Chapitre 450: The unexpected visiting
Edwin Grey opened the door to find a startling sight of three special visitors. Lillian Grey looked lifeless while Giselle and Lia rejoiced with big smiles on their faces.
"Mr. Grey! Oh- wait, how should I-" Lia stuttered to look at Giselle, who whispered the magic word. Lia hesitated at first. The little girl blushed but eventually got over it to address the man.
"Ah, gr- grand- pa! Grandpa, we came to visit you!"
Edwin was already on the verge of assuming that he was hallucinating himself, but hearing Lia address him as her grandfather just struck the lightning cord.
"Am I dreaming in the daylight?" he uttered, looking unhinged.
Giselle proved him wrong by explaining herself and the reason for their unexpected visit. She suggested Lillian visiting her father since they made a promise. Out of all the days that Edwin anticipated for them, they never came. And one day, he hoped that his daughter would peacefully celebrate with the love of her life, they appeared in front of him. Edwin went speechless which impaired his ability to think right. He stammered for a while before glancing at his daughter. Edwin was far better compared to the state Lillian was in at that moment. She looked like a zombie and had no trace of joy on her face.
Edwin sighed. After all, he could understand his own daughter very well. He knew that it wasn't Lillian's decision but Giselle's. Moreover, she couldn't go against Giselle, so they ended up visiting, and Lillian wished she could simply disappear into the air.
Looking at that unresponsive face of his daughter made Edwin snicker. Even so, he took pity on her. He then glanced at Giselle.
Giselle being aware of all that was unfolding in front of her, hid her smile away from Edwin. She just had to look at him apologetically, and Edwin's snicker returned. He let go of confronting Giselle and recollected himself to welcome them inside. As Giselle and Lillian took charge of putting away their bags, Lia ran around the house in excitement. It had been a while so she took the liberty to explore around.
***
Lillian, Giselle, Lia, and Edwin all assembled in the living room. Edwin finally took the time to question them about their surprise visit. Giselle flinched and then gave a nudge to Lillian, who was sitting beside her. Giselle signaled her to start the conversation. Lillian eventually came out of her shell-shocked state to blindly admit to visiting her father on Valentine's Day. Lillian's lacklustre response threw Giselle into a wave of embarrassment. She nudged Lillian again. Lillian finally returned to being her usual self. She took a moment to read her surroundings. It still frustrated her to digest that this was what Giselle wanted to do for their first Valentine's Day together as a couple.
Sighing heavily, Lillian looked at the other three. Except for herself, everyone else appeared to be contented. And at that moment, Lillian just had one question in her mind: Today's Valentine's Day, right? She asked herself. Meantime, Lillian only had to start the conversation because Edwin and Giselle took over from there.
"So, you two finally found each other, huh?" Edwin remarked, looking at the two together.
Giselle grew a bit shy and blushed, but she responded with a smile.
"I'm glad!" Edwin added solemnly. He went on to admit how despite staying out of Lillian's business, he had always hoped that she'd live happily.
"We're sorry if we disturbed you suddenly!" Giselle confessed.
"No, it's alright. It was me who told Lilly to bring over you guys here. So,"
"I know. She told me."
"Well, you couldn't have picked better timing," Edwin said to glance at Lillian, who returned to being lifeless again. She didn't have the energy to toss a glare back at her teasing father.
Edwin then stood up in a jolt, announcing how he had to celebrate. This was their first meeting as a family together. Edwin was delighted to welcome Giselle and Lia. So, he was eager. And then, all of his enthusiasm suddenly sunk as he recalled sharing all of his seafood catch from early morning fishing.
"What's going on, Mr. Grey?" Giselle asked.
"I- you guys should have told me that you are coming today," Edwin grumbled.
Lillian recognized her father's tone to question if he went fishing today. Edwin nodded.
Giselle was confused, and thus Lillian explained how it was her father's habit to go fishing every Valentine's Day morning because his wife loved it.
"Did you give away everything?" Lillian asked.
"No. But I only kept some. I got some beautiful trout. I knew something was telling me not to give away... but," Edwin sighed dejectedly.
"That's fine, Mr. Grey. We're already happy to see you. So…"
Edwin stopped Giselle all of a sudden with a stern face.
"You're wrong, Giselle. It's not Mr. Grey from now onwards. Call me Edwin. I'd also love if you could address me as dad,"
"DAD!" Lillian groaned from the side.
Giselle laughed, and Lia joined them finally to say how her mother had to change since she already did by addressing Edwin as her grandfather. As soon as Edwin heard Lia, he couldn't help but melt right in front of the little girl. It was the first time Lillian had seen such a joyful smile on her father's face. He picked up Lia to give her a tight hug.
"From now onwards, I'm your grandpa, Lia," he said it with a tearful joy and then immediately looked over at Lillian to ask if he should leave his current place to live close to his granddaughter so that he could visit her anytime.
"You are willing to leave this house?" Lillian confronted.
"Mom would love to see a child running around this old building!" she added.
Edwin quickly realized to take back his words. This old building that holds the memories of his late beloved wife would definitely appreciate finding a little girl running around in high spirit. Edwin recognized that having Lia visit him here would please his late wife. Besides, Lia must now also get to know her lovely grandmother.
Edwin had so many things on his mind right now. Out of all, he chose first to cook some meal to celebrate the couple. He also knew that chances are high Lillian might look better if she ate his cooking. Once he announced, Giselle and Lia volunteered. All three then looked at Lillian, silently waiting for her to join the group.
"What? I'm out. I'm not helping you guys. I'm beat, and I'm going to sleep. Just wake me up when the food is ready. I'm barely keeping my eyes open," Lillian said to stand up.
All three booed against her, yet Lillian ignored them to head upstairs to her room. While at it, she carried their bags as well.
Edwin went to the kitchen while Lia followed. Giselle sneaked out to head upstairs as well. She knocked on the door to find Lillian already lying on the bed, preparing to sleep.
"Wow, you weren't lying!"
Lillian Grey opened her eyes to find that it was Giselle who came all alone to visit her.
"Are you happy now?" Lillian asked.
Giselle smiled to come closer and sat down by the bedside.
"I'm very happy! Thanks, my love!"
Lillian loved Giselle's sweet talk, so she secretly smiled. However, addressing her as 'my love' or that honey sweet tone wasn't going to let Lillian forgive Giselle for shocking her with such an unromantic plan. So, she wasn't ready to surrender, yet.
"Alright! Then, get out of my sight. I'm sleepy," Lillian said to turn and face the other side.
"How rude!" Giselle whispered. Still, it didn't bother Lillian.
Giselle ignored her to suddenly jump on Lillian, and the two wrestled pretty fondly without being so serious about it. Giselle had the upper hand because Lillian had no energy mentally or physically to support herself. However, soon, Giselle let go of Lillian. She stopped playing around and asked Lillian to get some sleep.
"You have been busy all this time, so get some rest. I'll wake you up when we're done cooking."
"Okay."
Giselle was about to leave, but Lillian held her hand abruptly, holding her tight without letting it go. She then softly kissed the hand to say, 'I love you,' wishing her Valentine's Day wishes. Giselle could hardly restrain herself, but at the that moment, with Lillian gently whispering her love, Giselle snapped. She went back and responded with a sweet kiss on her lips.
Lillian Grey smiled. The bitterness in her heart became unstable after that tender kiss.
Giselle then went down to join Edwin and Lia, who teased her for being late.
***
Lillian Grey was finally woken up to eat lunch. They all sat together at the table where flavors danced in the air. Just a simple sniff left Lillian's tummy grumbling, and all that grudge she held for visiting her father on Valentine's Day had vanished in an instant. She sat down without delay and started serving herself some delicious food. Edwin helped Lia eat the seafood. For someone still discreetly grumping, Lillian quietly ate to satisfy her hunger. Edwin Grey kept an eye on his daughter to finally propose an idea. He asked Lillian and Giselle to go on a date in the evening. Edwin was grateful that they visited him as promised. However, he would feel bad if he became the reason for them not being able to spend some quality time today. Edwin's suggestion caught Lillian's attention. She now looked like an excited cat, out of its bag, ready to play. She peeked at her father and signaled to him her appreciation while keeping an eye on Giselle's reaction.
Giselle took time but consented to the suggestion.
Lillian sighed to herself, feeling relieved. Somehow, she regretted not coming up with this plan by herself. Even if they visited Edwin, there was still a chance to celebrate this special day. Seeing how the mood lifted, Edwin and Giselle stared at each other and subtly exchanged a nod with a smile.
Lia made an effort to ask Lillian where they would go out in the evening. Lillian thought about it. She didn't have any plan or booked a table for dinner. Nevertheless, this was more exciting than having a meticulously planned evening. In the end, Lillian glanced at Giselle and suggested they could randomly stroll around. If something caught their interest, it would be worth checking it out. It was enough getting to spend some time together as long as they had each other.
Giselle went along to admit that it sounded good.
With that, Edwin felt like he had successfully done his part in uniting the two and helping his daughter from moping around the house. It was now Edwin's turn to impress the little girl now that having suggested a plan for the ladies. He didn't want to leave Lia alone in this. Therefore, he asked Lia if she wanted to do anything. The little girl had been hearing about Valentine's Day and chocolates a lot, even in school. She suggested Edwin teach her how to make chocolates. What was supposed to be a fun activity turned out to be a masterclass. Still, it was more suitable for Edwin because he enjoyed cooking. This way, he could bond with Lia and teach her a lot of cool stuff.
It was then decided at the table that on that particular evening, all four had plans to celebrate the special day.
L’AVIS DES CRÉATEURS 
ljack_ace
ljack_ace Sorry! I didn't upload last night. I was supposed to, but somehow I kept rewriting the chapter until it satisfied me. And this felt good.
So, here you go! I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone