Chapter 196 Double Standard
Chapter 196 Double Standard
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When Franklin saw Tracy, the cold mask on his face instantly broke into a smile. He even pushed himself up with his cane. “Tracy’s back.”
Benjamin moved to steady him, but Franklin brushed him off and instead grabbed Tracy’s hand as she hurried over.
His face was full of affection. “It’s been too long. You’ve grown even prettier.”
Tracy couldn’t help butugh. “Grandpa, I just visited you at the hospital two days ago. Back then, you said I was getting chubby.”
“That’s because you were way too thin while you were overseas. Now you’ve finally put on a little weight. It suits you.”
Franklin and Tracy kept talking andughing like it was just the two of them, the warmth between them. shut everyone else out.
Liam stepped through the doorway just in time to see Tracy’s smile. He froze.
They had just driven back together. All that time, she hadn’t looked at him in the eye even once. She hadn’t smiled, not even a polite one. She treated him colder than a stranger on the street.
Now, seeing her rxed and happy with Franklin, it was like a fist squeezing around his heart. Every breat hurt.
The others didn’t look much better. Their faces darkened as they watched. A few minutes ago, they had tried everything to start a conversation with Franklin. He had ignored thempletely.
But the moment Tracy walked in, he couldn’t stop talking.
The double standard stung.
Tracy didn’t notice their stares, or maybe she just didn’t care. She focused only on Franklin, answering his questions with ease.
It was only then that she realized the point of this dinner-Chris was here to be introduced as a future son-inw.
The idea wasughable.
Her hands curled into fists, nails biting her palms. She forced herself not to let the anger show on her face.
But Franklin noticed the stiffness anyway. His smile faded, concern creasing his brow. “Tracy, what’s wrong?”
He had been overjoyed a moment ago, but now his heart grew heavy.
When he first heard Tracy had a boyfriend, he had felt that bittersweet ache of giving away a precious granddaughter. But above all, he had been happy.
He knew his body was failing. He couldn’t be by her side much longer. And the Jackmans? They had long
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Chapter 196 Double Standard
stopped being her shield.
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If Tracy could find someone reliable, someone steady without messy ties, he could leave this world in
peace.
That was why, before agreeing toe to the vi for dinner, Franklin had Chris thoroughly investigated. Chris was an only child. Mild-mannered, polite, unremarkable, but dependable. No scandals, no chaos. If Tracy married him, and with the inheritance Franklin nned to leave her, she would never have to worry about her future.
But only if she agreed.
From what he had gathered, Tracy and Chris once had mutual feelings. They’d split only because Felicia insisted Tracy, stripped of the Jackman name, wasn’t good enough for him.
That wasn’t a real problem. If Franklin transferred all his assets to Tracy, she would be worth more than the Jackman title itself.
But looking at her face now, Franklin couldn’t help but worry he had been wrong somewhere. His influence had faded with the years. He might have been misled.
Seeing his expression shift, Tracy quickly forced a smile. “I’m fine, Grandpa. I’m just hungry. When do we eat?”
She wanted to lean on his arm like she had as a child, wanted to cry and tell him everything.
But she couldn’t. Not when she knew how much he worried about her future since Walter died. Not when the Jackmans had coaxed him from the hospital with this setup.
If he realized they were using him to push her into a marriage, if he realized they were threatening her through him, Franklin would be furious.
She couldn’t let that happen.
So she had to y along. At least for now.
But the ending? That would be hers to write.
Tracy slipped her arm through Franklin’s and helped him toward the dining table. As she did, she nced back at Erin-just in time to catch the smug look on her face before she could hide it.
Of course. This whole thing had Erin’s fingerprints all over it.
Why can’t she ever just leave me alone?
Tracy’s movement was subtle; even Franklin didn’t notice. But someone else did.
Liam.
He followed her gaze and saw it too. Erin’s smirk, sharp with triumph.
He had never seen that expression on Erin before. She looked arrogant and gloating, like a petty viin who couldn’t resist celebrating a scheme that finally worked.
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