It was Wednesday morning when Tessa’s relatives came to visit after hearing she was back for her break. Tessa sat in the living room to entertain the guests, engaging with her elders in conversation.

As they chatted, Mabel Yates, who was one of Tessa’s aunts and had curly hair, asked Samuel, “What happened to the arranged marriage between your family and the Jacobsons? Why was it cancelled?”

Tessa cast her gaze downward, exhaling a quiet sigh. It was inevitable that she would not be able to escape from this particular topic of conversation.

Samuel kept his expression neutral when he explained, “Things didn’t work out between Tessa and Stephen, so the engagement was cancelled.”

Gerard Yates, one of Tessa’s uncles, asked, “I heard that Stephen is dating a female celebrity now. Is it true?”

Tessa couldn’t help but inwardly judge him. Gerard was a man, so why was he being so nosy?

“I don’t know,” Samuel answered. “Since he broke off his engagement to Tessa, we haven’t been paying attention to what he’s been doing.”

Mabel chimed in again. “Could it be that Stephen was already cheating on Tessa when they were still together? It’s not unheard of amongst the young heirs born in prestigious families to get involved with different celebrities and models.”

With a smile fixed on her face, Marianne quickly changed the topic. “Mabel, your handbag looks amazing. I’ve seen it in a magazine. It’s a limited edition, right?”

Mabel directed her pleased gaze toward the handbag in question. “Yes, it is. I fell in love with it from the first moment I laid eyes on it. It looks incredible, right?”

“It does,” Marianne agreed with a smile. “I want to buy one for myself too.”

“I think this model is out of stock in the country. I only got mine yesterday. If you’re interested, I can ask around for you.”

“That sounds great. Thank you for your help.”

Marianne had successfully changed the topic of conversation, but she had no way of knowing that Mabel was a naturally nosy person. Mabel was only distracted for a moment before she steered the conversation back to the topic of Stephen and Tessa’s canceled engagement.

“Where were we earlier?” Mabel pondered to herself before continuing. “Did you cancel the engagement with the Jacobsons after Tessa found out that Stephen was fooling around with other women?”

Marianne was about to respond, but Tessa beat her to the punch. “It wasn’t like that, Mabel. It’s just that our love for each other faded. He only found someone new after we broke up. He didn’t cheat on me.”

Tessa’s response clearly wasn’t the answer that Mabel was anticipating. Breaking up after their love had faded was much less exciting than breaking up because one party was being unfaithful.

Mabel continued to fish for gossip. “Why did your love for each other fade? Didn’t the two of you host an engagement party in the past?

“It didn’t go as planned because there was an accident, but I remember Samuel telling me that the both of you were madly in love and were going to host another engagement party after the new year. What made your love fade?”

Gerard hurriedly added, “That’s right. It would have been such a great match-up too since the other party are the Jacobsons. Many people can only dream of marrying into their family. If you asked me, I wouldn’t have canceled the engagement.

“You know how men are. It’s normal for them to fool around outside. Besides, he was just dating a female celebrity. The Jacobsons would never@llow him to marry a woman like her. You should have toughed it out since he would have returned to your side and married you after he got bored of the celebrity.”

Tessa’s brows knitted together after hearing Gerard’s words. His opinion was obviously formed based on a man’s perspective. She didn’t like a word of it. Tessa was about to say something to counter Gerard’s words when Samuel cut her off.

Even Samuel el couldn’t stand it any longer. His face was hardened when he declared; “I disagree with your opinion. Sure, the Jacobsons have power and authority that many covet. However, we aren’t like the others. Tessa is my precious treasure. I’ll never allow her to suffer any hardship.”

Marianne swiftly agreed. “That’s right. Tessa doesn’t need to ride on the Jacobson family’s coattails.”

Mabel looked at Tessa before saying, “Tessa, I noticed how the two of you were deeply in love when I was present for the banquet at the manor the last time.

“When you got into an argument with Jacqueline and Rowena, Stephen even took your side and talked back to his grandmother. He even said something like how he would only offer his arm to his wife.

“He looked like he truly loved you and treated you well. How did your feelings for each other fade so quickly even though the banquet was only a short while ago?”

“Isn’t that just how relationships work? Feelings are unpredictable,” Marianne countered.

She then turned her attention to the young boy who was playing blocks with Seline a short distance away. She waved at him and called, “Calvin, come over here.”

Calvin dropped the blocks in his hands before trotting over to Marianne’s side.