“The Smith family’s business was mine to begin with! Who else could you possibly hand it to anyway? Have you forgotten that you’ve already transferred the company’s shares to me?” Lyle said coldly.
Hearing that made my blood boil, and I jumped to my feet immediately. Does Lyle even hear himself right now? His words must hurt Sharon so much! Everything Sharon does is for the sake of the Smith family, and she has suffered in Crystal’s hands as a result. I remember her crying when she told me about it in the yard the other day! She gave the family everything, only to have Lyle lash out at her in public like this… There’s no way her old heart can take such abuse!
Lyle’s words hit Sharon like bolt from the blue, causing her to go pale instantly. She then slumped weakly against the wheelchair and clutched at her chest, seemingly struggling to even breathe properly. Shocked by what she saw, Wendy screamed in terror, “Why do you have to show up and crash Lyle’s wedding, Mom? What if you die here or something? Word would spread in Avenport that the heir to the Smith family has angered his grandma to death! Lyle was right to not invite you!”
This is unbelievable! How could she say such a thing? I glanced at Christopher at the thought of that, and he flashed me an encouraging smile in response.
Feeling the warmth of his smile in my heart, I no longer cared about the people watching and ran straight toward Sharon. “What is it, Grandma? Are you okay?”
“M-Medicine…” Sharon said weakly while grabbing onto my arm, and I realized her hand was as cold as ice.
“The medicine, Josephine!” I then grabbed a glass of water from the table and fed Sharon the pills Josephine handed me. A few moments later, Sharon was feeling slightly better and patted me on the hand with a guilty look in her eyes. She then turned toward Lyle and asked, “Are you absolutely sure you want to marry this woman?”
“This is a wedding, Grandma. Is it not a clear enough indicator of my decision? You should go get some rest at the hospital if you’re feeling unwell. I’ll make it up to you once this is over. I’m a grown man now, Grandma. I’m no longer that little boy who just blindly obeys everything you say. I have my own thoughts and ideas, so you should stop treating me like some puppet of yours,” Lyle said as he made his way down the stage.
Although he had eased up on his tone when he saw Sharon’s condition worsen, he was still determined to follow through with his decision.
Sharon fell silent and continued taking deep breaths to calm herself down while Josephine rubbed her back to help comfort her. Having regained her composure, the look in her eyes turned vicious and cold once again.
“I know you don’t like me, Grandma, but Lyle and I are truly in love with each other! Are you still unwilling to accept me after so many years? Is the Smith family more important to you than Lyle? Will you please just give us your blessings?” Crystal cried out with teary eyes while squeezing hard on the wedding ring.
Sharon had once told me how Crystal threatened her with the Smith family’s weakness to keep the truth from Lyle, so I knew what Crystal said was actually a threat in disguise.
Sharon ignored Crystal and simply motioned at Josephine to take her to the table. After escorting her to an empty table in the first row, I was about to leave when she grabbed hold of my hand and said, “I’m sorry, Yvonne. It’s all my fault that your reputation is ruined.”
She’s right… Had she not given Crystal my Autumnal Panorama, forced me to be with Lyle, and push me while Crystal was pregnant, none of this would’ve happened… No, Sharon had her reasons for doing all of that, and I had my own choices to make. As much as I don’t want to forgive her for her repeated attempts at sabotaging me, I am still grateful for her helping me out when I was most helpless.
With that in mind, I simply shook my head and flashed her a smile.
“Carry on with the wedding.” Sharon told the band and the priest before continuing, “Don’t blame me, Lyle. You made this choice yourself, so I hope you don’t regret it. I can’t help you out of this now, so you’ll have to bear the consequences yourself.”
