434 All Members Gathered
âWow, my sister-in-law is really beautiful. Joseph...â
The blond man had just praised her when he suddenly recognized Isabella and said in surprise, âYou are the lady who kissed Cedric on the racing field today!â
Everyone present was stunned. With her face turning pale, Isabella saw Charlie, Angelina, and Mr. and Ms. Michael all looked at her in disbelief.
Joseph was the slowest. Everyone had been looking at Isabella for a long time before he slowly turned to her.
Angelina was the first to react. She stepped forward and pulled the blond man. âAndy, what nonsense are you talking about? This is your future sister-in-law, Josephâs fiancée. How could she kiss another man?â
Then, he said to Isabella, âIsabella, this is Andy, our youngest cousin. He is the most frivolous one and has a big mouth.â
Isabella was stunned at the sight of Andy. It was out of her expectation that the stranger she had just met in the morning would be Josephâs cousin.
What was even more coincidental was that he had seen her together with Cedric today and assumed that she was in a love triangle with Cedric and Platt...
Heavens!
.....
At that time, she did not explain because she felt that there was no need to care too much about the thoughts of a stranger. Now, if Charlie and Angelina knew that she had been with Cedric today, then...
âIâm sorry, sister-in-law!â
Andy reached out to hold Isabellaâs hand as he was smiling brightly. âIâm just teasing you. You look very similar to a beauty I saw on the racing field today. She also has big eyes and a good figure. What a coincidence!â
Isabella lowered her eyes and politely shook hands with Andy. âItâs fine.â
âIâm sorry. I shouldnât embarrass her the first time we met. I deserve a beat.â Andy looked at Joseph who had a sullen face with a mischievous smile. âJoseph, donât be angry. I shouldnât have made such a joke.â
Isabella didnât dare to raise her head to look at Josephâs expression. Unexpectedly, Joseph dragged her into his embrace and smiled gently, âYou really deserve it. You dare to joke around like this. If I didnât know that Isabella was having a reunion with her classmates this afternoon and couldnât be on a racing field, I might believe you.â
Isabella kept her head down and was a little guilty.
Andy paused and then giggled, âOf course, of course. youâre wise.â
âYou brat! If you donât watch your mouth, Iâll teach you!â
Michaelâs wife was called Melany Linnet. Hearing this, she pinched Andy with all her might, âApologize to Joseph!â What if Joseph really thinks that Isabella cheated on him? Besides, young people like to play, especially you. You always flirt with those lowly girls. Last time I asked you to see Princess Joannaâs cousin, but how did you offend her? She cried for several days!â
Isabellaâs eyes dodged and Joseph smiled coldly.
Melanyâs words even made it worse.
âWhatâs wrong with the Princessâs cousin? Sheâs not the Princess and is so ugly.â Andy muttered, âI like the ladies as beautiful as Isabella.â
âYou brat!â
âDonât hit me, mom. Iâm not a child now and you still hit me. Isabella will laugh at me. I heard that she is younger than me by a few years!â âGrandpa, save me!â
Seeing that the misunderstanding had been resolved, Angelina heaved a sigh of relief and hurriedly smoothed things over, âForget it, forget it. Andy likes to make trouble. Just ignore him. But, where is Andrew?â
âAs soon as Andrew returned, he was invited to a very famous academic seminar. He would come later.â Melany looked at the clock on the wall and said, âIt should be soon, but we donât have to wait for him. Letâs start.â
Charlie said smilingly, âLetâs sit for a while. Anyway, itâs a family dinner. Thereâs no hurry. We can wait for Andrew. He has a hard time working.â
As soon as Charlie finished speaking, Andy, who was dressed in a dark gray suit and had silver-rimmed glasses, entered the door while panting. âIâm sorry, grandpa. Iâm late.â
âItâs fine, good boy. Work sometimes can be out of control. Come over and say hello to your brother, sister, and new sister-in-law.â
âOkay.â
Andrew took a step forward and greeted Angelina and Joseph. When he saw Isabella, he was stunned. âHow can you be here?â
The atmosphere that had just eased up became tense again. Angelina said in disbelief, âAndrew, do you know Isabella too?â
âIs her name Isabella?â Andrew froze for a while before he looked around. âIs she Josephâs fiancée, our future sister-in-law?â
Angelina nodded. Andrew immediately talked about yesterdayâs murder in the coffee shop from beginning to end. At last, he expressed his admiration for Isabella and gave her a thumb up, âIsabella, itâs an honor to meet you and become your family.â
Isabella also had a good impression of Andrew. She extended her hand to shake his. âMe too. It is my honor to meet such an outstanding person like you.â
Joseph watched the two shake hands indifferently, not saying a word.
After Charlie heard Andrew and Isabellaâs words, he got very happy. âNo wonder youâre a member of our family. Isabella, you are brave and resourceful! Saving a life is great, but you have to be careful of your safety. Donât blindly save people. Use your mind.â
âI get it.â
Isabella and Andy immediately agreed.
Andy seized up Isabella with a mischievous smile. âIsabella, we are brought together by fate. You should have such a story with Andrew.â
Joseph swiftly dragged Isabella back with a smile and pulled her into his embrace. Then, he affectionately and gently stroked the back of her head. âYes, Isabella is indeed fated with our family. As soon as my two younger brothers returned to the country, she met them both in advance.â
Isabella wanted to smile at Joseph, but she clearly saw the anger in his eyes.
Although Joseph supported her on the surface and saved her from being blamed by the other families, he was very concerned about the kiss with Cedric.
Probably because Isabella had met Andrew and Andy in advance and the young people have more shared topics, the dinner was much more comfortable than expected.
Michael looked like he was in a rush for success. He kept talking to Charlie about work and financial problems. Although he targeted and hinted at Joseph, Joseph was well prepared and solved the problems one by one. It was considered easy.
It was also because of this that Michael did not point his finger at Isabella. Instead, Melany kept asking about Isabellaâs family background.