Chapter 1240: Speaking of the devil…

[MAMA]

"Charles?" Allison furrowed her brows, stopping from wiping the table when she noticed Charles had stopped.

For once, Allison had already told her husband not to help with the restaurant. After all, Charles was assisting Penny because their daughter had bought out the Miller Company, but for some reason, she hadn’t put it under the Prime Group. Hence, Allison understood that her husband already had a full plate. She didn’t want to bother him anymore.

But alas, here he was, helping out to clean the restaurant.

"Honey, are you okay?" she asked, walking over to him to check. "You just stopped all of a sudden. Are you hurt anywhere?"

Charles flashed her a smile. "Nothing, honey. I’m just... I feel like our children are talking about me. Or maybe they’re picturing me in a very strange way."

"Charles." Allison huffed, looking him dead in the eye. "Why do you always think that our children would talk bad about their father?"

Because all their children inherited just his bad traits from him? It was still a good thing that they got their mother’s beauty, so he could forgive them.

"Where are they, by the way?" he asked with a sigh.

"Atlas told me they’d be spending dinner at Zoren’s and Penny’s home."

"I knew it!"

"Charles," she called in a calming tone. "Aren’t you glad that our children are getting along? Even without us, they’d have dinner together. Knowing they’re getting along well is a good thing for both of us."

"Trust me, Charles. Your children don’t care about you as much as you think." This time, Jessa’s voice was heard, seated in the chair leisurely with a bottle of beer in her hand. "Those kids have their own worlds, and it doesn’t revolve around you."

"Jessa, if your children are like that, my children aren’t."

"Well, hell. If my children think about me and just remember all the beatings I gave them, I’d rather they not talk about me and find comfort in the shared trauma."

"Tch. I should’ve called child services on you before," Charles clicked his tongue, glaring at her. "By the way, when is this family dinner again?"

"Now that you mention it!" Jessa gulped a mouthful of beer, making Charles narrow his eyes at her.

"You don’t know?" he gasped. "What kind of mother are you?! Nina is getting officially engaged again, and you don’t know when we’re meeting her fiancé?!"

"Do you know?!" Jessa barked back, watching him shut up at once. "I knew it."

Allison breathed out heavily and shook her head, throwing up her hands. At this point, she was used to these two. If she didn’t know better, she would think Jessa and Charles were siblings. They bantered like one. Even so, she couldn’t help but smile about it.

Jessa had a brother who had sadly passed a long time ago. According to her, Jessa had gotten along well with her brother until Nina’s mother came into the picture. Jessa shared it all with Allison after years of being friends and becoming each other’s safe space.

Charles, on the other hand, once had a little sister. However, they lost his sister when he was still a child.

"You two fight when you both can’t remember when is this dinner," Allison muttered as she picked up the cloth to wipe the table. "If Nina finds out about it, she will be very disappointed. So, you two better get your act together this weekend and not let her down."

"Tch." Jessa rolled her eyes. "Why do I have to cancel my spa appointment for this?"

"Jessa, this is for Nina."

"I know it’s for her, that’s why I’m canceling even if I don’t want to. Even so, that brat — I mean, that man she’s marrying... I don’t like him!"

"I don’t like him more!" Charles exclaimed. "They’ve been engaged for a long time, but he only had the decency to show himself to us! How could he — he should be glad I didn’t beat him up when he proposed without asking for her parents’ permission."

Jessa nodded in agreement. "For once, I agree with him."

"Oh, God..." Allison shook her head, feeling a bit sorry for Nina. Even so, she couldn’t blame these two. When Nina told them she had a suitor, both Charles and Jessa told her to bring him there. The first time, Nina agreed and even set a date. But alas, Finn didn’t come. He said he had an emergency.

After that, Nina would just agree to their request for dinner so the family could meet the man she was with. However, Nina would just nod, but nothing. Even when she and Finn got engaged, there was never a proper family dinner or family meeting.

Charles and Jessa weren’t happy with it, but they didn’t openly criticize Nina for it. They also kept quiet and didn’t say anything about Finn so as not to hurt her feelings. Even so, Charles and Jessa already didn’t have a good impression of Finn.

"Back then, I was still in a lenient mood. But this time, nope!" Jessa shook her head. "I’m going to shred that little guy this weekend—"

Just then, Jessa, Charles, and Allison paused as they heard a chime from the entrance.

"I’m sorry, but we’re already closed..." Allison trailed off as she turned to the entrance, the lines on her forehead resurfacing.

Charles and Jessa, on the other hand, saw Allison’s reaction and followed the direction she was looking. As soon as they saw the person standing by the entrance, Jessa bit her tongue while Charles cleared his throat.

Speaking of the devil...

There, standing at the entrance, was Finn. Finn glanced at them and offered a subtle smile, walking in, and then stopping a few steps away from them. He lowered his head slightly as he politely remarked, "I’m sorry for coming here unannounced, but I was a bit worried about the family meeting. I understand that I’ve had a lot of shortcomings as Nina’s fiancé and future groom. I’ve already given her enough disappointments."

"So..." Slowly, he lifted his head and met their gazes. "I’d rather get shredded today without her knowing."