Without Noelle, even if Laurence took off his face mask and walked out to say he was the CEO of Longtail Group, no one would believe him and would even think that he was a fake. Noelle had long since become one of Laurence's status indicators.
Among the upper crust of Havenmill, many might have looked down on Noelle, but on the surface, no one dared to show it. In fact, many still had to be utterly respectful to her.
The few who dared to speak so boldly to Noelle already had already had the fear of God put into them by Noelle. They did not even have any thoughts of tattling to Laurence, because it would be no use. Laurence was famously overprotective of his
own.
"But Noelle doesn't have a strong family background. She won't be able to help you." Matteo was still struggling.
Laurence scoffed. "What family background does she need? I am her family. I am her backing. My adoptive mother and my aunts are all behind her. All of us are her family."
Apart from the Johnsons, the network left behind by Doc's allies stood behind her as well.
The moment he and Noelle contacted their fellow disciples, they could flatten the Longbottoms where they stood.
"I know you all mean well. But since it's for my own good, then what I think is best is good. Your opinions don't consider my preferences, and you haven't asked if I need your opinions. So, they can't actually be good for me.
"These are things you want imposed on me, rather than what I want. Therefore, they're not good. They'll only be good if I need and like them.
"It's my marriage. I'll only marry someone I like. I won't marry for the sake of business, and I don't need to either. I won't settle when it comes to the person I'm spending the rest of my life with, and I won't do myself a disservice for material
reasons.
"You guys don't have to arrange blind dates for me. I only have eyes for Noelle, and Noelle only. Apart from her, I won't marry anyone else.
"You guys can stop worrying about my personal matters. This is my personal life, not matters of public interest, and I don't see the need for us to discuss, criticise, and debate it at length as an official item on the agenda."
Laurence said authoritatively, with a particularly stern expression. The Longbottoms had tasted his methods before and knew he was not someone they wanted to provoke.
He was now the head of the family, too, and carried the heirlooms. The totem was branded onto his back, so even if others wanted to steal it, they could not.
They were just older members in the family, simply relying on the fact that they were older and that Laurence had to show them some modicum of respect, which was the only reason they were allowed to speak to him. Otherwise, they would not even have the chance to speak in front of him.
There was really nothing they could do about Laurence.
The men did not dare to continue speaking, and even Tony just stared at his lap, head down.
The office fell into a pin-drop silence.
After a long moment, Enrico laughed sheepishly, breaking the quiet in the office. He said, “Since you already have someone you like, and it's your life, we can't say much more.
"As long as you like her, whoever you marry will be the lady of the house."
"That's right. As long as you like her. We were just giving suggestions. It's fine if you don't take them."
The others agreed, their earlier arrogance long gone.
Tony was the last to accede. The others did not even dare to interfere further, so it was hard for him alone to say anything more.