow discord between us brothers. You don’t have to take it seriously.”

Quentin Grant crossed his legs and smiled, his eyes narrowing. “It doesn’t matter if you don’t admit it. I have proof, after all. Why would I say such a thing if I didn’t have evidence to back it up?”

Martin Grant braced himself and asked, “And what proof might that be?”

“You don’t need to know that. It’s fine if you don’t admit it. For now, I’m willing to let you off the hook out of respect for our aunt and uncle. You’d be wise to behave yourself and stop what you’re doing. Otherwise, you know the family rule Grandfather established: anyone who betrays the Grant family will be handed over to the authorities for minor offenses, or dealt with by family law for major ones.”

Second Uncle forced a stiff smile. “Quentin, whether Martin did it or not, I swear to you now as your uncle: if he ever dares to do anything to harm the interests of the Grant Group in the future, I’ll be the first one to punish him.”

“That’s a reasonable promise, Uncle. With your word, I can rest easy.” Quentin Grant turned to Mrs. Grant. “Mom, let’s have the kitchen serve the food.”

Mrs. Grant nodded. “Alright.”

Third Aunt spoke up. “Nora, dear, your uncle and I were running late that day and missed our flight, so we couldn’t attend your and Quentin’s wedding. I feel terrible about it. But in any case, we’re all close family. This is a wedding gift from your uncle, me, and your cousin. Please don’t think it’s too little.”

She took out a large red envelope, which was stuffed with a thick stack of cash, and handed it to Nora Ainsworth.

Nora Ainsworth accepted it. “Thank you, Third Aunt.”

Third Aunt smiled.

Nora Ainsworth knew that Third Aunt was smarter than Second Aunt. She was calculating, but she was much sharper than Second Aunt.

Second Aunt looked sheepish. She hadn’t brought a red envelope at all. Second Uncle looked awkward as well.

They had originally planned for two tables, but in the main hall, one long table was more than enough for dinner.

Everyone took their seats.

Third Aunt introduced her son. “Nora, you probably haven’t met our Xiaoqiang. He works out of town. And this is his girlfriend, Mengmeng. They’re planning to get married at the end of the year.”

Nora Ainsworth nodded at the couple. “It’s a pleasure to meet you both. But we’re all family, so I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other in the future.”

“Xiaoqiang is already getting married, and our Martin doesn’t even have a girlfriend yet,” Second Aunt said. “Third Aunt, if you see any nice girls in the future, please keep our Martin in mind and make an introduction.”

Third Aunt covered her mouth with her hand and chuckled. “My dear sister-in-law, what good girl would dare step into your house? If you ask me, Martin needs to find a steady job first. Then the girls will come calling. And you… you should stop playing cards all the time.”

Even Second Uncle couldn’t help but add, “It’s true. She’s always playing cards. She’s threatened to chop off her own hands if she plays again more times than I can count, but her hands are still there.”

Tanya Grant was unfazed. “My mom doesn’t have any other hobbies. So what if she plays a little cards? A lot of rich ladies do the same. I don’t see the big deal. And my brother isn’t bad-looking. Tons of girls are after him. It would be a piece of cake for him to find a girlfriend, right, Bro?”

Martin Grant nodded, then said smugly, “Sharon Ainsworth, the eldest daughter of the Ainsworth Family who used to be engaged to Quentin? She was my girlfriend right before her wedding. I was the one who dumped her, that’s why she rushed to get married.”

Second Aunt said in surprise, “Why didn’t you say so sooner? She was engaged to Quentin, after all. It wouldn’t have been a bad thing to marry her.”

Martin Grant said with disgust, “Mom, her family had that fire, and it burned all her hair off. She’s bald and wears a wig now. Not only that, her private life is a mess. She sleeps around with this guy and that guy, she has no self-respect. I was just messing around with her. Who would actually want to marry her?”

Hearing this, Second Aunt finally said, “Ah, that’s my boy. We can’t have a woman like that in our family.”

“Tanya must be in her twenties now, right? Do you have a boyfriend?” Third Aunt asked.

Tanya Grant shook her head. “Nope. I’m not dating. I’m listening to my mom and waiting until I’m ready to get married. Then I’ll find someone from a family of equal standing. That way I won’t end up like Jean, with nothing to show for it but a life in a nunnery.”

Mrs. Grant’s expression changed instantly. Nora Ainsworth could see that she was trying hard to suppress her anger.