Chapter 47

Everyone at the table was stunned and turned to Donovan. They were shocked to see the fury on his face as he scolded, "Mom, have you lost your mind? How can you approve of Zach fooling around with some random woman?"

Dorothea, Ethan, and Grace were all taken aback. Donovan had never cared about family affairs before and always backed Zachary without question. No one could believe he was now speaking against him. His sudden fury seemed completely out of character and utterly battling Astor.

Zachary glared at Donovan in confusion, unable to understand why the latter was so angry.

Meanwhile, Giselle remained calm. A faint, cold smile tugged at her lips as she silently enjoyed watching Donovan lose his composure.

"Did you hear that, Mom? Even Don is against it, so I'm not the one at fault here," Grace said, seizing the moment. She shot Giselle a sidelong glance and added with disdain, "A well-mannered lady would never step into a man's home uninvited—let alone act as if she owns the place."

Dorothea’s expression darkened, and for a long while, she said nothing. After all, Giselle had just saved her beloved cat.

To ease the tension, Ethan interjected, "Just now, Zach said Ms. Holt is Dr. Holt's daughter. If Don were to marry someone from the Holt family, that would make Ms. Holt Zach’s in-law. So…."

He glanced at Zachary and continued, "You can be friends with her, but nothing more."

Zachary let out a helpless sigh. "Dad, what are you talking about? Uncle Don's engagement was called off, which means the Holt family has nothing to do with us anymore. How can she possibly be my in-law?"

"What do you mean 'called off?' Stop spouting nonsense!" Grace snapped; then, she quickly changed the subject. "Dorothea, let's forget Zach for now. Since Don is here, I want to talk about his marriage to the Holt family."

Dorothea's face fell. She sighed and replied wearily, "What's there to discuss? Everything has already fallen apart."

But Grace remained serious, trying to convince her mother-in-law. "Dorothea, didn't we look into that matter? The video of Anne was fake. Someone set her up. The Holts even reported the scandal and did everything they could to suppress it. Now the news has been wiped clean from the internet. There's nothing left to worry about. Don’t tell me that you really want to back out of the marriage now!"

Dorothea hesitated, saying nothing. She quietly sipped her soup while Giselle listened with growing interest. The conversation revealed far more than anyone expected.

Giselle already knew that Grace was Renee's best friend. It was no surprise Grace was doing everything in her power to protect Anne and secure the marriage. Grace pressed on, "Dorothea, don't forget that it was Tony who personally operated on you last year. If not for him, you’d be paralyzed now. He saved your life. That’s why you agreed to let Donovan marry his daughter in the first place."

Dorothea looked increasingly uneasy but still said nothing.

"Let's think about this logically. Other than the Holts, only seven families are worthy of Donovan."

Grace began listing the alternatives. "First, there’s Ms. Emily Xavier, but she’s not that pretty. Don wouldn't ever like her. Then there’s Ms. Diana Lane from Miracle Real Estate. She’s beautiful but stubborn, and she went to some no-name university because she’s not that bright."

"Next is Ms. Samantha Conors from Stone Corporation, the third daughter of the Conors family. She’s smart, but her looks are average, and she’s already in her late 30s, so she might have trouble having children. "

One by one, Grace listed every flaw she could think of, then finally concluded, "Do you see? Anne Holt is the only one truly worthy of our dear Don. She’s beautiful, accomplished, and even plays the violin. No other woman compares. She's young."

Dorothea let out another long sigh. "Fine, let's hear what Don has to say first."

Before Grace could ask Donovan anything, he coldly announced, "I don't really care about it, and as for arrangements, just let me know when the time comes."

Without another word, he pushed back his chair and left the dining room, taking the heavy, oppressive atmosphere with him as he walked upstairs.