At the moment when Lily Bennett was filled with anticipation, the bodyguard indeed pulled out a beautifully designed light blue envelope from his chest and handed it to Lida Yang.
Lida glanced at it, accepting the envelope before passing it to Lily. "Mr. Bennett, take a look first. I hope you’ll agree."
From beginning to end, Lida Yang maintained a warm smile. She truly was a woman of high standing, even the act of throwing money at someone felt dignified and graceful.
Seeing the envelope placed on the table by Lida, Lily happily picked it up without even opening it. "Alright, I agree!"
Lida was surprised by Lily's straightforwardness. "Agreeing so quickly! Are you sure you don't need to check? If the conditions inside are not satisfactory, we can negotiate further."
Lily didn’t hesitate, glancing at the envelope as she asked, "There's at least 3 billion in here, right?"
Lida nodded, "More than that."
"That's great!" Lily joyfully tucked the envelope into her pocket, then looked at Lida with a serious and determined expression. "Give me a moment, I'll go upstairs to pack and leave immediately. I promise I won’t make things difficult for anyone! I swear I will stay far away from your son, very far, and I assure you that in this life and the next, I will never show up in front of him again. You can rest assured!"
With that, Lily rushed towards the stairs, leaving Lida behind with a puzzled look on her face. Only when Lily had climbed two steps did Lida finally snap out of it and loudly stopped her, "Mr. Bennett, please wait a moment."
Lily paused mid-step, turning back with a smile still on her lips. She carefully looked at Lida and said, "Madam, rest assured, I’ll leave today, and quickly too!"
Lida frowned, asking, "Where do you plan on going?"
Lily waved the light blue envelope in her hand. "Of course, back to my place! Or did you want me to do something else?"
After a moment's thought, Lily glanced at Lida. "Or do you want me to put on some dramatic breakup scene with Maxwell Thornton before leaving? It’s fine, I can do that. But I think your son is too smart for that. My acting skills aren’t great, so he’d probably be suspicious and won’t believe it…”
"What are you talking about?" Lida Yang walked up and gently pulled Lily, who was standing on the stairs, back to sit with her on the sofa.
"When did I tell you to leave Maxwell?" Lida frowned, looking at her.
At this moment, Lily blinked in confusion, her wide eyes staring at Lida as she shook the envelope in her hand.
“Didn’t you mean for me to move out? Isn’t this the breakup fee with your son?”
It turns out, Lida’s actions had caused Mr. Bennett to misunderstand. Lida Yang had grown up in a progressive family, where etiquette and propriety were emphasized. Even in this modern era, her teachings to her children weren’t too rigid. Perhaps her overly serious tone had led Lily to the wrong conclusion.
Lida gave a faint smile, one that left Lily unsure of what she was trying to express.
"Open it and see," Lida said, gesturing towards the envelope.
Feeling hesitant, Lily slowly opened the envelope. Inside was a thin piece of paper, but instead of a 3-billion-dollar check, it was a share certificate for Thornton Corporation’s jewelry division, D&L. The D&L brand had been founded by Lida herself, making her somewhat of a legend in the jewelry world. Maxwell had even learned a few things from his remarkable mother.
Looking at the shares in her hand, Lily was utterly baffled. What had she done to deserve this? She could only feel that she’d somehow deeply offended Maxwell and was now in some serious trouble.
Lida moved closer and smiled gently, “Mr. Bennett, you misunderstood me. If you’re the one my son loves, as a mother, I have no reason to oppose it. In fact, if I can, I’ll do everything in my power to support the two of you. The shares you're holding are part of my jewelry brand, D&L. Right now, Angus has inherited his own company, Lorne is in politics with his father, and my only daughter is married and taken care of. The D&L brand has been under Maxwell's management all these years, but now I want to step back. Maxwell is highly independent and has been successful with the company, but he's always been more focused on business than marriage, and he's never seriously considered settling down. But now he’s expressed a desire to get engaged to you, even thinking about marriage. If you agree to marry him, all the shares of the D&L brand will be yours. It’ll be much easier for you both to manage the business together.”
Lily was utterly shocked, unable to process what was happening. This didn’t align with any tragic, dramatic storyline she had envisioned! Where was the part where they threw money in her face and kicked her out? How had this suddenly become a conversation about shares and marriage?
Hurriedly, Lily placed the blue envelope back on the table as if it were a burning hot potato.
"Madam, I can’t accept this. Maxwell and I barely have any relationship yet, and honestly, I’m not thinking about engagement or marriage right now. So…”
“You should reconsider," Lida interrupted her, "You’re of an age to settle down, and when you meet the right person, you should think it over carefully. I know you have a child, but that doesn’t matter. As long as the two of you love each other and live in harmony, that’s what’s most important."
Lida’s demeanor was so different from what Lily had anticipated. From their first meeting at Maxwell’s home, especially in the presence of Zelda Bennett, it was clear that Lida favored Zelda. Though Lida never showed outright disapproval of Lily, it was easy to tell that she didn’t particularly like her either. So, this 360-degree shift had Lily feeling as though she were on a roller coaster—dizzy and terrified.
"Madam, you come from such a prestigious family. Wouldn't it be better to find a daughter-in-law from a more matching background?" Lily asked, not expecting Lida to smile warmly at her.
"The basic foundation of a harmonious family is for parents and children not to have too big of a gap between them. Otherwise, there will be conflicts and misunderstandings. That’s why I respect my children’s choices. Maxwell seems to cherish you deeply, and once you're married, it will only bring you closer and more understanding of one another."
Lily forced a smile, thinking to herself, Perhaps you don’t fully know about my past. If Lida knew that Lily was Gregory Bennett's daughter, a man whose businesses all had shady dealings, it might change her tune entirely.