Chapter 3175 One Of Them Will Have To Back Down Eventually

"Why don't you just sit a bit farther away?” Gordan wanted to switch places with Gale. Everyone else had someone helping them with the barbecue except for him and Louis.

Even Gale had Rain as a great partner to help him out.

However, Louis' situation was different. He was single. Louis' wife and kids could not come because they had other commitments. That was why he was barbecuing alone.

Gale, holding a glass of wine, looked at him cheerfully. "I won't. If you want to switch places with me, why don’t you fight me for it?"

"Do you think I'm afraid of you?!" Gordan, a bit tipsy, felt unusually frustrated with today's barbecue and had no objections to Gale’s suggestion.

Just as Gale was about to stand up, Luke's steady voice interrupted them," Sit down."

Gale immediately sat down and said, "It's a barbecue. No fighting today."

Gordan sneered, "You're the one who brought it up."

Gale took a sip of his wine, pointed behind him, and reminded him, "There are kids here. Fighting in front of the kids isn’t a good idea. If you keep this up, they'll start calling you the evil uncle."

Gordan followed his gaze and glanced behind him.

There were indeed many kids around. Luke's three kids, Jason's two kids, and Jim's...

His gaze then landed on Vivian, and his brows furrowed.

Gale reminded him, "Stop staring. Your meat is burning."

"Damn it!" Gordan turned around and noticed that the charcoal was too hot, causing the meat to burn. He hurriedly took it off the grill.

Gale added, "The other parts aren't cooked yet. Barbecue tastes best when it’s well done. You can just cut off the burnt bits later."

Gordan put the meat back on the grill, focusing intently on cooking.

Meanwhile, Luca brought the meat she had finished cooking to the kids. Worried they might accidentally touch the grill while playing around, she set up a small table for them to eat at safely.

After she placed the freshly cooked meat on the table, the kids all thanked her, "Thank you, Ms. Craw.”

"Thank you, Ms. Luca.”

The different terms distinguished her own kids from the others.

"Don’t just drink the juice. Eat more.” Luca’s eyes were filled with affection as she looked at the kids. The kids loved the juice she made and had already finished a whole jug. She reminded them to have some meat too so that they would not get hungry later. "Otherwise, you’ll be hungry by tonight."

"Got it, Ms. Luca. Don’t worry, HI make sure Tommy and Rainie have some. " Lanie, the most mature among them, heard Luca and nodded.

Luca smiled and returned to her seat.

Next to her was Vivian.

Luca watched Vivian grill the meat absentmindedly with a listless expression on her face. She lacked her usual vibrant energy.

Luca asked in a soft voice, "What’s wrong?"

Vivian looked up at Luca and then shook her head. "Nothing."

"You seem down. How about you sit across from me? You can swap places with Nina," Luca suggested.

"It’s okay." Vivian forced a smile. Ever since Gordan arrived, her mood had taken a dip.

She remembered their argument at the neighborhood gate and how they had not spoken since. Seeing him again today left her feeling inexplicably unsettled.

Vivian wondered what was wrong with her. When she caught sight of Gordan's silhouette, she knew that she was feeling all these emotions because of him. She also understood that Luca's suggestion was for her own good.

If she faced away from Gordan, she would not have to keep her head down to avoid looking at him.

Luca didn't press further when Vivian was unwilling to switch seats. Apart from Gordan and Vivian, everyone else was enjoying themselves, eating, drinking, and engaging in lively discussions.

Right then, a voice cut through the atmosphere.

"Well, you all seem to be having a good time." Susan's voice rang out.

Luca secretly let out a sigh. She had been expecting Susan today and had been waiting for her arrival. At the same time, deep down inside her, she wished Susan would not come or at least come later so that the lively atmosphere would not be disrupted.

Still, Susan showed up right then, which was against her hopes. When Louis heard her voice, he straightened up and threw a confused look at Luke.

Luke shook his head. Even though he knew what was going on, he had to pretend he did not. Louis did not react.

Susan felt displeased seeing her son ignore her, and her tone sharpened, " Louis Crawford, are you deaf?” Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

All eyes turned to Louis.

Louis could feel his face growing hot with embarrassment. As an adult with children, it was humiliating to be scolded by his mother in front of everyone. Where could he hide?

Besides, why was Susan here?

He had been careful when he arrived, even checking that no one was outside the neighboring villa before quickly entering. He even asked Gordan to park the car to avoid being seen!

Louis handed his food to Percy. "Percy, can you please take over for me?"

Percy, initially reluctant since he wanted to be fed by Nina, accepted the food when he realized Louis had more pressing matters. "Go ahead."

'Take it inside," added Luke.

Louis took a deep breath. He had not planned to talk with Susan. Despite Mr. Griffin's daily reports of her harassing Old Master Crawford at Crawford Manor, he had not wanted to confront her.

Life with just the three of them was turning out to be much less troublesome than he had imagined.

However, now that Susan had caught him, a conversation was inevitable. Louis rose to his feet and said to her, "Let's talk inside."

Susan agreed, not wanting to lose her reputation in front of so many people, especially Luke...

She used to take pride in having a son who obediently followed her every word. Unlike the constant clashes between Allison and Luke, it was not the case with her and Louis.

Hence, she did not want to argue with Louis in front of Luke. It was as though doing so could still maintain Louis’ image as a good son.

However, deep down, Susan was well aware that as Louis was getting older, he was becoming increasingly resistant to listening to her. While he used to yield occasionally out of fear of her tantrums, no matter how much she protested now, Louis stood his ground like a stubborn bull. If their opinions clashed, he would always insist on his own.

Susan snorted, gave Luke a glare, and marched into the house with her head held high.

Louis followed behind her. His expression was dark and sullen, a stark contrast to his usual cheerful demeanor as the second son of the Crawford family.

Luca looked at Luke, who met her gaze. Luca shook her head, but Luke gave her a reassuring look.

After all this time, Susan should have conceded by now, even if she would remain unhappy with Louis' decisions.

Anyway, one of them would have to back down eventually, and it was best for the rest of them to stay out of it.