The butler nodded. "Yes, Ms. Quinn had visited earlier to meet Madam. But she didn''t stay for long."

    Ryan''s jaws clenched. He knew it was her. "Mr. James, you can go back to your duties. I will go and meet my mother myself." Saying that, he left the butler behind and walked into the living hall before heading straight to the dining area.

    Beca was sitting at the table as the butler had said, but just one look and Ryan could tell she wasn''t waiting for the dinner –she was waiting for him.

    "Mom." Ryan greeted.

    But instead of returning his greeting, Beca asked bluntly, "Is Delyth back in the country."

    Ryan didn''t respond, and Beca knew the answer already. "So, she has," she muttered, audibly enough for her son to hear.

    "This has got nothing to do with Delyth, Mom. Please don''t involve her. She is innocent." Ryan defended, and that was enough to make Beca lose her temper that she was finding hard to contain within.

    Slapping her hand hard on the table, she got up, enraged, "Really? Is that so? If not her, then tell me –what else is the reason, Ryan? Why didn''t you and Arwen get the marriage certificate today?"

    "An important meeting got scheduled at the last minute. I couldn''t avoid it," Ryan said, avoiding his mother''s gaze. "And I already told Arwen about it. Did she come to complain to you?"

    "Complain to me?" Beca couldn''t help but give a sarcastic chuckle at that. "Is that what you think of her, Ryan?"

    Ryan frowned, but before he could defend Delyth, Beca had already turned to leave. As she passed by, she asked a maid to send her dinner to her room.

    Left standing alone, Ryan didn''t know what to do. Pulling out his phone, he called Daniel and simply said, "Meet me at 8th Heaven Restobar." Then he disconnected the call and left.

    Meanwhile, back at Tulip Societal Residency, Gianna was pacing back and forth without taking any break. Arwen was sitting and watching her, trying her best to ignore the dizziness caused by her friend''s continuous brisk movements.

    "Anna, can you please sit down and relax for a bit. Your pacing is giving me a headache, and I don''t think I can take it much longer." Giving up, Arwen spoke.

    But it was as if her words only triggered Gianna further. Snapping her head in Arwen''s direction, she retorted, "I am giving you a headache? Wennie, reflect on what you have done. You went and signed a marriage certificate with a complete stranger. How can you even ask me to sit and relax? Do you even realize what you have done?"

    Of course, Arwen knew what she had done. But she wanted to keep her impulsive action as normal as possible. Otherwise, even she wouldn''t be able to keep calm if she started freaking out.

    "But I thought you didn''t want me to marry Ryan. Aren''t you happy that he is no longer there in my life. I broke up with him." Arwen forced an exuberant smile.

    Gianna only leaned down to pinch her cheeks. "Girl, are you serious? Do you even listen to yourself? You married a complete stranger, just to escape Ryan. How is that going to help you? You have trapped yourself in a messier trap to escape a tedious one."

    "But the messier trap is not that bad. In fact, it''s rather handsome and attractive. Given a choice, any woman would willingly crawl into it." Arwen blinked playfully, and Gianna could no longer take it.

    "Arwen Quinn, I am being serious! Can you stop cracking jokes right now?"