With Mason Lawson’s promise, Eve Vaughn’s worries finally melted away.

After all, Eve Vaughn now knew just how capable Mason Lawson was, and she was thoroughly convinced.

If he said he would do it, he would definitely get it done!

With this reassurance, Eve Vaughn suddenly felt her appetite return.

She wanted to go back to her seat to eat, but Mason Lawson still held her in his arms.

"Where are you going?" 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Seeing that she was about to leave, the man’s arm around her waist tightened slightly.

Eve Vaughn gave an embarrassed smile, clutching her stomach. "I’m a little hungry again now," she said. "We can’t let all the food Mrs. Linton made tonight go to waste, right?"

Mason Lawson asked dotingly, "What do you want to eat? You can eat right here."

He meant that she could only eat while sitting in his lap.

Although Eve Vaughn felt a little awkward, her heart was filled with sweetness.

Her pink tongue licked her lips. "I want the crystal shrimp dumplings, and... the molten custard buns."

Mason Lawson picked up a shrimp dumpling with his chopsticks and brought it to her lips.

The young woman’s face turned completely red. She took a small bite and stole a glance at him.

Just then, Mrs. Linton walked in with a freshly prepared wild fish soup and saw the scene.

When Eve Vaughn saw Mrs. Linton come in, she jumped in surprise and was mortified.

But Mason Lawson wouldn’t let her get down, continuing to hold her on his lap as if he wanted to see her flustered.

Mrs. Linton’s aged face flushed red. She lowered her head, quickly placed the soup on the table, and left the kitchen without daring to look at the clingy couple.

Eve Vaughn was utterly vexed. She said to Mason Lawson, "You did that on purpose, didn’t you? This is... this is so embarrassing, you know? How am I supposed to face Mrs. Linton now?"

Mason Lawson chuckled playfully. "You think at Mrs. Linton’s age, she doesn’t know what we’re doing with the door closed in broad daylight? Right now, you’re just sitting on my lap having a meal. What’s there to be shy about?"

But even so, Eve Vaughn still felt utterly humiliated.

...

After dinner, Eve Vaughn went to the study to read. She took Mason Lawson’s words to heart, focusing on her studies and refusing to dwell on all the messy nonsense.

During this time, Mia Kendall called her again, and Eve Vaughn told her about her conversation with Mason Lawson.

Mia Kendall said admiringly, "He really said that? Wow, I’m a little envious of you now. Sure, Mason Lawson is a bit older, but he’s handsome, rich, and capable. More importantly, he protects you completely! No matter how big the problem, you don’t have to worry about a thing; he can solve it all for you. Oh god, please grant me a man like that too. I don’t want to struggle anymore either!"

Although Eve Vaughn felt very happy, she also had her worries.

Just as Mia Kendall said, Mason Lawson was rich and capable, and his family background was one of the best in Rivaster.

’What about me?’

’A university student who hasn’t even graduated. Besides being younger, what else do I have that makes me worthy of him?’

’What did I ever do to deserve having Mason Lawson fall out with Old Mr. Lawson for my sake?’

Eve Vaughn sighed, and Mia Kendall happened to hear it on the other end.

"Didn’t Mason Lawson just say he’d solve the problem for you? Why are you still sighing?" Mia Kendall didn’t quite understand.

Eve Vaughn said glumly, "Mason Lawson is so good to me... What if I become unable to leave him in the future?"

Mia Kendall asked, confused, "Leave him? Why would you leave him when things are going so well?"

"It’s not that I want to leave! But I can’t shake the feeling that Old Mr. Lawson and his mother are staunchly against us, and they hate me so much. Then there’s Joanna Sullivan, his supposed ’one that got away.’ Who knows if he still has feelings for her? I’m afraid... I’m afraid we won’t make it to the end."

As Eve Vaughn voiced her worries, Mia Kendall agreed. "The Lawson family is definitely a huge problem. If Mason Lawson can’t break away from his family, he definitely won’t be able to make his own decisions about marriage. Take Eric Kendall, for example. You see how he has a bad relationship with Mr. Kendall and is incredibly rebellious. But for all the women he has on the side, he doesn’t dare bring a single one home. In the end, Mr. Kendall still has the final say on his marriage."

The more she spoke, the more lost Eve Vaughn felt.

Just then, she thought she heard the sound of something smashing downstairs.

Eve Vaughn quickly hung up with Mia Kendall and came out of the study to see what was happening.

But as soon as she reached the top of the stairs, she stopped in her tracks.

Unexpectedly, Old Mr. Lawson was here.

She hid around the corner of the staircase, debating whether to go out.

After the incident with the whipping, Eve Vaughn was afraid of the old man from the bottom of her heart.

Although the old man had graying temples and always wore a cyan traditional gown, making him look elegant and kind...

...his eyes were extremely sharp, much like Mason Lawson’s. One look and you could tell he was a shrewd and formidable character.

Eve Vaughn watched, terrified, the shattered porcelain on the floor downstairs. It turned out the old man had just smashed an antique vase.

Persuaded by the butler, the old man gradually calmed down, but his gaze remained grim. He said to Mason Lawson, "So, you still refuse to break up with that girl? My coming here to see you in person is already giving you plenty of face! Don’t be ungrateful!"

Mason Lawson’s lips curled into a smirk. "Are you giving me face? Right now, Julian has disgraced the family, and my older brother can’t handle things at the company or win anyone over. Is that why you’ve suddenly remembered me?"

The old man’s expression shifted slightly. He hadn’t expected the Mason Lawson of today to be so arrogant, to not show him even a shred of respect.

Mason Lawson was indeed holding in a lot of anger, but it wasn’t because of the ’family discipline’ from his grandfather, nor was it because of Eve Vaughn.

It was because he couldn’t understand why his grandfather had lied to everyone that his birth mother was dead.

’What on earth happened back then? Why did he have to separate the mother from the child?’

But for now, Mason Lawson could only suppress all his doubts and investigate on his own.

After all, he knew his grandfather all too well.

Since he wanted to hide it, and had already hidden it for thirty years, it meant he was dead set on keeping this secret.

Mason Lawson didn’t know his birth mother’s current whereabouts, let alone his grandfather’s attitude toward her.

If his birth mother was still in his grandfather’s hands, under his control, then asking about her would be like startling the snake in the grass—it could actually get her killed.

And so, Mason Lawson swallowed all his questions, but his expression was grim and heavy.

Old Mr. Lawson assumed this was all because of Eve Vaughn.

But now, his eldest son, Ethan Lawson, couldn’t support the Lawson Group at all, so Mason Lawson had to go back and help.

Otherwise, the Lawson Group would be a dragon without a head, and problems would soon arise.

Therefore, he had to compromise for the time being. "Fine. Since you like that little girl, you can keep her on the side. But your marriage is a matter for your mother and me to decide. That little girl will never, under any circumstances, be allowed to enter the Lawson family’s doors!"

Eve Vaughn listened quietly from upstairs, her heart in her throat.

She wanted to know how Mason Lawson would answer Old Mr. Lawson. Would he agree to his grandfather’s demands?

’Keep me on the side, and then marry a wife from a prestigious family?’

’If that’s the case, what does that make me?’