Chapter 1336: He belonged

"But it’s true. This dinner is over for you."

"Finn!" Mrs. Davis roared, her voice laced with anger. "What are you talking about?! Don’t tell me your relationship with that girl has clouded your judgment?!"

"How can you say that to your own parents? Don’t tell me you’re choosing them—her—over us?" Mr. Davis said sternly, his voice tight with control. "Finn, I’ll give you another chance. Let’s go."

"How can you say that to him?" Nina mustered her courage, rising from her seat to face her future in-laws. "How do you have the nerve to make him choose?"

"Nina, it’s fine," Finn whispered. "I can—"

"No." She shook her head firmly, her resolve unshaken. When she turned her sharp gaze back to his parents, a sharp exhale escaped her lips. "You can call me whatever you want, but my family has extended more patience than you deserve. My father would’ve called you out the moment you walked in here with your assistants, but he didn’t."

She paused to steady herself. "It’s not my family trying to hurt you by making Finn stay. You are the ones who have hurt him—time and time again. And even now... even now you’re rubbing it in his face that one of the most important nights of his life still isn’t enough to matter more than your work."

The words she had always held back spilled freely now, and Nina’s eyes started to glisten with unshed tears.

"It’s not my family who’s trying to hurt you," she continued, her voice trembling. "You are the ones hurting everyone—just to prove that you’re in control." She sniffled. "But that won’t work, Ma’am. Sir. I know that speaking up like this might strain our relationship forever, but I don’t care anymore."

"Because Finn..." she breathed out, her lips quivering, "he is the only one who matters to me in this relationship." She turned to Finn, her voice breaking. "And he... he will never be alone again."

Tears streamed down her face as her voice wavered. "He will never have to wonder if someone will show up for him on his most important days—because I will. He won’t have to wonder who to call or who to ask for a favor—because he will have a family to turn to. And when he’s being an idiot, someone will tell him he’s being an idiot and set him back on track."

She stood protectively beside Finn, her lips trembling but her stance unwavering. "Tonight is the last time you will ever hurt him. Never again. My family and I... we will fill him with so much love that he will forget all those long and lonely years you made him endure."

"Hate me if you want—I don’t care. But I am marrying him." Her voice dropped to a whisper, but the conviction behind it remained firm. "And I promise you... our children will never go through what he did. They will have parents who put them first, not last. So if you please... just leave."

Finn pressed his lips together, his eyes softening as he watched Nina put on a brave front, even as tears stained her cheeks. He knew he should be the one protecting her, but right now, he couldn’t help but feel a little selfish.

Just for this moment, he wanted to cherish the feeling of being protected—by her, by all of them.

’I thought they hated me,’ he mused, casting a glance around the table. Yet, every face bore the same expression of fierce loyalty, as if his parents were the enemy.

The faint smile on his lips cracked as the corners of his eyes turned red.

This wasn’t how he had imagined tonight going. He knew it wouldn’t be casual—not after everything he had said. But even in the midst of this heated argument, the feeling blooming in his chest was unfamiliar.

Warm. Comforting.

For the first time, it felt like he had found his people.

"You—"

"Enough."

Charles’s voice thundered through the restaurant, his sharp glare locking onto the couple. "Do not embarrass yourselves further. Leave now, while you still have a shred of dignity left, Mr. and Mrs. Davis. Get out of our property."

The couple’s breaths hitched, their bodies tense with anger. They turned to Finn, eyes burning with indignation.

"Please," Finn whispered, his expression pleading with them to leave as well.

"Fine!" Mrs. Davis scoffed. "If this is what you all want, then so be it. But mark my words—we will remember this."

Mr. Davis nodded stiffly. "Finn, if you marry that girl, consider yourself out of our will."

Finn didn’t hesitate. "Then you’d better make another phone call tonight." His grip on Nina’s hand tightened. "Someone needs to do the paperwork to remove my name. Because I’m also not planning on signing a prenuptial agreement."

"What did you just say?!" Mr. Davis nearly choked, his face twisting in disbelief. Even without their wealth, their son had already built his own fortune—and was continuing to expand it through his partnership with the Piersons.

"You won’t—"

"I’ve made my decision," Finn cut in firmly. "Like I said, I appreciate that you came—that you tried. But I don’t need to prove anything to my fiancée."

He turned to Nina with a small smile. "I’ll find other ways to impress her."

"You—" Mrs. Davis sputtered, but one glance around the table told her they were no longer welcome.

Mr. Davis clenched his jaw before letting out a harsh breath. "You’ll regret this, Finn. And all of you—especially you, Mr. Bennet. You will regret this."

With that, Mr. Davis stormed off. Mrs. Davis lingered for a moment, stopping in front of Charles. She glared at him and spat,

"This isn’t over."

Then, she turned on her heel and followed her husband, fuming.

"Tsk..." Charles clicked his tongue, watching the two of them leave with steam practically rising from their heads.

"I’m sorry about that," Finn said the moment their assistants closed the door behind them. He looked around the table before settling his gaze on Charles. "Don’t worry—I won’t let them—"

"Ah, let them try!" Charles waved him off with a smirk. "Let them come at me. Haines and I have been very bored lately."

Haines nodded, rocking his head thoughtfully. "The Millers’ company has been way too peaceful since Stephen stopped throwing pebbles at us." He offered Finn a reassuring smile. "I’d love to see just how many more phone calls they can handle in one day—because they just picked a fight with the wrong people."

"That’s Uncle Haines for you!" Hugo cheered.

"Hey, me too." Charles jabbed a thumb at himself. "It’s not just Haines who’ll take them on."

"Hehehe! Uncle Haines, just take it slow, though. You do need to conserve energy for your wedding," Hugo teased, grinning mischievously.

Charles scowled. "Hugo."

"Don’t worry, Finn." Penny cupped her face with a smile.

"They’re the big leagues," Zoren remarked, nodding toward Finn. "Even we haven’t accomplished enough to join their game."

Finn sighed before chuckling faintly, glancing at Nina.

"Anyway, our food’s gone cold," Charles muttered. "And after all that anger, my stomach’s roaring."

"Fine, fine!" Jessa clapped her hands as she stood. "I’ll reheat the food—and maybe make more. Hugo, Atlas, go grab some beers."

"I don’t want to—" Atlas started, only to yelp as Hugo dragged his entire chair away with him still seated.

"I’ll help in the kitchen!" Yuri volunteered, raising a hand.

"I don’t want to move!" Penny announced, hugging Zoren’s arm.

"Drag that walking corpse with her," Jessa ordered Slater.

Slater sighed but complied, hauling Zoren along while Penny clung to him.

Slowly, the atmosphere in the restaurant shifted. The tension melted away, replaced by warmth and laughter.

This wasn’t what Finn had expected.

It was better.

Because as his parents walked out, Finn finally felt it—

He belonged.