Chapter 575

Chapter 575 “I–It’s nothing. I’ll let you get back to work. We’ll talk about this when we meet up during the festivities,” Ryder stammered and hesitated, unable to express himself. Suddenly, Alessandra grabbed the phone from Emmanuel before he could hang up and said, “Ryder, why don’t you spend the new year with us this year? You don’t have a wife now.” “A–Ah, Mother, wouldn’t we be bothering you then?” Though he now addressed her as “Mother,” Ryder understood he was not her biological son. He worried Emmanuel’s wife wouldn’t want him and Tommy over for New Year’s Day. “Why would you? You call me ‘Mother,‘ so I should treat you like my son and Tommy like my grandson. Anyway, Mackenzie said she would only be back for one day. I’ll have no one with me for the rest of the holiday! Is that so? Very well then.” After hearing that, he decided to agree. “Since you’re now divorced, I must find you a new wife. The New Year festivities are the best time for matchmaking.” At this moment, Emmanuel was reminded of his “horrible and miserable” past when he overheard Alessandra talking about matchmaking. I’ve had 18 failed matchmaking dates in a row, so I hope Ryder doesn’t break that record. On the other end of the call, Ryder’s heart filled with anticipation when he heard what she said. He had long since envied Emmanuel for meeting Mackenzie through matchmaking. With that marriage as a model of success, Ryder aspired to be successful in matchmaking and marry someone like her. He knew he wasn’t as good a catch as Emmanuel, and he was willing to settle for a woman who was ten times worse than Mackenzie if it meant she was better than Abellyn. After returning the phone to Emmanuel, Alessandra picked up her phone and appeared to be about to start setting up dates for Ryder. “Are you calling the matchmaker again?” Roselynn chimed in, and it was evident that she had overheard the call that had been going on between the two of them and Ryder. On the other hand, Emmanuel also assumed his mother would contact the matchmaker. To his surprise, Alessandra shook her head and replied, “No. I’m going to call Milani’s mother.” “Huh?” Both siblings were shocked. What is going on? “Milani had always wanted to get together with Manny, but now that he’s married, maybe she’ll be willing to go on a date with Ryder,” Alessandra explained while ignoring their stares. It had been so long since she contacted the Zimmerman family that she was unaware of Milani’s situation. In any case, she was just being friendly, so there was no harm in a simple phone call. “Let’s not call them, Mom.” Emmanuel tried to dissuade Alessandra from calling because that family was not as friendly as she had imagined. Unfortunately, he was too late; his mother was already on the phone with Melody. When Melody learned that Alessandra was attempting to set up a date with Milani, she assumed it was on Emmanuel’s behalf. Before Alessandra could finish her sentence, Melody interrupted her with a torrent of mocking remarks. “Ha! Didn’t you say your son is so talented and amazing, Alessandra? Didn’t you say he had hooked up with a rich and beautiful woman and was now driving a Maserati? Did he get dumped already? Are you saying that he now wants Milani? What was that phrase again? As à dog returns to his vomit, a fool repeats his folly!” “Huh? That-” Alessandra was stunned and speechless when she heard this, and she had not expected such a strong reaction. Melody was not done yet, and she scoffed coldly as she continued, “It’s too  late! Way too late! Milani is getting married soon. It’ll be in four days. Since- you’ve called, consider this your invitation. Remember to bring the entire family over. She’s getting married into a rich family. We’ll be waiting for your blessings! Don’t chicken out, okay?” “Well… Okay.” As Alessandra was a doormat, she agreed to attend the wedding even though she knew Melody was just flaunting. They were all familiar with each other, so they would be laughed at if she rejected a wedding invitation. After hanging up, she turned to look at her son with a pained look on her face. On the other hand, Emmanuel did not know what to say either. After all, he did not even agree to whatever plans Ryder wanted to make during the holidays. Why was there now another event on the calendar? He also knew that Melody was a blabbermouth. Now that his mother had accepted the invitation, skipping out on the wedding would only give Melody fodder to gossip about Alessandra so that all the women around them would laugh at her.