The porcelain mug slowly cooled down. My heart started to sink as I realized that there was a long way to go before Julia would finally accept me. At the very least, I had to calm her worry and solve the problem about Monica.
Rather than lowering my head, I looked her straight in the eye and said, “I know I may seem worthless in the face of the Lane family’s reputation, but I’m not going to hide anymore. Whether you think I’m only going for Christopher’s money or his power, I’m here to tell you that all I want is to be with him. Being able to completely recover is the greatest gift God could ever have given me, because with my recovery came another chance to spend my life with Christopher again.”
The atmosphere became slightly chilly after those words left my mouse. Julia’s expression had also become sour and she sighed in response. “Yvonne, you’re a good person, but life can’t always be about love. Alyssa was my best friend back then and we already made a promise when the two of us were pregnant. If we both had sons, they would become sworn brothers. If we both had daughters, they would be closer than actual sisters and if we had one boy and one girl, they would get married. After we gave birth to one boy and one girl, we made a pact to get them married. Alyssa died because of me, and I promised that Christopher would marry Monica and give her a happy and carefree life. Ms. Tanner, wouldn’t you do the same in my situation?”
“I would not,” I said determinedly. “Mrs. Lane, you’re a good friend and a good wife, but I must say you’re not a good mother. Sure, you’ll be living up to your friend and your husband’s expectations, but you forgot about the most important person in this situation. Shouldn’t you consider your son’s situation?”
Julia seemed like she was about to say something, but I took a deep breath and got the courage to wave my hand to stop her. “When you wanted Christopher to marry Monica, all you thought about was your friend and honoring your friendship. You have put Monica’s feelings above your own son’s. Is that fair to him?”
“Christopher is still a man. He’s been close to Monica since they were children. He may think he doesn’t have feelings for Monica now, but feelings can be slowly developed after they get married,” Julia quickly rebutted, raising her volume to mask her obvious panic.
“What if that doesn’t happen? I’m not saying I’m the only one who can win his heart, but the truth is that the love we share is not because of simple things like appearances or reputation. We were constantly shifting and evolving through our life and death experiences and still chose to go back to each other after all. Appearances and reputation are but simple accessories to our love. You probably don’t believe me, but if Christopher were a poor man, I would still marry him nonetheless.”
I walked over and sat next to Julia. “Chris really cares a lot about your opinions. That’s why he waited until now to come clean to all of you. All he wants is your blessings, and I ask that you give that to us if nothing else.”
I was praying with all of my heart that she would finally say yes. Even if she never fully accepted me, all I wanted was that Christopher was happy. His mom always treated him as some form of tool, trying to give him off to another woman to fulfill her promise. She may not see that as a problem, but it would definitely be a big problem in the long run.
“Never ever!” Julia suddenly slammed her palm on the table loudly and said, “You’re pretty good with your words, huh? What makes you think you deserve to get married to my son and into my family? What right do you have?”
“Mrs. Lane, I-”
“Shut up!” Julia no longer wanted to listen to me and pulled out a thick stack of checks, slamming them down in front of me. “Here’s ten million. Take it and don’t bother my son ever again.”
