My Child and I Married a Billionaire

With Ryan being so insistent, Cecelia Archer couldn’t refuse and had to go along.

First, the group went to the hotel’s foot massage parlor, and then they had lunch together. After lunch, they arranged to go sing at the hotel’s KTV.

Because their relationship was one of mutual benefit, it felt as if they were family. With no pressure, they had an exceptionally fun day.

Although Ryan kept calling Cecelia "Miss Linden," they had a history, after all. He stayed by her side the whole time, and for Cecelia, it felt as nice as having a best friend with her.

Ryan took the opportunity to snap many photos: Cecelia clapping for others, eating intently, being playfully pressured by the group to sing, quietly lost in thought. All of them were sent in a steady stream to Damien Vaughn’s phone.

Although Damien Vaughn didn’t send a single word in reply, he was very content looking at the pictures, and his mood brightened considerably without him even realizing it.

When he walked through the door after work that evening, everyone could tell, and their spirits lifted along with his.

His grandfather hurriedly exchanged meaningful glances with his two uncles.

As if they were his juniors, the uncles were the first to stand up and greet him.

"Damien, you’re back?"

Damien Vaughn hadn’t expected his two uncles to be at his house.

As the saying goes, you don’t show up for no reason. He had a gut feeling his uncles had something to say to him. After a brief greeting, he sat down beside them and got straight to the point.

"What is it?"

"What a thing to say. Can’t we just come for a visit?"

The elder uncle said with a smile, "We used to be busy with work—not that we achieved much, but we just never had the time. We finally had a rare day off, and we were thinking it’s been a long time since we’ve seen your grandfather, so we came to visit. Damien, you never come to see us when you have free time, either."

This was exactly why Damien Vaughn could never feel close to them.

Though "uncle and nephew" sounded close, his two uncles always seemed so formal around him. For all these years, they had spoken to him in a way that was both artificial and overly polite, which he found repulsive.

"Since you’re here to see Grandfather, and I have things to do, I’ll be heading upstairs."

He had no intention of indulging them or playing along with their charade.

Everyone was speechless.

After all these years, they were all familiar with his temper, so no one took it personally.

The younger uncle reached out and grabbed his arm. "Look at you. Are you really that busy? You’re home for less than a minute and you’re already going upstairs. Those who know you would say you’re dedicated to your work. Those who don’t would think you look down on your two uncles and don’t even want to speak with us."

Damien Vaughn looked at his uncle. "I really am very busy. The amount of business the Vaughn Group handles is beyond your imagination."

Damien’s words extinguished the good mood his grandfather had been in, and his anger flared up again as he scolded him.

"No matter how busy you are, you still have time to sit and talk with your family for a little while, don’t you? You’re getting more and more unruly! Sit down now, and apologize to your uncles!"

Damien Vaughn sat down. He didn’t apologize.

"Alright, stop beating around the bush. I was just teasing you. Just say what’s on your mind. We’re all men here; there’s no point in talking in circles."

Seeing him act this way, they had no choice but to be direct.

The elder uncle said, "Normally, since my sister passed away not long ago, I shouldn’t be bringing this up..."

Without even looking up, Damien Vaughn guessed what he was about to say and cut him off.

"If you know you shouldn’t bring it up, then don’t."

"You..."

The grandfather had been using a cane ever since his last illness. Furious, he lifted it and struck Damien.

"You brat! Have you no decency? No manners at all? Say one more ridiculous thing and I’ll break your legs! Let your uncle finish speaking!"

The uncle gave the grandfather a reassuring smile and continued.

"Aren’t we just doing this for your own good? My sister has passed away, and your father has been gone for many years. Besides your grandfather and us two uncles, you don’t have any other particularly close elders. If we don’t look out for you, who will? Damien, you’re not getting any younger. That girl, Gwen Morgan, is a good one. You can’t miss out on her."

Damien Vaughn’s eyes were downcast, his face devoid of expression. It was impossible to tell if he’d even heard. He remained completely still until his grandfather poked him in the leg with his cane again.

"He’s talking to you! Cat got your tongue now that you’re supposed to answer?"

Damien feigned innocence. "Not at all. I thought Uncle wasn’t finished. Is that it? Grandfather, you’ve told me this countless times already. Did you really need to have them come here to tell me again?"

"If you ever listened to a word I said, would I need to bother them?"

At this, the grandfather felt his chest tighten with anger.

"What are you really thinking? You little brat, just give us a straight answer today. Can you stop making me angry for once?"

Damien’s good mood, which had lasted the entire day, began to sour because of this whole scene.

"I’ve told you countless times, I don’t want to get married."

"You!"

Seeing the grandfather was about to fly into a rage, the elder uncle quickly tried to mediate.

"Damien is a dutiful son, we all know that. Though he doesn’t say it, his bond with my sister was special. We understand that he needs to observe a three-year mourning period now that she’s passed. I asked Gwen Morgan today, and she said she understands, too. It’s fine not to marry within three years, but you can get engaged."

"Uncle," Damien said, so angry he almost laughed. "I said I don’t want to get married, and you’re bringing up getting engaged?"

His uncle continued to press his point. "Why don’t you want to get married? Are you afraid of being tied down and losing your freedom after marriage? That won’t happen. A highly educated woman like Gwen Morgan is sensible enough to understand that."

After he finished speaking, Damien scanned the room and only then realized that Gwen Morgan, who was usually home every day, wasn’t there today.

’So she knew they were going to talk about us, and she made herself scarce.’

’Is she shy? Or was this her idea all along?’

Damien maintained his defiant tone. "I simply don’t want to get married. What, I don’t even have that much freedom?"

"Silly child, what’s the point of working so hard your whole life if you don’t get married and have children? Fine, young people these days tend to marry later, and we can understand being afraid that marrying too early will affect your freedom. But you can’t say such foolish things anymore. Without children, who will you hand over the vast empire of the Vaughn Group to? People who know you will say you’re progressive for not marrying. People who don’t will think there’s something wrong with you. You’ll be a laughingstock."

The elder uncle’s appeal was heartfelt, but unfortunately, not a single word registered with Damien.

"Who made the rule that a person has to get married, have kids, and leave their fortune to them? What if in a couple of years I don’t feel like working anymore? Can’t I just take it all and squander it myself? Afraid of people laughing? Uncle, do you really think I’m someone who cares what other people think? A bunch of rabble who are all beneath me—who the hell cares what they’re thinking."

They were left speechless.

The two uncles were so incensed they didn’t know what else to do, so they left in a huff.

Just as they left, Gwen Morgan came down from upstairs.

"Damien, you’re back."

Damien looked at her, displeased.

"Miss Morgan, I’ve told you many times. You should have your own life instead of wasting every day away at my house."

"Do you think I’ll be grateful to you for this? No. I’ll only think that your parents wasted all those years raising you."

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