"Mrs. Vance, I wasn't..."
Jocelyn never expected to be caught red-handed badmouthing someone's parents.
A wave of sheer embarrassment washed over her.
"Wasn't what?"
"You're awfully young to be spewing such nonsense. We raised our son, and now you think you can just swoop in and reap the rewards?"
Lillian shot her son a withering glare. "Xavier, what is the meaning of this?"
"You promised me you would treat Serena right and settle down."
Serena Wade was the daughter of Lillian's closest friend, tying their two families together.
"It's only because her mother has a good heart and watched you grow up that she overlooks your sheer stupidity. Otherwise, a catch like Serena wouldn't look twice at you!"
Lillian mercilessly tore into her son.
"Mom, nobody trashes their own flesh and blood this badly."
"No matter how bad I am, I'm still better than Serena, right? With a temper like hers, no normal guy could tolerate her."
He had indeed agreed to marry Serena to maintain the lucrative partnership between their families, but the fact that his mother adored Serena more than her own son rubbed him the wrong way.
"Serena might have a bit of a temper, but she's brilliant! Unlike you, you absolute fool."
Serena was already steadily taking over the Wade family empire, while her own son was content to just coast through life.
If he didn't have a handsome face, she wouldn't have had the nerve to pester her best friend into agreeing to this marriage.
Besides, other families looked for sons-in-law to help their daughters run the business. In their case, her son was so useless they had no choice but to bring in a brilliant daughter-in-law to do the heavy lifting.
Serena had the talent to run both corporate empires beautifully in the future.
The Wade family and the Vance family had long reached this unspoken agreement, and it was undeniably the best path forward.
Xavier had finally caved, much to his parents' absolute delight.
They would absolutely not allow this Jocelyn Thorne character to sabotage their son's engagement!
"That's not just a temper, she's practically a tomboy who only cares about her career!"
Xavier grumbled indignantly, unable to shake the bruised ego of constantly being bested by a woman.
Because Serena had completely
crushed him in every single category
since childhood he naturally
gravitated toward girls who played
the fragile, dependent role, like Jocelyn.
He honestly blamed Serena for warping his taste in women!
"So what if she's focused on her career? It's infinitely better than you having zero ambition whatsoever!"
Lillian was endlessly frustrated by her son's lack of drive.
But both she and her husband knew he didn't have what it took. He was destined to be a simple trust fund kid so they didn't force him into the corporate meat grinder.
After all, every time he had tried to launch a business venture in the past, he had lost money.
Serena, on the other hand, had started honing her executive skills early and was already a seasoned, ruthless heiress.
"Who says I have zero ambition? It's just that she's been overshadowing me since
we were kids..." Xavier muttered under his breath.
Still, he lacked the spine to actually defy his parents.
"I don't care how she treats you. You made us a promise, and you're not backing
out. You will marry Serena and be a loyal husband to her."
"Otherwise, I have no problem disinheriting you and keeping Serena!"
Lillian threatened him without hesitation.
Xavier froze. "What do you mean, disinherit me?"
"It means I'll keep Serena and any future grandkids, and kick you straight to the curb!" Lillian wasn't just bluffing.
If her son really let some shady woman completely scramble his brains, she would choose the most profitable outcome for the Vance family.
Someone like Jocelyn, who constantly tried to poison the relationship between a son and his parents, was absolutely unacceptable!
"Mom, I am your biological son, right?" Xavier protested.
Lillian scoffed coldly. "So what if you are? If your father and I weren't so old, we wouldn't hesitate to kick you to the curb and have another kid to inherit everything." fo FindNovel.net
Jocelyn couldn't bear to listen anymore; it was glaringly obvious that Xavier's mother
was directing every single insult right at her.