Her 20 years of hard work should not be undermined by that mistress at a time like this.


    Old Master Mallory noticed a change in Karen''s expression in that instant and knew what he said had


    an effect.


    He turned to look at Mr. Be and asked, "How''s the fooding along?"


    Mr. Be slightly bowed and replied in a low voice, "Sir, I''ll go check on it now."


    Then, he turned around and headed to the kitchen.


    Karen shifted her eyes and pondered for a moment. Then, she said, "Father, I’ll listen to whatever you


    say about Pierre''s matter. He''s your grandson, after all. You wouldn''t want to see him get into trouble.


    But when ites to that woman, I won''t listen to you."


    Old Master Mallory shot her a nce.


    Karen continued, "I don''t care if you''ve changed your mind or what the purpose of this meal is. I won''t


    agree to their marriage even if Percy has already registered their marriage. I won''t acknowledge her as


    my daughter-inw."


    Old Master Mallory remained silent.


    Karen looked at the coldness in his eyes, unable to figure out why Old Master Mallory had invited Nina


    to dinner.


    Having stated her position, she had nothing more to say. She sat there and continued to eat the


    grapes.


    Mr. Be approached and said, "Sir, the chef has prepared the meal."


    "Good." Old Master Mallory nced at the antique wall clock. Normally, the Mallory family would be


    preparing to have their meal at this time, but Percy had not arrived yet. Hence, he sat there and waited.


    Mr. Be also noticed the time. He thought to himself, ‘Could it be that Master Percy won''t be


    coming...''


    He frowned. He thought that it would be foolish of Percy not toe. It was a great opportunity to


    repair the rtionship between the grandfather and grandson.


    If Percy did note, could it mean that he had no intentions of mending his rtionship with Old


    Master Mallory?


    Mr. Be thought about it over and over. When he concluded that Percy was not silly enough to do


    such a thing, the distant echo of voices drifted in from outside.


    Even though Percy had gotten into a dispute with his family members, he still had the keys to Mallory


    Manor. Mr. Be''s eyes lit up. "It must be Master Percy."


    Karen heard this and raised an eyebrow, feeling disgusted at the thought of Percy bringing Nina here.


    Why should that woman be allowed to stand on the Mallory family''s territory?


    If it were not for Old Master Mallory, she might have used a broom to sweep Nina away the moment Mr.


    Be uttered the first word.


    Old Master Mallory heard Mr. Be. There were hardly any changes of expression on his face. He


    picked up his cane, ready to stand up at any moment.


    However, he remained seated.


    Percy held Nina''s hand and carried two bags of gifts with another hand as they entered the living room.


    Percy saw both Old Master Mallory and his mother sitting there. Then, he turned to look at Mr. Be.


    Mr. Be blinked at him and nodded. Only then did he approach them to take the two bags from him.


    "Master Percy, Ms. Nina, you''ve arrived."


    Since Old Master Mallory had not officially acknowledged Nina''s identity, Mr. Be did not address


    her as Mrs. Mallory to avoid upsetting the old master.


    After all, it was Old Master Mallory who paid his sry. He could not show too much favoritism toward


    Percy.


    "Grandpa, Mom," Percy greeted them as he walked toward Old Master Mallory with Nina by his side.


    Nina felt nervous. Percy held her hand tight, and she remembered what Luca told her.


    It was already the worst situation, and it would not get any worse. Taking a cue from Percy, she greeted


    the Old Master Mallory and Karen, who were in the living room, "Good evening, Old Master Mallory.


    Good evening, Madam Mallory."


    Old Master Mallory did not acknowledge their marriage. Nina had no idea how the old master felt this


    time. Therefore, it would be best for her to use the most formal title to address them to y it safe.


    "Hmph, you do know it''s alreadyte evening. Are you deliberately putting on airs bying at this


    hour?" Karen did not care about Old Master Mallory''s attitude toward Nina. She put her on the spot


    right away.


    Nina''s face turned a little pale, but she remained silent.


    Percy held her hand tightly, as though he had not heard what Karen said. He looked straight at Old


    Master Mallory. "Grandpa, Nina brought these for you."


    Old Master Mallory nced at the bags expressionlessly and replied, "There''s no need. Take them


    back."


    Nina''s heart tightened. It turned out that her instinct was correct. Old Master Mallory did not invite her


    here to smooth things over with Percy.


    If it was not to mend the fences, then it would mean trouble for her...


    Even though she was mentally prepared long ago, Nina felt helpless. No matter what she did, she was


    destined to never gain the approval of the Mallory family because of her background and what Pierre


    did to her.


    Percy frowned and said, "These are just some gestures from us. If you don''t want them, you can just


    throw them away."


    Mr. Be, who stood nearby, was terrified by what he heard. Percy''s tone was unwavering. Was he


    going to ignite a family internal war?


    The rtionship between the grandfather and grandson had only just started to improve a little


    because of Pierre''s incident. Now, it seemed like things were going tense again because of Nina.


    Mr. Be had been watching Percy grow up since he was little. He had witnessed him growing


    stronger over time, eventually bing the most capable heir of the Mallory family.


    He certainly did not want to see the rtionship between grandfather and grandson deteriorate any


    further.


    Mr. Be quickly picked up the two bags and said, "Old Master Mallory, Master Percy, I shall put


    these away first. It''s gettingte, and dinner is ready. Please proceed to the dining room."


    Once Mr. Be spoke, Old Master Mallory''s gaze lifted and fell on him. His eyes bore a hint of


    reprimand, clearly disapproving of him acting on his ord.


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    Mr. Be lowered his head without saying another word. He thought to himself that all of this was for


    the sake of their rtionship.


    He hurriedly carried the bags to the storage room.


    Old Master Mallory, leaning on his cane, rose to his feet and ordered, "Let''s have dinner."


    He was speaking to Karen and also to Percy and Nina.


    Nina lifted her head and looked at Percy. Her eyes were filled with anxiety.


    People in Mallory Manor, whether it was the young or the old, had been harsh toward Nina. If she were


    to stick to her usual way of doing things, she would surely walk away without any intention of trying to


    win over this challenging bunch.


    However, she had to change her ways of dealing with them for Percy''s sake. She had no choice but to


    endure the disapproval of Old Master Mallory and Karen.


    It was all for the man she loved...


    Percy gave her aforting look while feeling sorry for her.


    She was enduring all of this silently for him.


    Karen observed their interaction. It suddenly reminded her of her husband and the mistress abroad.


    That foreign woman always pretended to be weak and helpless, trying to attract her husband''s


    attention.


    She could not help but mutter, "Slut."


    Nina furrowed her brows as her expression turned sour.


    Nina could understand why she was used of social climbing, not being good enough, or being a


    cunning woman, but being called a slut...


    There were no other femalepanions when Percy was together with her. So, why was she being


    called a slut now?