Our Love Story: Hard to Guard Against the Sudden Love Strike

Chapter 531 - 503: Returning to Her Family (Part 3) (Fourth Update)

(Monthly Bonus Chapter 1)The bride’s family didn’t place as much emphasis on auspicious timing as the Forrester Family, so the evening’s return banquet was set to start at seven and end at ten.

The newlyweds needed to start greeting guests at the entrance of the banquet hall by six, so after lunch, everyone took a short break of about an hour before getting ready to head to the hotel.

Quentin Thorne went to the bank to retrieve Sienna Thornton’s jewelry, and the groomsmen were responsible for the arrangements at the banquet hall. The bridesmaids and stylist stayed with the bride to help with her styling, while Simon Forrester, after changing into his first suit for the evening, also went down to help out.

Sienna Thornton’s white gown for tonight was a relatively simple, fitted mermaid design. The strapless design, non-sheer fabric, with X-shaped lace hollow-outs covering her shoulder blades, left her chest and arms bare.

"This wedding dress is really beautiful," the stylist remarked, looking at Sienna Thornton’s dress with a smile. "The design has a Chinese style, very unique, and perfectly matches your noble and elegant demeanor."

Indeed, Sienna Thornton was tall and slender, which made her well-suited for such a fitted mermaid-style gown.

Maeve, who was sitting on a sofa behind Sienna Thornton, watched for a while, then got up and came over to the stylist. "Put her hair up. Sienna has a beautiful neck; it would be a shame not to show it off."

The stylist, upon hearing this, gathered the long curls she had already styled for Sienna Thornton. "Maeve’s right; truly, women understand women the best."

Hearing this, Maeve’s expression changed slightly, but she didn’t say anything and sat back down.

Seeing her friend in the mirror, Sienna Thornton smiled. "If I ever get the chance, I’d love to see you in a wedding dress."

Maeve came back to her senses and chuckled, "Oh, please! We agreed not to marry, yet here you are, getting hitched and dragging me along into the trap."

"Actually, finding the right person makes marriage quite nice." Sienna Thornton blushed. "Someone to share responsibilities and joys with."

Maeve laughed. "Like what?"

"Like when the heater breaks, there’s someone to warm the bed for you; when you’re out eating pizza, the unpalatable crusts aren’t wasted; when you’re sick, someone takes care of you all night; and they occasionally give you surprises or accompany you on outings; as long as you need it, they’re there for you... it’s quite nice."

The stylist overheard this and chuckled quietly to herself.

Maeve didn’t comment.

Aurora Buckley said, "Not every man can do all that." Then she glanced over at Rochelle Linwood, "Right, Rochelle?"

Rochelle Linwood also chuckled, "Yeah. For things like ’giving you what you need,’ you’d really need someone with Chairman Forrester’s capabilities to pull it off. The question is, can you find a man like Chairman Forrester just anywhere?"

Aurora continued, "But Rhonda isn’t bad either. I feel he also has the deep, affectionate persona..." Before she finished, seeing Rochelle Linwood’s slight change of expression, she awkwardly closed the topic.

Wendy Jacobs stepped in, "I think that Fourth Young Master Grant from the groomsmen isn’t bad either. He’s handsome, with great fashion sense..."

"Alright, that’s enough,"

Sienna Thornton originally wanted Maeve to also find someone suitable, but she didn’t expect everyone to stray far from the topic, not to mention Wendy Jacobs bringing up Gage Grant, who didn’t seem that reliable. She feared her dear friend might be misled by Fourth Master Grant and quickly stopped them.

Everyone laughed it off and changed the topic to Sienna Thornton and Simon Forrester’s upcoming honeymoon trip to Yorai.

After a while, Simon Forrester came with the groomsmen to escort the bride and bridesmaids downstairs.

The Thorne Family’s return banquet was held in the Chinese restaurant at The State Guesthouse, and they had also invited a wedding design company to decorate the venue.

On either side of the glass runway stood several transparent crystal pillars holding pink cherry blossoms, topped with pink and white champagne roses mixed with green leaves; the backdrop for the stage was cherry blossom-themed, and even the lights had a pink hue, making the entire wedding scene romantic and warm.

When Sienna Thornton entered the banquet hall, her gaze was captured by the overwhelming romance and she exclaimed, "It’s so beautiful!"

Quentin Thorne approached with a smile, "Do you like it?"

"I love it," Sienna Thornton replied, taking his arm. "Who chose this effect?"

Though she hadn’t paid much attention to the wedding arrangements, seeing such a dreamlike scene awoke her inner romantic.

Quentin Thorne gently patted the back of her hand and smiled, "Your mother and I chose it together; we thought you’d like this style."

"I love it, truly!"

She took in the scene, occasionally touching the champagne roses along the runway and finding they were real flowers, leaning in to take a sniff.

Watching from a distance, Aurora Buckley commented, "This is the difference between your own family and your in-laws. The in-laws focus on grandeur and traditions favored by the elders, but your own family thinks about what you like and want."

Rochelle Linwood sighed, "Ah."

Seeing the bride and groom about to greet guests, they quickly lifted their skirts and followed suit.

The bride’s parents, the couple, and the bridesmaids and groomsmen stood outside greeting guests.

By six thirty, guests began to arrive, mostly relatives of the Thorne Family and Quentin Thorne’s colleagues and friends, along with Sienna Thornton’s classmates, who had traveled from Z City and Azure Harbor.

Relatives of the Thorne Family were aware of Sienna Thornton’s presence, so they weren’t curious about her, but they were intrigued by the groom and Melinda Linton.

Curiosity aside, as they entered the banquet hall, they only glanced a bit more at the groom and the bride’s mother, too shy to linger long on them.

Once seated, they began to whisper among themselves.

"I heard the groom is the sole heir of Forrester Group..."

"Really? I assumed it was just a coincidence with the surname; I had no idea he was that grandson from the Forrester Family!"

"Forrester Family is wealthy, but Quentin seemed unwilling initially, perhaps because the eldest daughter wasn’t raised by him, so there wasn’t much he could say..."

When talking about the bride’s background, the conversation quickly shifted to Melinda Linton.

"No wonder Quentin returned from the countryside and insisted on calling off the engagement with the Grant Family..."

"He is quite tall and has a good temperament... Hard to believe he used to live in the countryside..."

"I always wondered how a countryside woman could raise such a beautiful daughter like Quentin’s eldest... It must be good genes from the mother’s side!"

"A girl’s figure, temperament, and personality often take after the mother... apart from Mina’s features resembling Quentin, isn’t everything else like Ian Grant?"

"The eldest daughter’s mother looks so gentle... just now at the door, she was smiling quietly, standing behind Quentin, looking as if she let him make all the decisions..."

"The more powerful a man is, the more he likes this kind of woman..."

"Ian Grant is so domineering and mean, Quentin might have regretted missing out on this countryside girlfriend..."

The Thorne Family’s relatives whispered among themselves about Quentin Thorne’s romantic past.

Meanwhile, Quentin Thorne’s colleagues in the political circle were too preoccupied with the unexpected sight of different partners at Quentin Thorne’s daughter’s wedding to notice Tobias Blackwood, Julian Shepard, Kevin Chaucer, and others managing things around the banquet hall.