I hadn’t told Christopher about that interview, and he didn’t ask either. However, I knew he must know about it somehow. He was adamant on blowing the whole story up, after all.
There were more and more articles popping up about me. It was as if some people were determined to pin every crime on me.
The Tanner family banquet was held at a hotel. Rather than a family dinner, it was more like the discussion of Lyle and Crystal’s wedding date. It was completely pointless to invite me.
I caught sight of Sharon at the hotel entrance. She was holding onto Lyle’s arm for support and walking out of the car slowly, but the moment she saw me she started waving. “Eve! Come help me.”
“Grandma, how have you been?” I asked, slightly taken aback. I was surprised as Sharon had been rather vocal about her distaste for Crystal and I knew that better than anyone. It shocked me to see her attending a family dinner to discuss the matters of Crystal and Lyle’s wedding. Had she finally bent to Lyle’s will?
“Pretty good for a bag of old bones like me,” she said with a sigh.
I realized how much older she looked. Her hair had once been salt-and-pepper, but now it was fully white. “You’re a strong lady, Grandma. I bet you will live a very long life.”
“Still as good with your words as ever,” Sharon said as she glanced at Christopher, who was standing next to me. Her eyes shone and she said, “I missed hearing you call me Grandma. You have to take care of yourself, okay?”
“You need to stay fit too.” Sharon’s tone sounded a bit off, but I thought she was just reminiscing about the old days and didn’t pay it much mind.
“Mom, go in with Yvonne first, okay? I’ll go get Crystal. She’s pregnant now, so we need to be even more cautious.”
Wendy scoffed and glared at me in disdain. She let go of Sharon’s hand and said, “I don’t know what you’re doing here, but don’t you dare try to do anything that will break Lyle and Crystal apart again. If anything happens to Crystal, I will destroy you, no matter who you think you’ve got on your side.”
“Don’t worry, Mrs. Smith. If my dad hadn’t invited me, I wouldn’t dream of being here.”
“Watch your mouth. How much more shameless can you be? You have divorced my son, but you still have your teeth sunk in him, don’t you? Do you think you’re some princess? My son isn’t someone you can climb all over, you-”
“Mrs. Smith, what have Eve possibly done to you?” Christopher said as he clutched my hand tighter.
“You need to watch the women you fall for, Mr. Lane. In the end, you’ll only hurt yourself.” Wendy had always been brash. Even though Christopher’s glare could bore a hole through her, she didn’t back down and still said whatever she wanted to. “I’m her former mother-in-law, so I’d know better. As a filial son, you should think about Julia’s feelings.”
“I’d argue that my mom’s opinion is much more valuable than yours, and my choice is certainly better than Lyle’s. Not everyone has luck imitating someone else,” Christopher said mildly.
“Enough. Shouldn’t you go and bring your beloved daughter-in-law? Stop embarrassing all of us,” Sharon said firmly with a knock of her walking stick.
Wendy clearly wanted to say more, but at the sight of Christopher’s glare, she finally retreated. She still knew how powerful the Lane family was. With an unhappy stomp of her foot, she walked off as she continued to curse at me under her breath.
Soon enough, Nathan arrived. It was a pretty weird sight—Nathan walking with Crystal as her uncle and me walking with Sharon even though I was Nathan’s daughter. It would make more sense to switch Crystal and my surnames at this point.
Lyle’s expression darkened at the sight of me and Christopher standing together and he rushed over with shining eyes. “Eve, what are you doing here? Do you still care about me?”
I fell silent. Truth be told, I had already prepared myself when I saw him. By the time he walked over, I had already exchanged places with Christopher. Looking up, I replied, “Of course! You’re about to become my cousin-in-law. Obviously, I would care about you! I already got your wedding invitation. Just wait for my gift, okay? Congratulations!”
