Family on Their Knees Heart Turned to Ice novel Chapter 692

"You know the situation with the Mercer family. We really can't come up with a decent dowry right now. I think just having a wedding is enough. If you two throw a big, lively celebration, that would be better than anything."

After speaking, Martin turned to Brandon. "The person we contacted has agreed to have dinner with us. Let's get this place cleaned up and go get ready. Resuming the stock's trading is our top priority."

Brandon nodded at the good news, no longer interested in the details of Bella and Sebastian's wedding negotiations. At this point, he wouldn't mind if the engagement fell through, or if it ended in a complete farce.

Sabrina gently tugged on Martin's arm. "Martin, this is about Bella's future. If we're this casual about it, won't it…"

Martin lowered his voice. "That's enough. We should be happy with what we've got. The elder Blakes have already made it clear to me that they will not be involved in this wedding. They won't acknowledge Bella as their daughter-in-law. If we ask for any more, the whole thing might fall apart. The urgent matter now is that Sebastian is still willing to marry Bella. Let's get the wedding done and make it official. We can deal with the future later."

Sabrina was fuming but didn't know what to do. Seeing her daughter's aggrieved expression, she could only pull her along and leave.

Brandon called some people to come and collect all the dowry items that Lillian had returned. Right now, what he lacked most was cash. This was a chance to get some money and ease the company's financial strain. It was one or two hundred million dollars—not much, a drop in the bucket, but it could help solve their most pressing problems.

On the way home, Brandon and Colin drove straight to the liquidators.

Martin, on the other hand, drove his wife and daughter home first. Sabrina needed to pick something up before heading to the hospital.

In the car, Sabrina was anxious about what would happen to the dowry items.

"Honey, what are we going to do with all those things we got back today? You and Brandon and his brother are so busy. I'm free lately, so why don't I help…"

Before she could finish, Martin cut her off. "No need. Brandon will have it all sorted out in a bit. The liquidators are professionals; they'll give us a fair price."

Sabrina grew frantic. "What? You're selling everything already? But isn't that…"

"The company is short on cash. We'll sell these things and put the money back into the company. With the huge problems we're facing, we have to solve them first."

Sabrina gritted her teeth. "But Bella's wedding is just around the corner. We can't let her get married without a dowry. When Lillian got married, you prepared so much for her. How can my Bella have nothing?"

Martin replied, "Our biggest problem right now is the company. As for the wedding, since the elder Blakes don't want to negotiate, the engagement gift can only come from Sebastian himself. From what he said, if he's not giving an engagement gift, we don't have to provide a dowry. It's convenient for both sides. Isn't that great? The most important thing is the marriage itself. Once they're married, do you think Bella will be left with nothing? After they're married, everything Sebastian owns becomes marital property. You should understand which is more important, right?"

Martin knew exactly how much the elder Blakes despised the mother and daughter by his side. He also knew that if they kept pushing, Sebastian's patience would run out, and the marriage would be completely off the table. That's why he had to seize the moment while Sebastian was still willing to go through with the wedding. They could strategize about everything else later. Now was not the time to be making demands.

The thought of her daughter getting married without a dowry or an engagement gift made Sabrina's heart ache as if a piece of flesh had been carved out of it.

"But… Martin, isn't this too unfair to my Bella? I raised her like a princess, not so she could be treated this way."

Martin countered, "Then what do you want to do? It's obvious the elder Blakes won't accept this and are completely against the marriage. If you make more unreasonable demands now, you'll just be pushing Sebastian away. Do you want to lose this heir to a fortune, this president of the Blake Group as a son-in-law?"

His words left Sabrina speechless.

From the back seat, Bella finally spoke. "Mom, stop it. As long as the wedding can go on smoothly, I don't mind anything else."

Sabrina retorted, "You don't mind, but I do. Bella, this is too much for you to bear. It breaks my heart. You're such a sensible, obedient, and capable girl. It hasn't been easy for you to get to where you are today. Why should your wedding be any less than Lillian's?"

She immediately turned back to Martin. "Honey, if it really comes to it, you should keep some of the items returned today. We can exchange them and give them to Bella as a dowry. We can't let her go with nothing, can we?"

Martin said, "The money is with Brandon. As soon as he gets it, he'll transfer it to the company's account. This…"

Sabrina burst into tears, sobbing, "Didn't you say you would love Bella as if she were your own biological daughter? Is this how you treat your own daughter? Lillian's marriage set a precedent, and now you treat my Bella like this. Martin, you promised to be good to me and Bella for the rest of your life. Is this what you call being good to us? Letting my Bella get married in such a shabby way? How is she supposed to hold her head up high in her new family? Sebastian’s parents already dislike her. If she doesn't have a dowry to back her up, she'll be looked down upon even after she's married. How will she establish herself in the Blake family? How will she get the Blake Group to help the Mercer family?"

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