Simon Forrester rushed back to Sienna Thornton’s place, it was almost noon, and the three of them were happily having lunch together as a family.
Seeing him arrive, Sienna quickly welcod him in and said happily, "Auntie King thought your family would stay for lunch today, so she prepared lots of delicious food. Co join us!"
He changed into slippers, washed his hands, and walked into the dining room, making it a point to glance at Quentin Thorne. Seeing that Quentin seed normal, he felt a little relieved.
During the al, Quentin Thorne was only talking to linda Linton and her daughter, helping linda with various shellfish and serving soup and dishes, without ntioning the morning’s visit by the Forrester Family at all.
Normally, they should have talked about it, but not only did Quentin Thorne keep silent, he also completely ignored Simon Forrester, which made Simon anxious again. He only felt unsettled until after the al, when Sienna Thornton took him to the bedroom for a nap.
He was deep in thought when he suddenly noticed Sienna tugging at his clothes. He snapped back to attention and asked her, "What’s wrong?"
"How’s Harrison Rowe doing with the house search?" Sienna asked again.
Simon Forrester responded with an "Oh," and said, "Near Fenmore Hill, there should be plenty of houses. I don’t know why he hasn’t found a suitable one yet. I’ll ask him again tomorrow."
Sienna smiled, combed her hair, and snuggled into his arms, "Is my budget too low, making it hard to find sothing suitable?"
She was planning to buy a three-room apartnt near Fenmore Hill for linda Linton, so it would be convenient to look after her since it would be close to their new ho.
Simon Forrester had assigned this task to Harrison Rowe, but there hadn’t been any updates in over half a month.
Simon, still preoccupied, replied absentmindedly, "It probably isn’t because of the budget. I ntioned to him that we could mortgage it if necessary. Maybe he just hasn’t found the right one. Let’s patiently wait a bit longer."
"Alright."
The air conditioner purred, blowing cool air as Sienna snuggled in Simon’s arms, covered with a thin blanket. The air was dry and comfortable, making one feel relaxed.
Simon Forrester’s warm, dry hand gently caressed her sleek, smooth back for a while before suddenly asking, "This morning’s incident shouldn’t affect us, right?"
Without a second thought, she confidently replied, "Absolutely not!"
Simon felt reassured, deciding to leave those troubling matters to the old folks to resolve!
.
Over at the Forrester Family’s side, the family was having lunch with somber expressions.
With so much on his mind, Old Master Forrester lost his appetite, barely eating a few bites before putting his chopsticks down on the table, anxiously saying, "I’m really afraid Jules will be pushed too far and actually agree to beco a live-in son-in-law for the Thorne Family!"
Grandma Forrester, who had ruined the morning’s talks, stayed silent, and Zane Forrester was even less inclined to get involved.
Seeing everyone silent, Sylvia Langley thought for a mont and suggested, "If Dean Thorne doesn’t want his daughter to give up her career to stay ho with the child, we could just hire a few nannies to take care of the child at ho, right?"
Old Master Forrester shook his head, "They’re going to live in Fenmore Hill after getting married, not with us old folks. By then, both young people will be out working, and who knows what the nannies at ho will be doing? What if a nanny sells my great-grandchild?"
"Then..." Sylvia Langley didn’t know how to solve this either and fell silent.
Zane Forrester, who hadn’t said much, suddenly smiled at Sylvia and said, "How about this? When the grandchild is born, you move back to the country? It would be good to help Jules and them look after the child."
The atmosphere froze in an instant.
"What did you say?" Sylvia’s chopsticks clattered as she glared, "Why do I have to move back to look after the grandchild? Do I not earn money? Do I not have a career? Is the grandchild solely my responsibility? Why do won have to stay ho to look after children and grandchildren? Who’s being bullied here?"
Seeing she was about to explode, Zane stopped talking.
Sylvia felt extrely wronged and left the dining room, fuming, without finishing her al.
Since the incident of slapping and discussing divorce, her relationship with Zane had worsened.
She figured they might end up divorcing anyway, so she didn’t care about Zane’s feelings when speaking, saying whatever she wanted.
.
After Sylvia left the dining room, Zane did not chase after her. He calmly continued eating his al, even suggesting to Old Master Forrester that next ti they talk with Quentin Thorne, he should tell Quentin that Sylvia will take responsibility for looking after the child, just to settle the marriage first.
Old Master Forrester felt this wasn’t appropriate, so he didn’t agree.
The family didn’t manage to co up with any solution.
Old Master Forrester thought that in the future, if it really ca down to it, he could help look after the child, but whether he’d live long enough was uncertain.
Resolving to this idea, Old Master Forrester called Quentin Thorne, arranging to et again at linda Linton’s place the following morning to continue discussing the marriage.
So on Sunday, Sienna Thornton and Simon Forrester went to linda Linton’s place again. The Forrester Family arrived around nine, bringing plenty of gifts as usual.
They sat down to talk again as Old Master Forrester proposed that once Sienna gives birth, she could imdiately return to work after her maternity leave, and the child would be taken care of by family and professional nannies.
This arrangent satisfied Quentin Thorne, who didn’t ask for more details. As long as Sienna got to return to work after childbirth, he was pleased.
With the childrearing issue resolved, Quentin Thorne then raised his objection against the Forrester Family’s request for Sienna to have three grandchildren. On this matter, Old Master Forrester stood firm and argued vigorously.
In the end, after consulting with Sienna and Simon, they reached a consensus—only two children, regardless of gender! Absolutely no third child!
Simon even added that they might potentially only have one child, as he and Sienna thought one would be enough.
Old Master Forrester was so angry he almost slapped his grandson on the spot, but he held it in and then listened to Quentin Thorne say—that out of the two children, one must have the last na "Thorne," regardless of gender.
This really hit Old Master Forrester’s sore spot—three great-grandchildren reduced to two, and one even bearing the na "Thorne," practically turning three into one.
Enraged but unable to lash out at Quentin Thorne on the spot, he left with a scowl and began berating his son in the car.
He grumbled that his son was utterly useless in his grandson’s marriage negotiations, keeping silent and leaving the Forrester Family feeling like the defeated Qing Dynasty, continuously losing ground to the foreign powers.
That night, returning to the Forrester’s from linda Linton’s place, Simon Forrester was again clamoring to beco Quentin Thorne’s live-in son-in-law, wanting both children to have the surna "Thorne." Old Master Forrester, both angry and helpless, had no choice; he couldn’t watch his great-grandchildren vanish completely, so he unwillingly agreed to Quentin Thorne’s request in the end.
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