Her Cancellation of the Engagement

Chapter 44 Selfless Stepmother

Chapter 44 Selfless Stepmother Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

At that very moment, the doorbell rang.

Laney stood up and hastened to answer the door. As she saw who was standing outside, she paused for a while. She quickly regained her composure and greeted him with a smile, "Old Mr. Finley, welcome. Please come in."

Lloyd had mentioned yesterday that he would come by today to propose, but she hadn't expected it to happen so soon.

After all, their marriage was the union of two families, which required the presence of elders, and Lloyd couldn't handle it alone.

She had expected Damian, who was elderly, to arrive around noon. It was a surprise that he had arrived before nine o'clock.

Upon seeing Damian enter, Sherman promptly stood up and extended a respectful greeting, "Old Mr. Finley, please have a seat."

Although Sherman wasn't particularly thrilled about Gianna marrying Lloyd, he knew he must respect Damian who was an elder with a high reputation.

Gianna also greeted him, "Good morning, Old Mr. Finley!"

Meanwhile, Lloyd, Irvin, and Murray exchanged greetings with Sherman and the others, saying, "Hello, Mr. Geller, Ms. Nash."

They then greeted Gianna with courtesy by nodding politely to her.

After exchanging greetings, everyone settled into their seats.

Laney went to prepare coffee. Their family conditions were modest, and they usually couldn't afford expensive coffee. They only had a box of coffee which cost just a little over 20 dollars and only Sherman drank it.

Now, with guests in their home, serving this cheap coffee felt a bit underwhelming.

However, there wasn't enough time to buy coffee beans, so she had no choice but to bring out the brewed coffee and said, "I'm sorry, we only have this kind of ordinary coffee at home. If it doesn't suit your taste, I can go and buy some now."

Damian picked up the cup of coffee, first smelled and then took a sip. "This coffee tastes great. It's thick and a little sweet. It's much better than the expensive type of coffee I usually drink, which cost hundreds of dollars. Where did you buy it? Please recommend it to me, and I'll have someone buy some."

Lloyd took a sip as well and praised, "This coffee is fantastic! Ms. Nash, there's no need to be so formal. We'll be family soon, so don't take the trouble to buy new coffee."

Sherman and Laney had been quite nervous, but hearing their words, they were relieved and had a good impression of the Finley family.

They also started to like Lloyd.

If it were someone else, they probably would have been looked down upon in such circumstances!

But instead of feeling displeased, they wore warm smiles on their faces.

"My maternal family owns a coffee plantation. They grow the coffee themselves. After the harvest season this year, they sent some over. Usually, it sells for just over 20 dollars per kilogram. Old Mr.

Finley, if you like it, I can have my mother send some to you tomorrow." Laney explained with a smile.

"Your own coffee plantation?" Damian said in delight, "That's wonderful! I enjoy drinking organic coffee like this. Then I will accept your kind offer."

"Excellent."

With Damian's response, the bond between the two families grew even stronger.

After the casual talk, Damian finally got to the point, "I come here today primarily to discuss the engagement of Lloyd and Gianna. They have already set a date for themselves. The engagement party will be held after seven days, and before that, I'd like to discuss the betrothal gift with you."

Lloyd and Gianna had initially planned the engagement party to be held ten days later, but three days had already passed since then.

So, now the engagement would take place in seven days.

"The Finley family will offer a check of 10 thousand dollars as the dowry. Additionally, Gianna will receive three properties in Reland as her personal assets. I'll also send her two cars. If they want to live with me after marriage, we will live together. If not, they can live in Lloyd's villa."

"In the future, if she wants to work, she can choose to work at any company owned by the Finley family. If she prefers not to work, she can just stay at home, and I will give her a monthly allowance of 200 thousand dollars. I can ensure you she would be happy in the Finley family."

Apart from 10 thousand dollars, the other bridal gifts for Gianna were more lavish than what was given to Alisa at that time.

It was clear that they had put a lot of thought into it.

Laney and Sherman exchanged a look and didn't give an immediate response.

Damian, too, remained patient.

Lloyd, Irvin, and Murray all sat quietly beside them.

When it came to marriage, it was up to the elders to make the final decisions.

After a while, Laney spoke up, "Mr. Finley, here's the thing. Sherman and I discussed it last night, and since Gia's mother is gone, Sherman has entrusted me to handle Gia's marriage."

Damian nodded, signaling her to continue.

Laney added, "In my opinion, we should follow the local practices regarding the betrothal gifts and dowry. In the countryside of Rheinsville City, betrothal gifts typically range from 30 thousand dollars to 50 thousand dollars, while in the city, it's usually around 15 thousand dollars to 25 thousand dollars. So, we suggest a betrothal gift of 15 thousand dollars."

Upon hearing this, both Damian and Lloyd were surprised.

Even Gianna herself was slightly astonished.

She agreed that Laney should arrange her marriage. After all, she could feel that Laney cared about her.

Even if she accepted the bride price of 10 thousand dollars, she thought it was justified.

To her surprise, Laney requested only 15 thousand dollars as the betrothal gift.

During this time, Laney spent more than 15 thousand dollars which was supposed to be Laila's dowry on supporting the family and paying Calvin's school fees.

15 thousand dollars was not enough to fill the shortfall in Laila's dowry.

Unaware of their thoughts, Laney continued, "In addition to the betrothal gift of 15 thousand dollars, we also require purchasing gold jewelry, six sets of new clothes, two sets of skincare products, six pairs of new shoes, and a new mobile phone for Gia. Since we're only discussing the engagement for now, you don't need to give us the extra 300 dollars. However, on the wedding day, the Finley family will need to prepare another 300 dollars as gift money."

"As for the dowry, we're going to purchase a property and a car worth around 15 thousand dollars for Gia. These will be her pre-marital assets, registered solely under her name. Additionally, we'll prepare a gold ring worth 1 thousand dollars and a suit worth 800 dollars for Mr. Finley."

"Of course, you might think the suit and the ring are too cheap. But given our financial means, these are the best we can offer. On the wedding day, we'll hand over the bride price of 15 thousand dollars to Gia. It will be her personal property, and you won't have any claim over it."

After Laney finished speaking, the room fell into silence, and the only sound was the ticking of the clock on the wall.

Both Damian and Lloyd were completely stunned by Laney's words.

They had never seen a stepmother like her before.

She wasn't greedy for wealth and always put her stepdaughter's happiness first.

Her generosity surpassed that of many people in prestigious families.

Meanwhile, tears had already welled up in Gianna's eyes.

After a moment of silence, Damian suddenly slammed his hand against the table and said, "Very well! Mrs. Geller, I've encountered so many people in my life, but you are one of the few people who

have earned my respect. We will do as you say."

With these words, Damian turned to Lloyd and said, "Lloyd, in the future, make it a point to visit your in-laws more often. Learn from them how to deal with people. You still know little about the way of the world."

Lloyd was speechless.

Visiting his in-laws more frequently wouldn't be a problem.

But did Damian really have to praise others while having a dig at him?