After her rebirth

Gabriel sighed, "I get it, but right now we need to work with the Elise family."

If it weren't for the Boleyn family's current financial troubles, they wouldn't have arranged for Desmond and Brynn to meet. It was Emily who initially suggested they meet.

Emily chimed in, "I know we need this partnership with the Elise family, which is why I pushed for them to get to know each other in the first place. But I never expected Brynn to act out like this. Desmond is such a kind person, and if he keeps giving in to her, I'm afraid she'll just take advantage of him more and more."

She was worried about Desmond's future happiness.

Gabriel, hearing Emily's concerns, softened his stance. "I'll talk to the Elise family about this. For now, Desmond will stay home."

Meanwhile, Brynn at the Elise household was waiting for Desmond to come and apologize. She had already changed her outfit several times.

Quinlan looked at her lovingly but helplessly. "You really want to see Desmond, don't you?"

Brynn pouted, "No, I don't."

Despite her words, she kept glancing towards the door.

Quinlan laughed, "You can't fool me, sweetie. Your acting needs work."

As they shared a laugh, Ace suddenly came down from his study.

"The Boleyn family responded. They said this isn't Desmond's fault and they won't apologize. In fact, they want you to apologize to Clara!"

Brynn's face froze, and Quinlan was baffled. "How dare they treat Brynn like this? Desmond's the one tangled up with his ex, and Brynn just wanted an apology. Now they're being even more unreasonable?"

Brynn felt a pang of hurt hearing her mother. Desmond siding with Clara made her feel even worse, and she ran upstairs with tears in her eyes.

"Honey, look how upset our daughter is! I think we should call off this engagement with the Boleyn family!"

Ace tried to calm her down. "We're already halfway through the negotiations. We can't just call it off."

"But Brynn..." Quinlan was genuinely worried about Brynn being mistreated by Desmond.

"Getting the Boleyn family to back down is easy. We just need to find proof that Desmond is still in contact with his ex and throw it in their faces."

Quinlan felt a bit relieved. They just needed Desmond to admit fault and promise not to repeat his mistakes. "Alright, let's do that."

She added, "Our daughter seems to like Desmond a lot. Who knew he'd turn out like this? If we had known, we wouldn't have let Brynn meet him. He seemed decent on the surface, but he's still tangled up with his ex. It's unacceptable."

Brynn had no idea about her parents' plans. She cried as soon as she got to her room. After a while, she called Desmond.

When he answered, Brynn, still crying, asked, "Why won't you come and apologize?"

Desmond, already frustrated from being grounded by his dad, was ready to snap back. But hearing Brynn cry, he didn't know what to say.

"If you don't come, my parents are talking about calling off the engagement. What will your family do then?" Brynn's voice was still tearful.

Desmond replied dryly, "My dad won't let me. This isn't our fault."

He wasn't used to hearing Brynn cry.

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"It's my fault, okay? But I'll only apologize to you, not to Clara."

Brynn's crying wasn't overly dramatic, but it was clearly heartfelt.

"If you're going to apologize, come to my house and do it properly." Desmond hung up after saying that.

Brynn wiped her tears and went downstairs.

Her mother saw her and smiled. "Brynn, what do you want to eat today? I'll make it for you."

Brynn's eyes were still red. She shook her head. "I'm not hungry."

"You have to eat something. Or do you want to go somewhere? I'll go with you." Brynn shook her head again, looking dejected. "I need to go apologize to Desmond. Blocking Clara was indeed my fault"

Quinlan was surprised. "You're our precious daughter. He was the one tangled up with his ex. Blocking her was the right thing to do. You did nothing wrong. Don't let him brainwash you."

"But..." Brynn hesitated.

"No buts. Your dad is already looking into his dealings with that woman. Either they apologize, or we call off the engagement."

"Call it off? We can't do that. Mom, I've been with him for so long."

Brynn had always seen Desmond as her future husband. The thought of calling off the engagement didn't sit well with her.

"Calling it off is just one option. If they apologize, it won't come to that. Just wait for your father's update."

Brynn understood what her mother meant.

"Mom, are you going to ground me too?"

Desmond was grounded by his dad, and now her mom wouldn't let her go out either.

Brynn felt like there were too many obstacles between her and Desmond. Clara wasn't even the biggest issue anymore.

Maybe she shouldn't have run home crying and told her parents about this.

Brynn regretted it a little.

Both the Boleyn and Elise families kept the young at home, waiting for the other to give in. Meanwhile, Brynn's friend Sophia contacted her about Katniss.

"Brynn, did you really find my savior?"

"I did, but meeting her might take a few days. I've got some family issues to deal with."

Sophia could tell Brynn was upset. "What's going on? What's her name?" "Nothing major, just family stuff. Her name is Katniss Manners, and she's married to Maximilian. I'll set up a meeting when I can, so you can thank her properly."

After hanging up, an elderly man beside Sophia said, "Ms. Manners' information has been found."

In just a minute or two, Katniss' basic information was in front of Sophia.