Chapter 316: Officially Meeting Sienna’s Family

Zachary smiled and gently smoothed his son’s hair. "Then you should show how thankful you are to Grandaunt Maya for her cooking. She would be happy to hear it."

"I already did, Dad..." Skylar replied proudly. "But I can thank her again. Her cooking is so good, it deserves a second thanks..."

Sienna smiled as she watched the father and son talk. She let Skylar have his moment with Zachary and turned her attention back to her uncle and aunt.

By then, Jimmy and Maya were both looking in their direction again. They tried to hide it, but their shock still showed, and now there was also some confusion and amazement.

Jimmy and Maya looked at Sienna as though they were waiting for her to explain how the man they had just been discussing on television had somehow become her husband.

Sienna knew exactly what they were thinking. She had been expecting this reaction, but seeing it in person was still more amusing than she had imagined.

She smiled at them, already knowing that the conversation that followed was going to be a very interesting one.

Naturally, Sienna reached out and naturally held Zachary’s hand, feeling a little more confident now that the moment she had been waiting for had finally arrived.

"Uncle, Aunty..." Sienna began, smiling as she led Zachary toward the seating area. "Let me introduce you to my husband, Zachary Sterling."

Jimmy and Maya looked at the man standing beside Sienna and gasped, still completely shocked.

Sienna smiled a little wider before turning to Zachary. "Zach, this is my Uncle Jimmy and his wife, Maya."

Zachary smiled at her before stepping forward. He approached Jimmy and politely extended his hand. However, Jimmy was still frozen for a moment, though he managed to accept the handshake and stared at the man he had only ever seen from a distance at an event and on television.

"Sir, it’s nice to meet you," Zachary said politely. "I’m Zachary Sterling, Sienna’s husband and Skylar’s father."

"H-hello," Jimmy managed to say as he finally took Zachary’s hand. Despite his shock, he tried to stay calm and composed, which, unfortunately, didn’t work. "I-it’s nice, uhm, to meet you, too, M-Mr. St-Sterling."

"Please, just call me Zachary... I will also call you Uncle Jimmy. And please speak casually with me," Zachary said with a warm smile, clearly trying to ease the tension in the room. He then turned toward Maya and greeted her just as politely. "...It’s nice to meet you, Aunty Maya."

Like Jimmy, Maya felt nervous standing directly in front of the very wealthy man she had previously only seen on television and the internet. Still, she quickly composed herself and smiled at him, which was flawless and much better than her husband.

"It’s a pleasure to meet you too. And we are so grateful that you are looking after our niece, Sienna," Maya said.

Although her voice sounded soft and uncertain, the sincerity in her words was enough to make Sienna, standing behind Zachary, feel her eyes grow warm with happiness. Finally, the two people she considered family had met her husband and her son. For Sienna, it was a simple moment, but it meant more to her than she could easily explain.

They all eventually sat in the living room and continued chatting.

This time, however, Jimmy and Zachary did most of the talking as they discussed Sterling Capital and Jimmy’s previous experience working in the banking industry.

"Oh, we’ve met before?" Zachary asked, politely showing interest, after hearing Jimmy mention he had seen him before. He looked at Jimmy with a curious expression, trying to remember the occasion.

"Yes," Jimmy replied. "At an event at the Sterling Bank branch in Evercrest City."

"Ah... I see." Zachary nodded as the memory slowly returned. "That was two years ago, right? I happened to be there for that event."

"Yes, you are right. But I didn’t get a chance to speak to you," Jimmy said, looking slightly embarrassed. "So, I only saw you from a distance."

Zachary smiled and nodded. He couldn’t blame Jimmy for that. His schedule had been extremely busy when he attended the event, and he hadn’t been able to greet every employee. He had given his speech, attended the necessary parts of the gathering, and then left to fly back to the capital.

"I’m sorry I didn’t have a chance to speak with you back then," Zachary said. "There were quite a few people at the event."

"It’s alright," Jimmy replied quickly. "I didn’t expect you to remember me."

Their conversation continued naturally, and Jimmy gradually became less nervous as he realized that Zachary was much easier to talk to than he had expected. Although Zachary was one of the country’s most successful businessmen and had a reputation for being difficult to approach, he spoke to Jimmy respectfully and never made him feel uncomfortable.

While Zachary and Jimmy continued talking, Sienna and Maya left them alone for a while. They moved to the dining table with Skylar, who had just started eating the pumpkin pie Maya had prepared.

Skylar took another bite, and his eyes immediately widened as he looked at Maya with obvious delight.

"Grandaunt, this pie is triple delicious." He raised both thumbs to show his approval before taking another bite.

Sienna could only shake her head at how happily her son was eating. She already knew how much Skylar enjoyed food, especially when someone prepared something homemade for him.

"Only three?" Sienna teased.

"Oh, Mom, you are right. This is ten delicious!"

Sienna and Maya couldn’t help but laugh.

"Eat slowly, little Sky," Maya said with a smile as she placed a glass of milk in front of him. "Grandaunt still has plenty of pie. You can have more if you finish that."

"Aunty," Sienna quickly said. "He won’t be able to eat his dinner later if he eats too much pie now."

Skylar immediately looked at his mother with a protesting expression. He didn’t say anything, but his eyes made his opinion very clear.

Maya noticed his expression and couldn’t hold back her laughter. "Alright, alright. You can pack some to take home, then."

"Yay! Thank you, Grandaunt!" Skylar said happily.

He finished what was on his plate and then left them alone, joining his father in the living room.