Chapter 371 Let Roni Marry Me
Daniella’s question caught Matthew off-guard. He stopped scrubbing the dishes in his hand and turned to give Veronica a bemused look.
Veronica quickly tugged on Daniella’s arm as she asked through gritted teeth, “Mom, you can’t just ask questions like that.”
“It’s only natural to make a wife out of someone I love.” Matthew straightened up and answered Daniella solemnly, “I don’t know how others do it, but my status in the Kingses has yet to compel me to consider an arranged marriage for business alliance.”
He had heard what Daniella implied earlier, given how tactless she had gone about it. Right now, she understood what he meant as well. “We can quibble over your intentions,” she began. “But it won’t change the fact that you rich folks always have tricks up your sleeves. What if you get bored one day and decide to move on to the next shiny new toy?”
Daniella kept her gaze on him, but she was clutching Veronica’s hand the entire time.
Upon hearing what Daniella said, Veronica could not help feeling the tension condensing in the air. An honest and thoroughbred farm worker would not understand the implications of boredom in a relationship, at least not under normal circumstances, but for Daniella to have brought it to the forefront of her argument only went to show how worried she was. Veronica was admittedly moved by this.
Presently, Matthew did not break eye contact with Daniella as he dried his hands on a rag. Then, he walked up to her and glanced at Veronica, who was next to her. He decided that there were some things better left out in the open than unsaid, and this was one of them. “Maybe we haven’t met enough times for you to get a real grasp of my character, Mrs. Murphy, but I can assure you that I’m never one to mingle around just because I stand to gain something from it.”
“Then what’s going on between you and Tiffany?” Daniella asked directly, not at all caring for subtlety.
Veronica froze. She had been swaying Daniella’s arm like how a child might with a parent, but the moment she heard her mother’s question, she did a double take. “M-Mom, you know about that, too?”
Veronica was under the impression that slow news days were a common occurrence in small towns like these, and this was particularly true in cases of middle-aged folk who did not have social media. Logically, they should never have found out about the gossip surrounding Matthew and Tiffany.
However, Daniella surprised her, and she was starting to realize that there was nothing she could hide from her mother dearest.
Matthew was unaffected all the same as he started to explain patiently, “The stories are misleading at best. I was in an accident half a year ago and Roni was the one who saved me, but Tiffany stepped in and took the credit instead—”
Worried that Matthew might worsen the situation, Veronica cut him off and said, “Let’s just say that Tiffany took the credit for my work in saving Matthew so that she could get close to him. After that, she got him drunk and pretended that they had slept together, then claimed that he knocked her up to force her into marrying her. When the truth came out in the end, Matthew ended things with her and called off the engagement.”
All in all, what Tiffany did was downright despicable, and Veronica didn’t want Daniella to think badly of Matthew.
Much to her surprise, Daniella and Matthew stared at her like she had grown another head. Veronica pursed her lips self-consciously. Did I say something wrong?
A smile tugged on Matthew’s lips as relief and gratitude flooded through him after seeing that Veronica cared about him enough to speak up for him.
Daniella shared the same sentiment as well when she noted how her daughter had anxiously come to this man’s defense. Veronica could never hide anything from her; they were not biologically related but they might as well be, given how close their bond was.
“Do you really like Matthew?” Daniella asked now, eyeing Veronica steadily. Seeing how the latter was already of age, there seemed little point in avoiding a conversation on marriage.
Daniella owed Matthew a solid favor after he had pulled strings and hired a medical team from abroad to treat Tony at Saint Hospital in Bloomstead. Without him, Tony would still be unconscious now. As such, Daniella was more than grateful for Matthew, and she would be lying if she said she wasn’t fond of him.
“Huh? Oh… Uh—I… I…” Blushing, Veronica struggled to come up with an answer. She did not expect her mother to be so forthright, and having Matthew here only embarrassed her even more.
“Mrs. Murphy, Roni set a three-month trial period for me, which I personally take as probation. If she thinks that things will work out well between us after that, then we’ll start dating officially,” Matthew interjected, sparing no details even though he kept it succinct. “I know how much Roni means to you and Mr. Murphy, so you can consider observing my behavior for these three months if you’d like.”
Matthew was a straightforward person who liked clear-cut solutions, and he was never one to beat around the bush or cover things up. It was precisely because of this that Daniella found him all the more admirable.
“What the hell, Matthew? I didn’t even agree to the three-month probation thing, and you’re here blabbering about it to my mom?” Veronica rolled her eyes at him in disbelief. This jerk is taking a preemptive strike and leaving me out of the decision altogether, she thought.
Now that he had put on such a lovely façade in front of Daniella, Veronica had a feeling that she would bear the brunt if she were to change her mind about him. Her parents would not let her hear the end of it.
In fact, Daniella prodded Veronica’s temple right now in mock belligerence as she said, “I can’t believe you’re trying to hide this from your father and I, you brat! I hope some of Matthew’s honesty rubs off on you; we’d be all the better for it!”
“Wait a minute! First of all, I haven’t even agreed to date him and you’re already siding with him? And you call yourself my mother? Hmph!” Veronica quirked her lips in dismay. She then scoffed once and turned to walk away. Truth be told, it might be more appropriate to say she was running away from an unwinnable situation.
After leaving the kitchen, Veronica headed out into the yard out front and buried her face in her hands. Her cheeks were so flushed that they felt hot to the touch.
For heaven’s sake, this isn’t supposed to happen! She had made up her mind to break up with Matthew, but by some twist of fate or other, he ended up having a meal at her place, and now he was talking to her mother about marriage!
Veronica pressed a palm to her forehead as she tiptoed her way to the kitchen door, then hid around the corner to eavesdrop on the conversation. She didn’t want Daniella to be outsmarted or persuaded by that diabolical man. I might be pawned off if that were to happen! she thought grimly.
In the kitchen, Daniella clasped Matthew’s hands and said affably, “I know you’re a good kid, Matthew, but you’ve seen for yourself what our family is like. We’re humble townsfolk with little fortune to our names, and Veronica has been rough around the edges since she was a baby. You, on the other hand, grew up in the city; the world is your oyster. You’re far too good for our Veronica, and if she marries you, your family will only look down their noses at her all the time. I can’t risk her being unhappy for the rest of her life just because of a fleeting moment of love.”
Veronica was touched upon hearing that. There are mothers out there who can’t wait to marry their daughters off into wealthy families, and here’s mine who wants nothing more than to see me happy.
“Don’t worry, Mrs. Murphy. I won’t ever let Veronica get bullied as long as I’m around,” Matthew promised.
“I believe you, Matthew, I really do, but none of us can predict the future. It’s a long road up ahead, you know.” Daniella patted his hand and heaved a sigh. “She’s my daughter, and all I want is for her to be happy. I can’t give her much, but I would still do all I can to give her the happiness she deserves.”
“I’m sorry I can’t give you full assurance on this, Mrs. Murphy, but as long as Roni agrees to be with me, I’d be more than happy to provide a billion in bridewealth and ten villas. I’ll also put it on paper that I’ll give up on my fortune if I ever hurt her or cheat on her.”
