The joy on Gerald’s face was evident. He was the happiest man on earth when he learned from the doctor that there was no complication with their second baby.It was like the heavens finally showed him mercy and gave him something to be proud of.“Of course, I have you to thank,” he agreed. “I will buy you steak and a bottle of good red wine for dinner.”Gerald was completely wrapped around Kareen’s finger now that she had given him something good to look forward to.His priority was to do his best to make her happy.---Meanwhile, Richard saw the news and called Bella to make sure she was fine. Although he didn’t mention Gerald to her, he did his best to sound her out and when he felt her voice was normal, he let out a sigh of relief.“I won’t be around for the next few days,” he revealed to her. “I just got an emergency call from home regarding my father and I’m flying to go see him now.”While speaking on the phone with her, he was busy picking a few things from his walk-in
Debby was silent throughout the short ride to the airport building. As Richard had only one carry-on luggage, he had nothing to pick up, so they directly headed out of the building where a car from his family was waiting to pick him up.During the car ride to their destination, Debby had a lot of questions to ask, but thanks to Richard being so busy taking one call after the other, she didn’t get the opportunity to speak to him until they arrived at his family’s house.It was still on the same street where she used to live in the past.Being there today brought a lot of memories from the past back to her line of vision. It made her feel nostalgic.“Are you, okay?” Richard asked when he noticed her eyes glistening with tears just as their car pulled over in the driveway.Debby quickly covered up her emotions with a smile. “Don’t mind me. I was just reminded of the past; how we used to all live here together.”“Oh...” Richard drawled. He had completely forgotten about all that t
Richard and his mother walked back to the living room together. And he had totally forgotten that he had come with someone until he followed his mother’s surprised gaze to Debby who sat with her back to them.At the same time, she heard their steps and turned around. Instantly, her eyes were filled with surprised as she stood up on her feet.“Mrs. Cooper,” she called excitedly.On the other hand, Richard’s mother was taken back. She squinted her eyes before resting her gaze on her son as if to ask him to explain the identity of their guest.---It’s been more than ten minutes since Richard reintroduced Deborah to his mother and they sat down to chat after sharing a tight hug.Debby was touched that the old lady still remembered her and almost teared up, and since then, they have been chatting.“I’m so sorry about Mr. Cooper, I’m sure he’s going to have a speedy recovery,” she said with a smile“Thank you, Dear.” Mrs. Cooper appreciated her food wishes with a smile before askin
“You remember my childhood friend, Deborah whom we met during Christmas in Scotland?” Richard asked.Bella replied with ‘yes’ as there was no way she would be forgetting the other woman in a hurry.“Coincidentally she called me on my way to the airport and immediately asked to join my flight after she heard about my Dad,” he explained.“Really?” Bella didn’t know what to feel or think after hearing that Richard took another woman to his family’s home even if that woman was a close friend from childhood.She didn’t know if she was thinking too much or just being overly jealous, but she wanted to stop feeling the way she was currently.Richard seemed to have noticed something wrong from her end and asked, “Is everything alright?” “Yes,” she replied. “Please, go ahead.” Even though she was still upset, she still wanted to hear the full story.“I couldn’t say no to her since she might never get another opportunity to see my parents again given how close we all were in the past, so
A few minutes, later, Richard came down to join his mother and Debby at the dinner table where they laughed and chatted about the good old days.Later after Debby bid them goodnight and left for her bedroom, Richard found some privacy to speak to his mum who seemed to have a lot on her mind."The last time we spoke on the phone before now, you mentioned that you had a girlfriend, is Debby the one?" his mother asked, looking at him with a smile.Richard was stunned into speechlessness as his brows creased. He was beginning to wonder what part of his body language might have dropped that ridiculous hint."No!" he countered immediately. "She is not my girlfriend." Now, it was his mother's turn to be surprised as the smile on her face slowly disappeared."Really?' she probed, begging for some explanation.A sigh escaped from Richard's lips. "Mum, please don't tell me you were treating her as my girlfriend when I left?" He begged for a 'no' but instead, he got the answer he didn't want."I
Richard was still on the phone with Bella when he saw a figure lurking behind him through the reflection from the wide transparent glass that connected to the garden he was currently facing.Lo and behold, it was Debby. Richard could not begin to imagine the shock he felt knowing that Debby was actually hiding behind the pillar and listening to his conversation with Bella. That was shocking considering what that meant.He was so surprised that he was distracted from his phone conversation until he heard Bella’s question. “Are you still there?”“Of course,” he managed a smile. “Would you be having lunch at the cafeteria or outside?”Bella sighed softly. “Outside. I have a business meeting.”“Wow!” He drawled proudly. “Bring in more money baby.”As soon as those words left his lips, Debby walked out from behind the pillar and cleared her throat. “Richard, your Dad asking of you,” she announced with a sweet harmless smile. “Also, your brothers are here.”Richard turned around and covere
By the time Bella phoned, Richard was left alone with his mother. His brothers had taken their father back to his bedroom to get some rest.“Hello, Mrs. Cooper,” Bella greeted the old lady as soon as her face popped up on her phone screen. “Hello, Dear.” Mrs. Cooper smiled immediately after she saw Bella’s beautiful face, and she couldn’t resist keeping her thoughts to herself. “Oh My God! You are so beautiful!”Bella blushed. She didn’t expect the old lady to be so honest and as if that wasn’t enough, she heaped another praise on her, talking about how beautiful her name was as well.“I actually love young women that work hard for their money. It reeks of girl power,” Mrs. Cooper said to her.From Bella’s background, she could tell she was still sitting behind her desk in the office and couldn’t help admiring her.“I really have no idea why Richard has been keeping you away from us. He should have brought you sooner…”Slowly, the older woman’s voice faded in Bella’s ears. It
Richard didn’t think that he would be forced to grace Bella with bad news even though he had long been preparing for a time like this a long time ago.Before talking about the important matter at hand, Bella served some food and after they had finished filling their stomach, she kept Isla busy with some mind games so she would have the privacy to discuss with Richard where their eyes could reach her.“In her words, no one would mind our relationship if you once dated my nephew and our intention wouldn’t be likely opposed if you were only once married to him, but you two have a child together, that’s a different story.”Bella sighed disappointedly. Despite knowing that reasons would all boil down to this aspect, she couldn’t help revealing her emotions.Of course, it was no one’s fault that their relationship was weird. It was something not commonly seen, so many people were bound to reject that idea.Mrs. Cooper had asked Richard, “How often have you heard of an uncle or an elder