Free Web NovelChapter 478: Chapter 478
Winston Sheffield soothingly patted Sylvia Lancaster’s back. "Sylvia, don’t you dare take her words to heart. Don’t worry, in a couple of days, I’ll talk to my parents about finding someone to marry her off to as soon as possible. We can’t have her being an eyesore around the house!"
In Winston Sheffield’s eyes, for someone with Wendy Sheffield’s looks, marrying into a wealthy family was a pipe dream. Instead of daydreaming all the time, she should find a man and get married while she was still young. It would save her the trouble of staying home and being a drain on their resources.
Hearing this, Sylvia Lancaster smiled faintly. She stood on her tiptoes, gave Winston Sheffield a kiss near his ear, and said softly, "Thank you, darling. You’re so good to me~"
Winston Sheffield’s cheeks flushed with excitement from her gesture. His eyes filled with a smile as he said to Sylvia Lancaster, "By the way, honey, my work gave out ten pounds of rice and a pound of meat yesterday. You should take it back to your parents!"
Sylvia Lancaster smiled and nodded. After they shared a tender moment, Sylvia changed the subject and brought up the topic of buying a house.
"Oh, honey, about what I said yesterday—buying a house in The Metropolis Residences. What are your thoughts on that?"
It had been raining continuously for several days. Sylvia Lancaster knew the floods would be coming soon. When they did, only the North Anworth Suburbs would be spared. They had to buy a house in The Metropolis Residences as quickly as possible.
Winston Sheffield scratched his head, replying hesitantly, "Honey, why do you want to buy a house there? It’s almost in the suburbs; it wouldn’t be very convenient... Besides, I don’t have that much cash on hand right now. I was planning on saving that money for our wedding."
Winston Sheffield lived off his salary and was a bit of a spendthrift. He was the classic type to live paycheck to paycheck. After working for several years, he hadn’t saved much and certainly couldn’t afford to buy an apartment without batting an eye.
Hearing him say that, Sylvia Lancaster wanted to roll her eyes into the back of her head!
’I knew Winston was useless, but I never thought he’d be *this* useless!’
’It’s not like I’m asking him to cough up tens or hundreds of millions for a villa. It’s just a house in the suburbs, and he can’t even come up with that much money! Of all the boyfriends I’ve had, Winston Sheffield is by far the most unimpressive!’
’If I had a better option right now, I would never have agreed to be with him!’
Seeing Sylvia Lancaster’s displeasure, Winston Sheffield quickly tried to placate her. "Honey, don’t worry. I might not have the money, but my parents do! Why don’t we go over to their place for dinner tonight? We can settle our engagement sooner!"
"Then I’ll tell my parents to buy us a house in The Metropolis Residences as our marital home. They’ll definitely agree!"
Hearing this, Sylvia Lancaster’s anger turned to joy. She cupped Winston Sheffield’s face and, suppressing the nausea she felt, initiated a kiss...
***
Meanwhile, after leaving Winston Sheffield’s apartment, Wendy Sheffield ran all the way home. The moment she walked through the door, she threw herself into her mother’s arms and began to cry.
"Mom, you can’t let that Sylvia Lancaster into our family! She’s a menace!"
"She’s not some rich heiress at all. She’s just the adopted daughter of a wealthy family who was swapped at birth. Not only that, but she also framed the family’s real daughter! I saw it all with my own eyes!"
Wendy Sheffield continued, sobbing, "I don’t know what kind of love potion she’s given my brother, but he’s actually talking about marrying her. Mom, if a woman like that joins our family, will we ever have a day of peace again?"
Hearing her daughter’s words, Lana Grant was completely bewildered.
’Winston and Nina were about to get engaged. How could he suddenly have a new girlfriend?’
Lana Grant patted Wendy Sheffield’s back, consoling her, "There, there, stop crying. Your brother never told me anything about this... I need to go ask your father what’s going on."
After calming her daughter down, Lana Grant went to the study and asked her husband, Mitchell Sheffield, with a puzzled look, "Wendy said her brother has a new girlfriend... Do you know anything about this?"
Mitchell Sheffield put down the book in his hands, nodded, and replied, "Oh, I forgot to tell you. Winston told me a few days ago that he wants to break up with Nina. I’ve already agreed."
"What?!" Lana Grant was shocked. She asked, completely baffled, "You just agreed? Isn’t this ridiculous? Winston and Nina have been together for four or five years and were about to get married. How can they just break up like that?"
Mitchell Sheffield sighed and answered, "Your son insisted on breaking up with Nina. What could I do? I already spoke with Summers two days ago. We’re just acting as if this engagement never existed."
Lana Grant sighed again. She knew it was a done deal and nothing could be done to change it. "I practically watched that child, Nina, grow up," she lamented. "She might be a bit naive, but she has a good heart and is so obedient. It’s such a shame that Winston broke up with her just like that..."
Lana Grant truly had wanted Nina Summers to be her daughter-in-law. Especially now that Nina’s mother was dead and her father had remarried. Once Nina married into their family, the Sheffield Family would be her only home. Even if there were conflicts between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, Nina would have no choice but to endure it.
As for that Sylvia Lancaster... Lana Grant couldn’t help but frown. Sylvia had clearly been spoiled rotten growing up. Even though the Lancaster Family was bankrupt now, her temperament had been shaped since childhood. ’I’m afraid this girl won’t be easy to get along with!’
Hearing Lana Grant’s words, Mitchell Sheffield tossed the book onto the table and said with a frown, "That’s such a woman’s way of thinking!"
As Lana Grant watched him in confusion, Mitchell Sheffield explained his reasoning. "Before, Nina was the only child in her family. Winston wouldn’t be losing out by marrying her, which is why I agreed to their marriage. But things are different now!"
"Now Mindy Walsh is dead, Caleb Summers has a new wife, and they’ve had a son. I know Caleb’s character; he’s a textbook case of favoring sons over daughters. How many resources do you think he’s going to spend on his daughter, Nina? He might even try to use Nina to leech off our family!"
Even if Winston Sheffield hadn’t fallen for someone else, Mitchell Sheffield no longer wanted to proceed with the marriage. Now that Winston himself had suggested calling it off, Mitchell was happy to go along with it.
As for Sylvia Lancaster, if Winston liked her, he could date her for now. She was from a fallen wealthy family anyway. They could use her as an excuse to get rid of Nina, and then find a wife for Winston from a family of equal standing later on.
After hearing Mitchell Sheffield’s analysis, Lana Grant understood. She felt he had a point; the current Nina Summers was indeed no longer good enough for her son.
’In that case, a breakup is for the best.’
Then, as if she’d thought of something, Lana Grant asked, "If you abruptly called off the engagement, would Summers agree... We don’t want him to hold a grudge against us..."
Mitchell Sheffield fell silent for a moment before replying, "I discussed it with Summers yesterday. Since Winston and Nina’s engagement is off, we can just marry Nina to our third son. That way, our two families will still be in-laws."
