"Look how sweet they look together," Madison said with a gentle smile. She turned toward Eva. "Don't you think so, Eva?"
Eva looked at the couple. The first thing she noticed was how tired her son looked. There were faint traces of exhaustion on his face, and his usually composed expression seemed even colder than usual.
Eva made a mental note to ask him about it later. For now, she returned Madison's smile. "Yes, Madi. You're right. They do look good together."
But secretly, Eva couldn't help thinking otherwise.
If only my son were with someone else. Then he would look even better.
She quickly pushed the thought away. Turning toward Jason, Eva pointed toward the empty space beside her. "Jason, you came at the perfect time. Come here and have a seat."
Jason walked over and sat beside his mother. Olivia immediately sat close to him, still clinging to his arm. Jason greeted everyone present in the room before turning toward his mother.
"You wanted to see me, Mother?" His voice sounded tired.
Eva was about to answer when Madison spoke before her. "We were just talking about your and Olivia's engagement party." Madison's face was filled with excitement.
"It will be held this coming Saturday."
Jason froze. For a moment, he thought he had heard her wrong. "What?"
His expression changed as he looked toward his father and then at Aaron Williams. His eyes clearly demanded an explanation. Ray noticed his son's reaction and gave him a subtle signal to calm down. Jason took a slow breath, trying to control his surprise.
Nobody had even discussed this with him. How could they suddenly decide on an engagement party? Beside him, Olivia's expression changed when she saw his reaction.
"What's the matter, Jason?" She tightened her grip around his arm.
Her face quickly became pale, and her eyes filled with tears. "You don't want to marry me?" Her voice trembled as she looked at him.
"We've been together for more than a year now," she continued. "Don't you want to marry me?"
Jason frowned slightly. He could already tell where this was going.
Nora, who was standing beside the sofa and scrolling through her phone, rolled her eyes. She had never liked Olivia.
In fact, her dislike toward Olivia was obvious to everyone in the family.
Nora knew Olivia's habit of crying whenever things didn't go the way she wanted, and she had long since grown tired of it. "Here comes the waterworks again," Nora muttered under her breath.
She locked her phone and slipped it into her pocket. "I'm going to my room." She deliberately didn't even look at Olivia before leaving the room.
Olivia's eyes became even more watery. "Say something, Jason." She looked at him helplessly.
"Don't you want to marry me?" Tears slowly rolled down her cheeks. She continued holding his arm tightly.
Eva noticed Jason's discomfort.
She knew her son well enough to understand that he didn't like people being overly clingy with him. She wanted to intervene, but she wasn't sure how she could do so without making the situation worse.
Jason finally looked at Olivia and his expression softened slightly. "Of course I want to marry you."
He gently removed his arm from her hands and placed it behind her on the armrest of the sofa. "But don't you think this is a little early?"
"But, Jason..." Before Olivia could continue, Ray interrupted them.
"Jason, come to the office. I want to discuss something with you." Ray stood up from the sofa. Aaron also stood up and followed him.
Jason looked toward his mother. Eva immediately understood what he was asking without him having to say a word.
She gave him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. Go and see what your father wants to discuss. I'll handle everything here."
Jason nodded. He stood up and followed his father, with Secretary Russ walking behind him.
As Jason left the living room, he heard Madison's excited voice behind him. "Come on, Olivia! Get ready. You and Jason are going to get engaged soon!"
Madison clapped her hands excitedly. "We have so much work to do before the engagement. We need to go shopping, decide on the decorations, choose the dresses... There is so much to prepare!"
Olivia wiped the tears from her cheeks and gave Madison a small smile. "Yes, Aunt Madison."
She paused for a moment. "But we should wait for my mother. She's very excited about my engagement and wants to join us for the shopping."
Madison suddenly became still and the excited smile disappeared from her face.
For a moment, an awkward silence filled the room. Madison slowly looked toward Eva. She tried to hide her embarrassment, but the sudden change in her expression was obvious.
The mention of Olivia's mother had changed the atmosphere immediately.
Olivia was Aaron's illegitimate daughter, born from his relationship with his former girlfriend, Sophie Smith.
Aaron and Sophie Smith had been in a relationship when they were in college. They had studied together in the same class and had once believed that they would spend the rest of their lives together.
But things didn't go as they had expected. Their relationship eventually came to an end. Aaron moved on. He married Madison, a woman chosen for him by his parents, and began a new life with her.
He already had a daughter with Madison—Anne.
For years, Aaron had no idea that Sophie had been pregnant. He had no idea that somewhere in the world, he had another daughter. The truth remained hidden until Olivia was five years old.
Then, tragedy struck. Sophie was involved in a serious car accident. With no one else to rely on, she had no choice but to contact Aaron.
When Aaron received her call, he was shocked. He had never expected to hear from her again. But what Sophie told him left him speechless. He had a daughter. A daughter he had never known about.
At first, Aaron refused to accept Olivia. His mind was filled with thoughts of Madison and Anne.
What would happen to his family if Madison found out?
How could he explain the existence of another daughter after keeping the truth hidden for so many years?
But Sophie begged him to take Olivia. "Please, Aaron," she pleaded. "Take care of her until I recover. She's your daughter. I have no one else to turn to."
Aaron couldn't immediately answer. He knew that bringing Olivia into his family would change everything. But he also knew that he couldn't simply abandon his own daughter.
In the end, he agreed.