Chapter 359 More nervous
In the end, he had to take matters into her own hands.
When Alana heard Stephan bring up the marriage, she couldn’t help but feel a little more nervous.
Dating is one thing; talking about marriage is quite another.
His parents had approved of her relationship with Stephan, but she wasn’t sure about marriage...
Stephan glanced at Alana, seemingly sensing her nervousness, then spoke again to make his position clear.
“Mom and Dad, I brought Lana home with a very clear purpose: to tell you that I intend to marry her.”
Cynthia looked up at Stephan. “Son, are you absolutely serious about marrying Lana?”
Stephan nodded. “Of course. I’m absolutely serious.”
Cynthia stared at Stephan and continued, “If you marry Lana, you’ll have to be devoted to her, take good care of her, and cherish her for the rest of your life. You can’t mistreat her or let her down. Can you do all that?”
Stephan looked at Alana.
Alana looked back at Stephan.
She was nervous; her palms were sweaty, and her heart was racing.
Stephan fixed his dark eyes on Alana and made a solemn promise, “I can do it.”
Seeing the sincerity in his eyes, Alana suddenly felt a warmth welling up in her eyes; she was deeply moved.
Cynthia could see Stephan’s sincerity and nodded with a smile.
For the first time, she saw her son’s determination to marry a girl with such sincerity.
She believed her son was sincere.
“Since you can do it, then I agree to let you marry Lana.”
“But I can’t make the decision for Lana. Whether she marries you or not, I still need to ask her herself.”
After a brief pause, Cynthia turned to Alana and asked gently, “Lana, are you willing to marry my son, become his wife, and join the Hudson family? I, along with Stephan’s father, promise you this: as long as you agree, my son, my husband, and I will never treat you unfairly.”
Hearing this, Alana could no longer hold back her tears.
“I... I agree. I agree to marry Stephan.”
Since Stephan and his family had all made such sincere promises to her, what reason did she have to refuse?
To marry Stephan and become part of such a loving family was the greatest blessing of her life.
Cynthia and Bernard exchanged a glance and both smiled.
Stephan couldn’t help but stand up, pull Alana to her feet, and hold her tightly in his arms. He leaned down and kissed the tear-stained corner of her eye passionately, then kissed her lips.
It was a way to hide the turmoil within him. Only he knew just how difficult it had been to get to this point.
Alana blushed. “Enough already... Mom and Dad are watching.”
“I don’t care what they think.”
Cynthia and Bernard gasped.
Cynthia had no choice but to interrupt the couple, who were completely oblivious to their surroundings.
“Ahem. All right, since you’re getting married, let’s discuss the wedding arrangements. Do you have any plans? When are you getting married?”
“The sooner, the better, of course.”
“I wasn’t asking you, I’m asking Lana.”
Alana blushed. “I... I’ll go along with whatever he says.”
Stephan raised an eyebrow, looking slightly smug. “Mom, did you hear that? She listens to me!”
Cynthia shot him a huge eye-roll.
“Alright, I’ll have someone pick an auspicious date for the wedding as soon as possible, and then I’ll arrange everything for you two!”
Stephan was satisfied. He hugged Alana again and leaned down to kiss her cheek.
Alana couldn’t help but smile, her face radiating happiness.
She never imagined that everything would go so smoothly.
It was also thanks to the fact that he had always been steadfast in choosing her.
And thanks to his parents, who were so kind and gentle, they never looked down on her because of her background.
Cynthia seemed to think of something and asked, “By the way, Lana, how is your grandmother doing?”
Alana nodded. “Much better.”
Cynthia said, “That’s wonderful. My husband and I plan to visit her in a couple of days to discuss your wedding arrangements. Would that be convenient for you? After all, your marriage is a major event, and the two families really need to sit down and discuss it properly.”
Bernard nodded. “Exactly. This also involves matters like the dowry. When you marry into the Hudson family, we won’t treat you unfairly. We’ll give you everything you’re entitled to, and we won’t skimp on anything!”
Alana could feel their sincerity, and her eyes welled up with tears. “Thank you. Thank you, Uncle and Aunt, for valuing me so highly.”
Cynthia smiled and said, “It’s only natural, you deserve our respect.”
Alana’s eyes welled up again.
Cynthia’s words carried great weight in her heart.
Because, ever since her parents abandoned her, no one had valued her anymore, except her grandmother.
So when she heard Cynthia say she was worthy of being valued, she couldn’t help but be deeply moved.
She was deeply moved and felt truly lucky and happy to have met them...
*********
With the wedding arrangements mostly settled, the family went to the dining hall for lunch together. The lunch spread was lavish, with two or three dozen dishes.
Most of them were dishes that Alana usually enjoyed.
Cynthia explained, “That Stephan, he’s usually careless with others, but he’s particularly attentive to you. A few days ago, he told us about your favorite dishes and asked us to prepare them according to your preferences. Try them all... if you like them, he’ll make them for you again next time you visit.”
Hearing this, Alana couldn’t help but glance at Stephan and whisper, “Thank you.”
Stephan smiled and gently ruffled her hair with his large hand.
“Help yourself to whatever you want. Make yourself at home.”
“Son, that’s where you’re at fault. Shouldn’t you be making a good impression and serving Lana some food yourself?”
Stephan realized his mistake. “Yeah, Mom’s right. I was just being careless just now.”
Turning to Alana, he said, “Sweetheart, give me a chance to show you how I can be. Just tell me what you want to eat, and I’ll serve it for you.”
Alana blushed. “No need. I can do it myself.”
“Come on, do me a favor. Mom and Dad are watching. Let’s show off our love.”
“Just serve whatever you like, it’s all my favorites.”
Stephan didn’t hold back, serving Alana a little of every dish until her bowl was piled high like a small mountain.
It wasn’t until Alana said she’d had enough and asked him to stop that Stephan finally stopped.
Cynthia was very pleased with her son’s behavior. “Not bad, not bad. Keep it up.”
Bernard also served some of his wife’s favorite dishes into her bowl. “Honey, I served you some too. You should give me some praise.”
“No! Don’t ruin my meal.”
Bernard pouted.
Alana glanced at her in-laws across the table and couldn’t help but whisper to Stephan, “Your parents really get along well.”
Stephan eyed them. “Compared to us, they’re just average.”
Alana blinked.
Wait, can you even compare that?
After they’d eaten their fill, Alana chatted with Cynthia for a while longer.
Stephan and Bernard were also playing chess and chatting together.
The two men mostly discussed business and trade matters, which neither Alana nor Cynthia found interesting, so they didn’t join in.
Time flew by, and before they knew it, it was dinnertime.
Alana and Stephan stayed for dinner, and afterward, Cynthia warmly invited them to stay the night.
Stephan declined on her behalf, “No, thanks. We still want some alone time together; we don’t want to be disturbed by the two of you.”
Cynthia shot Stephan a look. “I wasn’t asking you, I was asking Lana!”
She turned to Alana. “Alana, what do you think?”
Just as Alana was about to speak, Stephan suddenly reached out and tickled her lower back.
She looked up and saw a smirk playing on his lips, as if he were telling her that if she dared to agree, he’d make sure she couldn’t get out of bed that night!
Alana turned her head away, feeling a bit embarrassed.
She wondered, What should she say?