Chapter 2 Engagement party

At exactly 6 PM, Amanda, dressed in her best red, body-hugging dress that took her a lot of effort to prepare, left with her mom to the hotel where the engagement will take place.

She had done her makeup because she is used to it given the nature of her job.

She is Val's assistant and she is used to putting make-up on her when she goes to film.

Her mom had also dressed to kill. The daughter and mother duo walked hand in hand to the hotel.

Reaching the hotel, there were so many unfamiliar faces but Amanda guessed that they were William's family friends and some of her dads.

When people saw her at the entrance, they gave her strange gazes. Amanda was nervous but she still kept her cool on the outside. Head held high, she walked toward William's family with a bright and innocent smile on her face.

"Hello, grandpa, grandma, auntie, uncle." Amanda greeted them politely, that sweet smile never leaving her face.

The family nodded and smiled at her, but their smiles did not reach their eyes, only grandma Catherine was enthusiastic as she held her hand.

Jason's grandma has always been fond of Amanda and treated her like her own granddaughter. And because of her closeness to Amanda, she was left out in the dark about the whole plan of Vallery and Jason getting engaged.

"Hey my darling, you grow beautiful with each passing day, look at you, I know my grandson will be pleased to see you again."

Amanda blushed as she was teased by grandma. "Grandma, can you stop teasing me, you know I'm always shy when hearing those words."

"How will you feel when you see Jason after five years and look at how you are glowing, it's like you have walked right out of an ancient painting," Grandma said with a big grin on her face.

"Grandma....." Amanda could not take it anymore.

"Okay dear, I will stop teasing you now, I hope you will be happy from today onwards." Grandma gave her her blessings.

Seeing their interaction, Liz just sneered and wondered how they will react once they found out the truth. "Sorry mother but we had to do this. I can't let my son marry such a loose woman."

***

Being the sensitive woman she was, Evelyn, Amanda's mom could sense that something was not right. She tried to talk to Liz but she seemed to be uninterested.

But it is not the first time, after her divorce, the two started growing apart and Evelyne could not tell what went wrong with their long-lasting friendship.

She stopped trying when she saw that Liz's expression was not right. She had some doubts but she kept them to herself. Today was one of the best days in her daughter's life and she did not want to ruin the mood.

Just then, Juliana came in followed by her son, Ryan. Vallery was nowhere to be seen and that surprised Amanda and her mom. Or maybe she will come later, after all, there is still time and even Jason had not yet arrived.

Juliana and Ryan walked directly toward the William family with enthusiasm. Recently, they have been visiting a lot and they have become closer thus everyone smiled at them happily.

Evelyne was shocked as this has never happened before especially when she saw Liz and Juliana talking like best friends.

Liz had always loathed Juliana for being a mistress and breaking up a happy family. Evelyne used to be touched by her care and concern and that was what kept her going knowing that there was someone who could share her pain and burden.

She hated the third parties the most, but looking at the situation now, that did not seem like the case anymore.

"Hey Liz, you grow beautiful each day. You are becoming younger rather than old, I need to learn from you." Juliana said as she hugged Liz's arm like a little girl.

"Hey Juliana, you are still the same, you also maintain yourself quite well, you are not old at all," Liz said as she laughed.

"Yes, unlike someone else, who only knows how to sell her body to earn a living, I bet her daughter is the same as her," Juliana said with disgust as she cast Evelyne a provocative gaze.

Liz was uncomfortable hearing those words. Juliana had told her that after the divorce, Evelyne was not given any alimony and started sleeping around with men to care for herself and her daughter.

As the daughter of a prestigious family, she did not want to associate herself with someone who had to loose morals and that is why she stopped contacting Evelyne even without investigating the truth.

Evelyne's expression froze. It was obvious that Juliana was talking about her.

How could she frame her like this after stealing her husband? Was that not enough, now, she wanted to destroy her and Amanda's reputation?

She was so mad that she almost exploded, but being good at enduring and keeping her emotions in check, she did not explode and took a deep breath to calm herself down.

Amanda heard everything and looked over at the woman who robbed her family and identity.

Looking at their smug faces, Amanda felt that something was going on but she could not tell what. She could only keep her doubts in her heart and continued to chat with grandma. She was like her mother and did not like others to influence her mood.

No one noticed that after hearing those words, grandpa James had a relieved expression on his face. If that was true, then there was no need for him to feel guilt in any way about what was going to happen today.

He could never allow a person with questionable character to marry into his family. He was glad that he had made the right choice.

As for his wife, he will explain to her later after the party was over.

If only he knew what awaited him......