"Mom, I’m back!" As soon as he entered the door, Evander Lancaster shouted inside, his big hand still grabbing Sophia Hamilton’s wrist. Although Sophia kept saying she wasn’t nervous, she instinctively wanted to grab Evander’s hand tighter when she saw everyone in the hall turn to look at them.

Evander understood and relaxed his grip, intertwining his fingers with hers.

"Second Young Master is back," the housemaid approached, opened the shoe cabinet, and placed two pairs of slippers on the marble floor. Looking at the palace-like decor in the hall, Sophia felt a bit intimidated.

Seeing Evander casually take off his leather shoes, she lightly tugged his hand and whispered, "I want to go back." 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"What are you afraid of, the ugly daughter-in-law has to see the mother-in-law sooner or later," Evander turned his head and said with a smile, not deliberately lowering his voice, which made Sophia even more nervous.

After changing into slippers, Evander squatted down and personally helped Sophia take off her snow boots, an action meant to show his family how important this woman was to him.

This gesture made Violet Zimmerman, who came out of the kitchen, frown unhappily. She tightened her shawl and walked over, smiling, "Evander is back?"

"Mom, this is my girlfriend, Sophia Hamilton." Evander neatly placed Sophia’s snow boots aside, then stood up and introduced her to his mother while holding her hand.

"Sophia, this is my mother, Mrs. Violet Zimmerman. You can just call her sister." To ease Sophia’s nervousness, Evander made a rare joke with his mother.

Violet disapprovingly frowned and said, "This child, getting naughtier as he grows!" Then she turned to Sophia and kindly said, "Sophia, don’t listen to him, just call me Auntie."

"Hello, Auntie," Sophia politely greeted her, her lightly made-up face fair and clean, her lips a healthy pink. Violet smiled and responded, stepping back a bit, "Come on in and have a seat."

"Thank you, Auntie," Sophia said from inside. Violet, amused and exasperated, said, "Such a polite child."

Evander strutted into the hall with Sophia in tow, greeting the two men on the sofa with a smile, "When did you get here, big brother and uncle?"

Evander wasn’t that close with his big brother, mainly because his brother often advised him to show more respect to their uncle, as he had helped their mother and the company a lot...

And his big brother and uncle were also close, like father and son, so Evander shut out those who were close to his uncle, including his own mother.

Robert Lancaster stood up and gave a polite nod to Sophia, "We came early in the morning. Mom said you were bringing your girlfriend over today."

Joseph Lancaster remained seated on the sofa, seemingly waiting for his "niece-in-law" to greet him. Evander inwardly scoffed but had to go through the motions.

He led Sophia over to stand before Joseph Lancaster, "Sophia, this is Uncle."

"Hello, Uncle." Sophia slightly bowed and greeted him politely. Joseph Lancaster nodded faintly, still leaning back on the sofa with his legs crossed, exuding an elder’s authority.

"This is my big brother, Robert Lancaster, two years older than me, and his son’s already all grown up." Evander joked as he turned Sophia toward Robert Lancaster.

"Hello, big brother," Sophia slightly bowed and greeted him.

Robert Lancaster nodded and said warmly, "Hello," then turned to his brother, smiling, "Evander, you should work harder too!"

"Aren’t I already on the path to doing just that!" Evander sat down on the sofa with Sophia, raising their joined hands, "I aim to catch up with big brother and have two kids in three years." "You rascal, you’d better work hard!" Robert Lancaster patted his brother’s shoulder and sat down in another part of the sofa.

The brothers exchanged playful banter, but Sophia bowed her head shyly, feeling her face burning. Suddenly, she remembered she had forgotten to take after-the-fact medication after that jerk forced her, and she wasn’t sure if she had become pregnant...

"Joseph, help entertain the guests; I’m going to check the kitchen," Violet instructed before heading to the kitchen. Joseph Lancaster grunted, though an uncle-in-law, the two gave off the impression of a husband and wife.

Embarrassed, Sophia didn’t notice this detail.

Evander’s eyes tightened slightly, the fleeting moment caught by Robert Lancaster, who glanced unnoticedly at "Uncle," the two exchanging a look full of understanding.

Robert turned back to his brother with a smile, his face showing no extra emotion.

"Where’s sister-in-law? Why isn’t Bao’er causing trouble?"

Evander looked around. It was the first time he brought a girlfriend home. According to Lancaster family’s rules, all the aunts and uncles should have come for a review, but he worried that it would scare Sophia. So, he made three demands with his mother beforehand: if all the family relatives came, he wouldn’t bring his girlfriend back.

Thus, his mother, Violet Zimmerman, only notified his brother and "Uncle."

"Bao’er needs a nap, your sister-in-law is upstairs putting him to bed."

"Oh," Evander nodded, ignoring the uncle sitting diagonally across. He glanced at the snacks on the coffee table, reached out to take one, and handed it to Sophia, "Try one; Auntie’s skills are pretty good."

"I don’t want it," Sophia, with her head down, sneaked a glance at the other two men in the hall, pushing Evander’s hand away.

"Do I have to feed you?" Evander raised an eyebrow, knowing Sophia hadn’t had breakfast, so he said it on purpose. As he spoke, he had already brought the snack to Sophia’s lips.

Left with no choice, she took it and nibbled a small bite.

"Xiaofen, make a glass of your best juice!" Evander loudly instructed toward the kitchen, and a cheerful reply came, "Okay, Second Young Master, right away!"

Sophia nibbled on the snack, having been quite unwilling on the way here, but now she suddenly felt undeserving of Evander.

He was the "Second Young Master," while she was like a real-life Cinderella. It was uncertain if such a union would receive any blessings...

After instructing the maid, Evander turned back to see Sophia still biting the snack, checking, "Don’t like it?"

Sophia raised her eyes and shook her head, "It’s fine."

"Then eat more." Evander took another piece and brought it directly to Sophia’s lips, ignoring the two men in the living room, giving a bossy command, "Open up."

Sophia glanced again at the two men and obediently opened her mouth, shyly pursing her lips after biting the snack.

Evander wiped her lips with his thumb, lovingly saying, "Eat more, chubby feels nice to touch."

Sophia’s face turned red once more, and she swallowed the snack down while quietly complaining, "What nonsense are you talking."

Evander smiled and moved his handsome face close to Sophia’s ear, whispering something, which made Sophia lower her head even more.

Beside them, Robert Lancaster and Uncle exchanged a glance, one frowning, the other helpless.