Deceiving Her Ears: Ignoring Your Call-Chapter 81: Jason Grant, the Vegetative Patient, Woke Up?
Matthew: "What I mean is, even though Jason is... like this now, the Beckett family still has to honor our word. The engagement with the Grant family will go ahead as planned."
Julian hadn’t expected his father to make this decision. Stunned, he frowned and looked at his father.
Cynthia’s lips curled into a subtle smile, cold with a hint of sarcasm.
But Natalie’s face was utterly expressionless, as if what was being said had nothing to do with her.
Vanessa, on the other hand, could no longer contain herself and burst out in shock:
"What!"
She could hardly believe what she was hearing.
Even though Jason was her own little brother, right now he was in a vegetative state, with no way to know when he’d wake up.
Under these circumstances, they wanted Nat to marry him?
This was insane!
Was the Beckett family serious?
"Vanessa." Old Mr. Grant called out in a stern voice.
Even if he normally spoiled his daughter, when it came to the Grant family, he wouldn’t allow any mistakes.
"Dad, this engagement..."
Ansel Vaughn pressed down on Vanessa’s hand again, stopping her from going on.
He was only here today to accompany his wife to this dinner.
But in the end, this was all a matter between the Beckett and Grant families—it had nothing to do with The Vaughn Residence.
And to be a bit selfish, if Natalie and Jason’s engagement continued, it would put an end to Isaac’s hopes, which was absolutely beneficial for him.
He might not be thrilled about it, but he’d rather stay out of it.
Vanessa understood what her husband meant.
Suddenly, she remembered something and quickly turned to look at her son, who was sitting on her other side.
Her son, unexpectedly, was not as furious as she’d imagined; his expression was somewhere between amusement and indifference.
But this only made Vanessa more anxious.
"Nat, I know this might wrong you, but don’t worry—the Grant family will definitely not treat you poorly..."
Old Mr. Grant’s words were abruptly interrupted by a mocking laugh.
"Well, I never thought — after decades apart, you’ve only gotten thicker-skinned with age!"
The speaker was none other than Veronica Vincent.
So even though Old Mr. Grant’s face turned red, he didn’t protest a word.
"If my ears aren’t deceiving me, your son is basically a half-dead vegetable. And you want this pretty, vibrant girl to marry a vegetable, and call that ’a bit of a wrong’?!"
"And you" — Veronica turned to Matthew Beckett — "just blatantly pushing your own flesh and blood into the fire like this. What kind of father are you? I’ve really seen everything today!"
"This dinner is disgusting! No way am I eating another bite—nobody should!"
As she spoke, Veronica Vincent flipped the table over.
This time, she’d truly left everyone at the table in stunned disbelief.
After she flipped the table, everything was a complete mess.
Veronica clapped her hands, not the least bit apologetic, and said, "Sorry, country folk are rough."
"V-V-Veronica!" Old Mr. Grant stammered, his face cycling between red, green and white like a palette. "What are you doing, making this kind of scene?"
"A scene?" Veronica sneered. "I’m just howling at injustice!"
She knew full well that this "howl" probably wouldn’t accomplish much.
But to pretend she hadn’t seen, she just couldn’t do it.
Because of Veronica’s "scene," the dinner ended abruptly.
*
"Girl, come here for a moment."
Just before getting into the car, Veronica called out to Natalie.
With the dinner ruined, Matthew looked ill-tempered and told Julian to stay with Natalie. He and Cynthia left first in their car.
Julian patted Natalie on the shoulder, signaling her to go ahead—he’d wait here for her.
Natalie walked up to Veronica Vincent.
"Is there something you want to tell me?"
Veronica looked at her and said, "You may not talk much, kid, but I can tell you’re sharp. I doubt you’ll ever really get the worst of things."
Natalie answered sincerely, "Thank you for today."
"Made your dad that pissed off and you’re still thanking me?" Veronica waved her hand, then pointed at Isaac Vaughn, who was leaning against the car, listening to them. "But that little punk—you can’t trust him completely. He’s no good."
Natalie looked over at Isaac, her eyes clear and pure but utterly reliant.
Isaac protested, "Grandma, what kind of grandma badmouths her own grandson?"
"You’re not my grandson and we’re not even remotely related—so don’t cozy up to me." With that, Veronica opened the car door and got in.
Isaac couldn’t help but laugh, glancing over at Natalie.
"Are you scared?"
Natalie’s expression was calm as she shook her head.
"Mm. No need to be afraid, and no need to worry."
Isaac jerked his chin, "Your brother’s waiting for you. Go on."
Natalie turned and walked toward Julian.
"Vroom."
Just then, the car window rolled down.
Isaac bent down with a grin, peering at the little old lady in the car.
"What now? You talked smack about me in front of my wife—how are you going to settle that bill?"
Veronica stared after the slender figure, "Isaac Vaughn, this girl might seem soft, but she’s actually tougher than she looks. If you’re considering any funny business, best forget it. Or you’ll be crying for real one day."
A shadow flickered in Isaac’s eyes, though he just smiled and said, "Listen to you—like I’d have any schemes."
Veronica didn’t bother calling him out on his stubbornness.
She raised the window as she spoke, "Hurry up and take me home."
Isaac agreed, and as he opened the car door to get in, he couldn’t help glancing in Natalie’s direction again, his face suddenly growing colder.
——
The Vaughn Residence.
The house was quiet for a while.
Vanessa frowned and spoke, "Dad, about Nat and Jason—is it you who brought it up to the Beckett family, or did the Becketts come to you?"
"What difference does it make?"
"Dad! No, seriously—what are you people even thinking?" Vanessa truly couldn’t understand.
Old Mr. Grant exhaled, then suddenly looked toward Isaac.
Once Isaac met his gaze, he knew his grandfather wanted to speak to him.
"Isaac, how has Grandpa treated you? In my heart, you’re as dear as any grandson. I love your mom, but I love you even more."
"Grandpa, whatever you want to say, just say it."
Old Mr. Grant’s expression shifted slightly.
But at this point, there was no need to care about formalities.
Truth was, they all knew that the moment Isaac started getting tangled up with Natalie, there had been a crack in the grandfather-grandson relationship—one that could never be truly healed.
"Isaac, you should cut things off completely with Natalie. Her engagement with Jason has to happen. Even if Grandpa begged you, please don’t get tangled up with her anymore."
Isaac’s face turned cold and pale.
Ansel Vaughn spoke: "Your grandfather’s right. No matter what happens with Natalie and Jason’s engagement, you have to let go of her. You’ve already caused enough embarrassment—are you still hoping to stir up even more of a mess?" 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦
"Baby..." Vanessa came over and grabbed Isaac’s arm, "I never told you, but I did talk to Nat in private about all this. She didn’t give me a definite answer, which means she’s got concerns too—so you two shouldn’t keep pushing."
Isaac finally understood why Natalie had suddenly suggested breaking up that day, said something about keeping things secret—it turned out his mom had approached her.
"Isaac, Grandpa’s begging you. The Grant family needs this engagement with the Becketts. Please, I’m asking you."
"Grandpa." Isaac suddenly gave a small laugh. "I’m really curious—what did the Beckett family promise you? I bet it’s not just that five percent of their shares, right?"
Old Mr. Grant’s face froze.
——
After leaving The Vaughn Residence, Old Mr. Grant returned to the hospital and went straight to his son’s ward again.
The nurse was surprised to see him come in so late, and reported Jason’s status to him again.
Everything was the same as usual.
Meaning there still weren’t any signs of waking up.
Old Mr. Grant looked exhausted, and told the nurse to leave—he wanted to talk to his son alone.
"Jason, why aren’t you awake yet? I’m sure I’ll get to see you wake up while I’m still alive, right?"
"Jason, your marriage to Natalie Kendall is going forward. No matter what, I’ll make sure it happens."
"Jason, my son..."
Old Mr. Grant’s eyes turned red and wet, gripping his son’s hand and pressing it to his own face. "When will you finally..."
He hadn’t finished speaking when suddenly, the fingers pressed to his cheek seemed to move... just a little...
