?Chapter 454:


    “Him?” Lionel remarked with undisguised contempt. “He merits least of all. Should anyone desire him, I’ll dly relinquish him withoutpensation.”


    Hearing this, the gathering immediately recognized Lionel’s familiar pattern of affectionately taunting his grandson.


    They collectively envied his fortune, wishing their own grandsons possessedparable excellence.


    “Where are your grandsons?” Lionel inquired after surveying the room and noting the absence of his friends’ grandsons.


    “Earlier, they were hanging around here, but the second I answered your call, those brats bolted. Said Liam invited them out to chill,” Elvin said, cutting right to the point.


    The others nodded along, murmuring in agreement.


    In that moment, no one caught the flicker in Kristian’s eyes.


    Lionel let out a slow sigh. “I was nning to introduce Freya to them.


    Young people really ought to mingle more.”


    “I’ll ring my grandson back.”


    “I’ll get mine on the line too.”


    “Young folks should definitely be spending more time together.” One by one, the older gentlemen reached for their phones and began dialing.


    There was an unspoken understanding among them; when Lionel said what he did, they all caught his meaning loud and clear.


    Very few people in their circle ever received Lionel’s approval, and the fact that he stood up for the young woman said plenty about her character.


    As their calls went out, the young men wore expressions like they’d just bitten into lemons—clearly not thrilled.


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    Liam had been with them at the time. He was far more sociable than Kristian and had a wide circle of friends.


    Catching sight of their gloomy faces, Liam paused mid-shot, pool cue in hand. “What’s with the long faces? Did your girlfriends dump you?”


    “Worse than that!”


    “It’s a total nightmare.”


    “Exactly!”


    “Yeah, no joke.”


    Liam raised a brow, intrigued. “That dramatic, huh?”


    “My grandpa wants me to go on a date,” said Elvin’s grandson.


    Liam stayed rxed. “Wait, you guys all got roped into blind dates too?”


    “Yep…” they said in chorus.


    That gave Liam pause. All at once? Seriously?


    “Liam, your grandpa’s the one who brought the girl,” said another young man, sounding torn but not bold enough to say no. “They’re saying it’s just to ‘get to know her,’ but we all know what that means at our age. It’s a setup.”


    “Why are elders so obsessed with matchmaking?”


    “What’s the excuse this time?”


    While theyined, Liam caught the most important detail. “Wait—my grandpa brought her?”


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