The moment Yves heard that Reese had mentioned him, he immediately let go and grabbed Lester''s hand with both of his.

"Mr. Sanford, pleasure to meet you."

Sylvia finally managed to slip away, shooting Lester a grateful look.

Lester kept his cool. "Let''s head inside. Reese isn''t in the best of health-she can''t be out in the cold for long."

Yves nodded quickly. "Sorry, that was my mistake. After you please."

Hearing this, everyone instinctively stepped aside, clearing a path for Rupert and Lester.

Once they''d gone in, Sylvia rolled up her sleeve and grimaced at the clear red marks Yves had left on her arm.

Yves was terrifying.

She grit her teeth against the pain and hurried to catch up with the group. As they entered, Sylvia noticed Mrs. Hanson still had her sunsses on. "Mrs. Hanson, aren''t you going to take off your sunsses?"

Mrs. Hanson shot her a sharp look and snapped, "Is that any of your business? You''re not even part of this family yet, and already you want to y mother-in-w? Once you''re actually in, I''ll be sure to teach you some proper manners."

With that, she adjusted her sunsses and stalked off.

Sylvia watched her leave with a curious expression, her gaze lingering on Mrs. Hanson''s designer purse.

The manager led them all upstairs to the VIP suite. There, a row of elegant wedding dresses awaited, each disyed on its own rack.

"Ms. Sanford, you first," said a gloved attendant kindly.

Reese practically bounced out of her seat, barely able to contain her excitement. After a few steps, she spun yfully and called, "No matter how I look, you''re all only allowed to say I look amazing! Got it?"

Lester gave her a small, amused smile. "Got it. Go on."

But Reese didn''t move. She just looked quietly at Rupert, clearly hoping for his approval.

Rupert gave her a tiny nod. "Alright."

Beaming, Reese finally followed the attendant to the fitting room.

While the rest admired the wall of snow-white gowns, Sylvia felt a tightness in her chest, as if she could hardly breathe.

She stood, thinking to slip out, but Kay called after her with a syrupy smile.

"Ms. Lloyd, where are you going? Reese said you promised to help her pick. You''ll be choosing your own wedding dress soon too maybe you two can swap deas."  s

She added, "Most women only get one wedding, so the dress is a big deal. Oh, but silly me-your mom''s been married twice, right? I heard. she never had a real wedding either time no dress, no ceremony Not much advice she could give you, I guess."  s

Sylvia turned to meet Kay''s pointed, smug gaze.

She could also feel the disdain radiating from the Hansons, mother and son alike.

A wave of humiliation stabbed through her, sharp and cold. She struggled to catch her breath.

She didn''t rush to reply. Instead, she flicked her eyes toward Rupert, sitting quietly on the sofa.

She counted silently to three.

Rupert simply poured some hot water into Reese''s teacup, utterly unbothered.

So much for him not taking sides.

A heart only freezes a little at a time.

Just as Sylvia opened her mouth to speak, Lester stood up and red at Kay.

"Aunt Kay, that''s enough."

Kay frowned. "Excuse me? Mr. Rupert didn''t say anything, so why are you lecturing me?"fn32b5 This content belongs to find~novel/fn32b5

Lester''s voice was ice-cold. "I don''t need anyone''s permission to speak my mind.

I''m not a child, and I don''t need anyone telling me what to say.”

A clear reminder that Kay was out of line.

Kay fell silent, caught off guard by Lester''s defense of Sylvia. Surprised but grateful, Sylvia smiled back at him.

Then, she retorted, "Don''t worry, Ms.

Winslet. I may not remember

everything from before, but I did promise Reese''d help her pick, and

will. Even if neither of us is married yet, maybe she''ll still like what we choose."  s

She put a little extra emphasis on the word "unmarried."

Not such a big deal these days, but Kay clearly minded.

Otherwise, why else would she still resent Edwin for choosing someone else over her?

"Sylvia!" Kay''s expression twisted with anger.

Just then, the attendant called out, "Herees the bride!"