?Chapter 1635:


    Startled, Brenna walked over and sat down on the couch beside Giselle. “Mom, Dad, why are you still up? Is something wrong?”


    Their grim expressions hinted that something bad had happened.


    Giselle sped Brenna’s hand, her voice steady but heavy. “Brenna, do you truly care for Ethan?”


    Brenna’s brow furrowed, puzzled. “Yeah. I think he’s a great guy. Why do you ask?”


    Giselle let out a frustrated sigh. “This afternoon, I bumped into Ethan’s mother at the spa. You won’t believe the nonsense she spouted.”


    Brenna, catching the storm in Giselle’s eyes, braced herself.


    “Let me guess—Elsa thinks Ethan and I are a bad match?”


    Giselle’s anger red. “Worse. She ims her family has been gued by misfortune—idents piling up. Her eldest son’s daughter passed away suddenly, and her ex-husband’s wife lost a pregnancy. She’s convinced it’s a curse. She consulted a psychic, who dered that you and Ethan can’t be together, that your union is bringing her family bad luck. She’s pinning everything bad on you. I’m livid!”


    Brenna’s expression darkened, her voice sharp. “Their troubles have nothing to do with me. She’s buying into that nonsense?”


    Giselle snorted and replied, “Brenna, I’m not against you and Ethan, but I think you should pump the brakes on wedding ns. Keep things this way for now and see how it ys out. His family’s drama is a red g, and if Ethan can’t deal with it, you probably shouldn’t marry him. You’re young—there’s no need to rush down the aisle.”


    She steeled herself for an argument, armed with reasons to sway Brenna. But to her surprise, Brenna paused for a moment, then nodded.


    “You’re right, Mom. Elsa is a walking headache. Just look at the chaos she’s caused for Kenny and Rosanna,” Brenna said.


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    Shepard seethed with fury. “We are the ones who should be choosy about her family! Brenna, you’re not tying the knot with Ethan. Let Elsa grovel at our feet, pleading for this marriage, before we even consider it. I can’t stand all her snide remarks, acting like you aren’t worthy of her son.”


    Brenna wasn’t one to grovel for a man’s hand. Elsa had crossed a line this time. The Harpers hadpromised before, but they wouldn’t keep bending. They had their dignity, and so did she.


    “I’m with you,” Brenna dered. “Let’s just put the matter on hold and deal with itter.”


    Shepard and Giselle exhaled in relief. They had feared that Brenna would insist on marrying Ethan soon, but that didn’t happen.


    None of them noticed Sandra hovering near her bedroom door, overhearing every word. A flicker of smugness stirred within her—Brenna’s charmed life wasn’t wless; she faced rejection, too. That seemed fair.


    Sure, Ethan would never nce her way, but Sandra still felt happy that Brenna’s life wasn’t perfect.


    It was the weekend, and Ethan, buried in work after his travels, hadn’t made ns with Brenna. She didn’t reach out to him, either, and he was too busy with work to notice.


    Brenna slept until noon, then descended the stairs for lunch, only to find the house buzzing with guests. There was an elderly couple in their sixties, two younger couples in their thirties, and five children—three girls and two boys, the eldest a pretty girl of about seventeen, the youngest a boy around eleven.


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