Over the past couple of years, I had been dating a boyfriend who was not only good-looking and young but also came from a decent family.
In contrast, Macey's boyfriend, Griffin, was ten years older than her, balding, and had gained some weight.
My aunt's greatest satisfaction with Griffin was that he worked at Barry Corporation, though in reality, it was at a subsidiary.
My aunt had always felt that her family was being overshadowed by ours, making her feel a bit inferior.
Every time our families met, she would always say something to try to compensate.
She'd say things like, "Griffin might be older, but he's considerate and caring—a man who knows how to build a life."
As for Cody, sure, he was excellent in many ways, but he was just playing around with me and wasn't truly sincere.
Now that what they had been hoping for had finally happened, they were eager to step on me hard.
Under the cold ridicule of my aunt and Macey, even my usually good-tempered mom was getting angry.
This was precisely why I agreed to have Evan pretend to be my boyfriend—to deal with my family.
As long as my aunt's family had even a slight advantage over ours, she would go on and on, only stopping when she saw my mom fuming with frustration.
Seeing this, I took my mom's hand and said, "Mom, don't listen to their nonsense. I'm fine."
Given that I was indeed a love-blinded fool before, hopelessly in love with Cody,
My mom was somewhat skeptical of what I just said. "Katie, be honest with me, were you just saying those things to make me feel better?"
"Of course not. Everything I said is true."
"Alright, I believe you!"
My aunt and cousin scoffed, "Katie, why are you still lying to your mom at a time like this? Just admit you were dumped and be done with it."
I glanced at the mother and daughter duo.
I replied coldly, "It looks like you've got too much time on your hands. I'll say it one more time: I'm the one who dumped Cody, and my boyfriend will be here soon. Can't you wait ten minutes? Or are you not going to make it that long?"
"You..."
Macey turned red with anger at my words.
My aunt was a bit more composed. She rolled her eyes and smiled sweetly, "Oh, listen to you! We're not idle. We're just concerned about your love life."
With my assurance, my mom felt more confident and retorted, "Enough already! You just love to talk, don't you? Our Katie is well-educated, good-looking, and outstanding in every way. Your Griffin only became a supervisor at thirty-five, but my Katie was promoted to supervisor this year. What's there for you to be so smug about? Even without Cody, there are plenty of people interested in her. No need for you to worry about her love life."
Griffin awkwardly touched his thinning hair, looking embarrassed.
My aunt retorted, "But Katie just broke up with Cody yesterday. It's hard to believe she found a new boyfriend today. Who knows, she might just make up an excuse later, saying her boyfriend had something come up and couldn't make it."
Macey chimed in, regaining her composure, "How about this, while we're waiting for Katie's boyfriend, why don't you show us a picture of the two of you together?"
Convinced that I was lying, she didn't wait for my response and started mocking, "No way, no way—don't tell me you don't even have a picture with your boyfriend."
The comment section was getting fed up with them.
"Ahhh, Evan, when are you coming back to give these two a good smackdown?"
"Evan, you're so rich. Take my advice—next time, just buy out all the parking spaces in the female lead's neighborhood. Park wherever you want."
"Am I the only one who's excited to see how this mother-daughter duo reacts when they realize the female lead's new boyfriend is way better than that scumbag?"
"Me too!"
