The news traveled quickly, by the time Kendrick and Zephyrine got to the Desjardins house, the house was already full of people. Zephyrine felt like she was seeing a magic trick.
"Did you plan this?" She asked innocently.
Kendrick shook his head and pulled her along with him. He went straight to his father, Mr. Desjardins. Zephyrine saw the way he greeted his father, so she greeted him the same way. Zephyrine looked around the room and the only familiar faces she knew were the people who were supposed to be her direct relatives. Nathaniel, Darlene and Staurt.
Zephyrine was finally seeing things clearly.
Zephyrine and Kendrick sat beside Mr. Desjardins.
Mr. Desjardins started, "What was that we were seeing on the internet? Did you know how many calls I have gotten because of that news? Now tell me when did you think of this?"
Kendrick was silent, his silence was killing everyone in the room.
Zephyrine was feeling overwhelmed by being present in the family. She could feel everyone's eyes on her. If she knew that they would be coming to his family, she wouldn't have allowed that. But since they are here now, she can't go back.
She was also waiting for Kendrick to say something, but to their surprise he said nothing. This got Zephyrine more curious. She discovered that since yesterday when they met, he only uttered a few words. Zephyrine does not know if the Old man is happy or sad. But she could tell from the other relative's reaction that they were not satisfied with her. It was either that they didn't know the family she belonged to or they just wanted to be dissatisfied with her.
"Uncle, Grandpa is talking to you," Nathaniel reminded with a smirk.
Kendrick raised a threatening brow, but Nathaniel ignored it as if telling him that he wouldn't do anything to him.
"Father, he stole my daughter-in-law," Darlene thought in her mind.
Mr. Desjardins's gaze never wavered from Jiang Jun Jie. "I'm waiting for an explanation, Kendrick."
Kendrick could see right through the old man's thoughts, but he would give him the chance to do whatever he wanted in the meantime.
Kendrick's silence was suffocating, "Father," Kendrick finally spoke but his voice was low, "I've made my decision Zephyrine Cloutier here is my wife."
The room erupted in a frenzy of shocked gasps and disapproving murmur.
Nathaniel's smirk grew wider, "You are making a mistake, uncle-"
Kendrick's piercing stare cut Nathaniel off mid-sentence.
Zephyrine's eyes locked onto Kendrick's profile.
"Dad, Kendrick is the heir and the president of Jiang's group of companies, we can't allow him to choose just a random girl. They need to get divorced, right away." Charlotte's tone was firm despite knowing that she had no say in it. Charlotte was Kendrick's older sister just like Darlene was.
Kendrick had three sisters and he was the only boy. But his mother had been away for a very long time so he was mostly with his father. But now that he got married, Kendrick was quite sure that the news would soon get to her ears and she would undoubtedly want to see her daughter-in-law.
But was the reason why Kendrick got married, so that he could see his mother?
Darlene was not concerned with who Kendrick got married to after Zephyrine. Nathaniel needed Zephyrine and that was what was important to her.
"This is not acceptable! She's not worthy of our family." Darlene stood up, her face reddening.
She shouldn't have said that, but that was the only thing that could save her from bringing up the whole matter about her family. She does not want the Jiang family to know that Zephyrine was Nathaniel's ex-fiancee. But wasn't her thought running wild or does she think so highly of her son? Would Zephyrine really go back to Li Wang.
Mr. Desjardins had enough of all their nonsense talks. His son was more important than all this and nobody could make decisions about his son except for him. He raised his hand, silencing the room. "Enough," the room fell silent at once. He could finally talk to his son without distraction and many people bringing in their opinion "Kendrick, tell me what is going on?"
Kendrick felt like blowing the old man's cover but he wouldn't. Kendrick knew for a fact that the old man was satisfied that he got married, but he was using this as a cover. But why exactly? That was what he was trying to find out. Was it because he did not know the family Zephyrine belonged to?
The Cloutier family is a family that everyone would desire to fall into. And that was the main reason why Nathaniel was unable to let go of Huang Chao-Xing. But his competitor was too capable for him to go against.
Kendrick's expression remains unreasonable. Zephyrine was unreasonably quiet. She didn't want anyone to have a bad impression of her, especially the old man. As the old saying goes, first impressions matter a lot. But the old man was actually hoping that he could hear her say a word.
"I'll explain everything, Father, but first, I need to know. Do you accept Zephyrine as my wife?"
The room fell silent again, awaiting the Old man's response.
Zephyrine's heart started pounding inside her chest. She suddenly felt eager to know, but why was she so eager when they had a reason they got married?
Would the old man accept her? That was the question that got Zephyrine anxiously. Zephyrine was always confident, but today she was scared. Was Kendrick that important to her or was the marriage?
"What makes you think she is worthy of our family?" Mr. Desjardins asked, trying to provoke Zephyrine to speak. But why was the old man bent on hearing her speak?
"She makes me happy," Kendrick answered.
But was that even a enough reason to marry someone?
Nathaniel snorted, "Happy? You barely know her!"
Darlene quickly stepped forward, her voice dripping with venom. "You are blinded by her beauty, Kendrick. She's using you for our family influence."
Zephyrine's eyes locked onto Darlene's, her voice steady, "I don't need your family influence, I have mine."
The room fell silent, surprised by Zephyrine's boldness. The old man was more amazed, even more than Kendrick. Kendrick didn't know that she would actually speak up.
Mr. Desjardins leaned forward, his eyes piercing with pride. "I want to know more about you."
Kendrick's eyes shone with pride and Nathaniel's face twisted with disgust.
"I am Zephyrine Cloutier and I am worthy of respect."
The old man's eyes locked onto Zephyrine, "You are bold, I'll give you that. But boldness isn't enough. You have to fight your way around here. You must know that you are now the mistress of the family and you must be able to stand firm. You have a lot of people to fight, that I'm telling you."
Zephyrine's heart sank, but she was determined. She wouldn't fail this time around. Aside from the company, this was her other responsibility and she would do it well. But will she succeed or give up halfway when the challenges become tough?