Chapter 7 Marriage in Name Only

• Cindy couldn't help but sigh. "So, Mr. Marcus' muteness was fake, but his leg disability is real?"
• "As long as his leg disability is real, I'll be at ease with Stella marrying into their family." Joseph stood up, wrapped his arm around his wife's shoulder, and said, "Don't worry. At least, for now, everything is still going according to our plan, right?"
• Just as Cindy was about to nod, they heard their daughter wail, "Oh no!"
• She quickly asked her daughter, "What happened?"
• Stella sneezed again, her pretty face scrunched up in distress as she said, "Julian must have recognized me, not as Ms. Summer, but as the person who saved Mr. Marcus in Hawthorn!"
• Recalling the moment carefully, she remembered that when Julian first saw her face, he stammered in shock and even uttered part of the word "Summer." Mu Tianxing said with some fear, "Since Mr. Marcus was only pretending to be mute, and he's been keeping up the act for so many years, he must be extremely cautious. For him to speak in front of me, he must have recognized that I saved him!"
• Joseph fell silent, deep in thought.
• Stella continued, "When I got out of the car, he gave me a phone number. Do you think this might be a trap? Maybe he's just waiting for me to call him! Think about it, with so many coincidences, and given his situation, there's no way he wouldn't be cautious. Anyone in his position would be suspicious!"
• The air in the room suddenly grew tense. Stella looked at her father, then at her mother.
• Though she was clever, she was still a young girl. Having grown up in a warm and complete family, she had been well-protected by her parents. She had never experienced the fierce battles that occurred within wealthy families, and her social experience was practically zero.
• Even though she had seen and heard many things, it was impossible for her to truly understand them without personal experience.
• After a while, Cindy spoke worriedly, "If Mr. Marcus becomes suspicious, he definitely won't accept Stella. This marriage will be called off. But Old Mr. Farley values our company's dozen or so patents so much. If his youngest son can't marry, the Farleys still have the second and third sons. The second son is already so old, and the third son is a playboy."
• None of them is as safe as Mr. Marcus, who has a disability!
• Old Mr. Farley had been quite the playboy his entire life by marrying four wives. How could his sons possibly be loyal and upstanding men?
• This business marriage was always a transaction. Stella was the only daughter of the Summers, the precious jewel of Joseph and Cindy. How could they bear to let their beloved daughter be ruined by the unworthy sons of the Farleys?
• Their initial plan was that once the Farleys and the Summers were united through marriage, the Summers' dozen patents would be shared with the Farleys, and in return, the Farleys would share their centuries-old technique for producing snow silk with the Summers.
• Once this mutual benefit was achieved, the marriage could be called off.
• It was already well known that Marcus was disabled and unable to consummate the marriage.
• Moreover, Stella was only 18. By the time she turned 20 and was at the peak of her youth, it would be easy for her to divorce and find a good man to live a happy life with.
• After this consideration, not only was Cindy deeply worried, but even Joseph began to waver. "If the final candidate for marriage isn't Mr. Marcus, then even if we give up the benefits of the union, we can't risk my precious daughter's future!"
• They weren't people who would resort to any means for profit, but it was Old Mr. Farley who had approached them first. He had his eye on their textile group's award-winning patents, as well as their beautiful and talented daughter. Joseph hadn't immediately agreed to Lany's proposal. Instead, he went home to discuss it with his wife and daughter.
• Initially, the Summers wasn't swayed. However, Lany invited Joseph again to his office for further talks, offering to exchange their family's traditional snow silk production technique as part of the deal and strongly recommending his fourth son, Marcus.
• Joseph had tentatively asked Lany, "Nowadays, young people are strong-willed. If their personalities don't match after marriage, it may not last long. In such a case ... "
• To his surprise, with his shrewdness, Lany responded, "No problem. We're just matchmaking. If they aren't happy together a few years down the line and end up divorcing, as elders, we may not be pleased, but we must respect the children's wishes."
• In other words, Old Mr. Farley was practically endorsing a marriage in name only!
• His real objective was to secure business interests.
• Thinking of it this way, Joseph realized that his precious daughter wouldn't suffer any loss. A marriage that was merely a formality, yet mutually beneficial, started to seem attractive to him.
• After confirming that Marcus would soon return to the Farleys, Old Mr. Farley made a follow-up call to Joseph, mentioning, "Marcie is about to hit the ring road on his way back. His temperament can be a bit strange."
• Being as sharp as he was, Joseph caught on to Lany's hint. That's when the plan came together, leading to Stella's appearance in the rain on the highway to stop Marcus' car, intentionally acting out of the ordinary to catch his attention.