Chapter 477 The Bride No One Knew About

Lily’s face twisted as she clenched her fingers, then mumbled, “Didn’t I already apologize? I did it in front of the entire national media. Isn’t that enough to show I meant it?”

Carl replied, “That wasn’t an apology. That was you compromising out of fear of going to jail. And you apologized to the public, not to Yunice. Isn’t she the one who suffered the most from this?”

Tears rolled down Lily’s face in frustration. “But I already spent 10 days in jail! I’ve lost all dignity! Ever since that press conference, I haven’t dared to leave the house. I’m scared people will laugh at me on the street, point fingers at me…”

Carl cut her off, “That’s the consequence of your own actions. I’ve never seen a mother so vicious to her own child. Why not spread rumors about your son? Or about Elsie? Just because you don’t get along with Yunice, you think you can hurt her however you like? You’re her mother.”

Lily sniffled and turned her head away, muttering, “She’s never treated me like a mother. I’ve never seen a child so unfilial to their own parent.”

Carl said, “A parent’s love is like saving money in a piggy bank. If you don’t put anything in when they’re young, how can you expect anything to be there when they’re grown?”

The implication hit hard – he was accusing her of never having cared for Yunice as a child. Lily broke down, face buried in her hands, sobbing.

Carl’s face darkened, eyes rimmed red.

Owen tried to defend her. “My mom didn’t take care of Yunice because she had no choice. You can’t blame her…”

Yunice had heard this excuse so many times that she didn’t even bother to argue.

Just then, a voice interrupted Owen.

“I’m here.”

Oscar stepped into the Crawford family’s living room, bringing a cold presence with him.

Seeing him at last, Owen immediately perked up. “Oscar, we’ve been waiting for you!”

But Oscar didn’t ask why he’d been summoned in the middle of the night. Instead, he glanced around and asked, “Owen, where’s your girlfriend?”

His eyes scanned the room, as if looking for someone.

Owen’s face turned sour. He gritted his teeth. “What girlfriend?”

Oscar smiled. “Didn’t you already get your marriage certificate? I heard the wedding’s coming up.”

He looked around at the others in the room, feigning surprise. “Wait, don’t tell me this whole late-night meeting isn’t about planning Owen’s wedding?”

The Saunders family’s faces went stiff with panic. No one expected Oscar to blurt it out.

Owen quickly denied it. “Oscar, stop spreading rumors. When did I ever say I was getting married?”

Oscar chuckled. “Come on, Owen. You already registered the marriage. Are you trying to pull off a secret wedding now? Don’t joke with your big brother. Bring her out – I’d like to meet her properly.”

Owen’s expression soured even more. He couldn’t tell if Oscar was doing this on purpose or if he was just clueless.

Carl, of course, took notice. “Owen got married?”

Oscar nodded. “Yep. Supposedly, he married a volunteer who used to work in the psych ward. Maybe they bonded over hardship and rushed into it.”

He added with a half-smile, “He already got the license, and I – the older brother – only found out through a friend.”

Yunice tugged the corner of her lips, nearly laughing out loud.

Carl turned his eyes to Owen. “Why didn’t you tell me? Who is the girl? What’s her background? Why didn’t you bring her to meet me?”

Owen’s face flushed red. He didn’t dare let Carl find out he got drunk and messed around. Bringing her here? No chance. He wanted to hide her forever.

Seeing his strange expression, Carl put down his teacup and frowned. “What’s wrong? Are you mad at me? You think I’m not good enough to meet her?”

“No!” Owen denied it immediately.

Seeing the sweat forming on his forehead, Carl pressed further. “Then what is it?”

Owen stammered, “She’s… she’s from a poor family. She’s not very educated. I was worried she might embarrass herself if I brought her…”

Carl snorted. “And you expect me to believe you would marry a woman like that?”

Owen was completely stuck.

Elsie jumped in with a sweet voice, “She’ll definitely come meet you soon. But weren’t we here to talk about Yunice tonight?”

She turned to Oscar. “Oscar, if we have something to discuss, let’s just get to it. I don’t want Mr. Carl staying up too late because of us.”

Oscar shot her a glare. “Who’s your brother? Don’t go making up family ties.”

He crossed his arms and sat as far away from the Saunders family as he could.

Elsie glanced at Carl with a pitiful look, then lowered her head and stayed quiet.

Carl glanced around at everyone, even more convinced that Owen’s sudden marriage was hiding something.

He turned to Yunice. “Yunice, you tell me – who exactly did Owen marry?”