Any woman could give him a child, but the stain on Aurora''s reputation would be nearly impossible to wash away.


    However, no matter how fiercely they objected, McCoy was dead set on taking responsibility for the baby she was carrying.


    At the end of the day, it was an innocent life. The Chapman family wasn''tpletely ruthless or driven purely by profit, so they eventually backed down.


    But a grand,vish wedding like they might have nned in the past waspletely off the table. Not only was it impossible, but they also insisted on keeping the marriage entirely out of the public eye.


    Seeing that the Chapman family was still willing to take Aurora in, Skyler agreed to nearly all of these rtively minor conditions.


    At the family dinner, the Williams and Chapman families exchanged empty, polite pleasantries.


    By unspoken agreement, everyonepletely avoided the subject of the engagement party scandal.


    Throughout the meal, McCoy was incredibly attentive to Aurora. He didn''t just pour her water; he even went out of his way to serve her food and make sure her te was full.


    Aurora thanked him softly, and the two looked like a picture-perfect, deeply in love couple.


    Once dinner was winding down, Skyler brought up the topic of a deeper business partnership with the Chapman family.


    Skyler hadn''t stepped down yet and was still the head of the Williams family. Major decisions and significant coborations like this still required his final say.


    Ste listened for a bit but quickly lost interest. She shot Lauretta a look.


    Catching the hint, Lauretta made an excuse and slipped away from the table.


    A few momentster, Ste met her out in the back garden.


    "Lauretta."


    Lauretta turned around, a bit surprised to see Stepletely alone.


    "Did Mr. Gardner note out with you?"


    Back when Joshua was just Ste''s bodyguard, Lauretta had felt perfectly fine


    calling him by his first name. But now that she knew he was the head of the Gardner family, she didn''t dare speak so casually.


    "He had some business to take care of," Ste exined. "He stepped away to make a call."


    Lauretta smiled. "Star, when you get married, I''m officially reserving a spot as one of your bridesmaids."


    Steughed. "Of course. I''ve already got a spot saved for you."


    Speaking of weddings, something crossed Ste''s mind. "Lauretta, is the Chapman family still pressuring you into a strategic marriage?"


    At the mention of this, the smile slowly faded from Lauretta''s face.


    She let out a soft sigh. "Naturally. If Sellers hadn''t mysteriously disappeared, my next arranged match probably would have been with him."


    Ste murmured, almost to herself, "If you look at it that way, Sellers vanishing is actually a blessing..."


    Compared to Jonathan Williams, Sellers was an even bigger nightmare.


    After all, Jonathan was just greedy.


    Sellers wasn''t just greedy; his heart waspletely obsessed with someone else.


    Ste and Lauretta had been ssmates. Now that Lauretta was getting older, she wouldn''t be able to escape her family''s matchmaking forever.


    Suddenly, a thought struck Ste. "Lauretta, your family has lo every elite bachelor in the city they ever considered the Watsons?"


    Lauretta immediately understood what she was getting at. "You mean... Antoney Watson?"


    Ste nodded, "He called me


    yesterdayining that Mr.


    Watson was setting him up on blind dates and driving him crazy. He''s on vacation right now and wants to mide out at my ce for a few days. to escape it all. You guys went to the same university, you both studied music, and you already know each other''s backgrounds. Would you ever consider him?"


    Lauretta didn''t reject the idea outright. Instead, she looked thoughtful.


    Being born into a wealthy, powerful family meant living like a princess, but it also came with a heavy price tag of responsibility.


    You couldn''t have everything. She had wealth and privilege, but she had lost the right to choose her own husband.


    Compared to the Burton family or the Williams family, Antoney really was her best option.


    Whether it was his character, how well they knew each other, or even their shared interests, it was a good match.


    "Would Antoney even go for it?" Lauretta asked hesitantly.


    "His flight gets in tomorrow," Ste said. "Come with me to pick him up. Even if there''s no spark, yo guys


    could cover for each other. It beats


    being hounded about marriage every


    single day."


    Lauretta thought it over and gave a gentle nod.


    Moved by the gesture, she reached out and squeezed Ste''s hand. "Thank you,


    Star."