Love Rewind

Chapter 5

In recent years, Benjamin had built a massive business empire overseas. Even the Simmons family's headquarters in North Boston relied heavily on him.

All eyes were on him as he walked in, but his gaze locked with mine.

When he noticed Charles standing next to me, a shadow crossed his expression. I was about to explain, but before I could say anything, Charles answered a phone call, mumbling something about needing to pick someone up.

I glanced uneasily at Benjamin, only to watch him stride over and sit down right next to me, in the seat Charles had just vacated.

"You must all be starving, waiting for me. Let's start eating," Benjamin said, settling into his chair beside me.

He then began peeling shrimp for me. I wanted to explain that Charles had just sat down there himself, but Benjamin simply shook his head with a warm smile.

"It's fine, let's eat first," he said, focusing on putting various meats on my plate. Strangely, all the dishes were ones I liked.

The shrimp shells quickly piled up in the bowl, and he meticulously deboned the fish, making sure every detail was perfect.

As I ate, my cheeks full, the door to the dining room opened, and Stella's overly cheery voice rang out.

"Hello, uncles and aunties!"

The mood in the room immediately shifted, the Simmons family members clearly not pleased to see her.

Stella was the illegitimate daughter of my uncle. She'd never been accepted by the high society in North Boston, and if it weren't for her distant connection to my family, she wouldn't even be allowed near these kinds of gatherings.

Mr. Simmons's face darkened, and he sharply scolded Charles:

"What are you doing bringing an outsider to our family dinner?"

Stella's eyes welled up with tears as she hid behind Charles, looking as pitiful as possible.

Charles, clearly moved by her distress, stepped in protectively.

"Stella is Natalie's sister, which makes her my sister too. We're all family, so there's no reason she can't join our family dinner," Charles said, his tone defensive.

As he spoke, he noticed Benjamin was now seated next to me. His expression instantly turned cold, but he didn't dare say anything.

When he saw Benjamin serving me food and soup, Charles's mood darkened even further.

I received a text message from him:

[What do you think you're doing?! Just because I brought Stella, you're calling my uncle to make this little scene to make me jealous?]

I flipped my phone over, ignoring it.

Across from me, Charles was practically seething, his gaze burning through me.

At that moment, Mr. Simmons raised his glass to speak:

"Our family's joyous occasion has been the talk of North Boston lately. Tonight's dinner is to finalize everything once and for all."

"We'll discuss the arrangements for the marriage certificate and the wedding ceremony..."

Before Mr. Simmons could finish, Charles interrupted hastily:

"Dad, don't worry. We're almost done with the marriage certificate. We've got it all covered. You and Mom don't need to worry about a thing."

"Right, Natalie?" Charles shot me a pointed look, clearly expecting me to play along.

I lowered my eyes, not responding.

Since I wasn't marrying him anyway, there was no need to indulge him.

Charles's face turned cold instantly, his eyes filled with anger and frustration.

He quickly sent another message:

[Say something! If you keep acting like this, I'll call off the wedding!]

[Natalie, don't push me!]

I was so fed up that I blocked his number without a second thought.

When Charles realized what I'd done, he stared at me in disbelief, his hand trembling with rage.

Then, Benjamin gently took my hand under the table, his voice calm yet firm.

"I'll respect whatever Natalie decides regarding the arrangements. Whatever she chooses is fine with me."

The warmth from his hand spread through mine, making my heart skip a beat.

Hearing this, Charles quickly nodded, trying to salvage some control:

"Yes, yes, Uncle is right! Mom and Dad, Natalie and I have it all figured out. You just need to show up for our wedding!"

The other elders exchanged surprised glances, taken aback by his audacity.

Finally, Mr. Simmons lost his patience:

"We're talking about your uncle's marriage! Why do you keep interrupting?"