"No. I'm just not quite used to seeing them yet." Edward said and smiled sadly. His parents were the exemplars of a happy marriage around the city. His father showed excessive fondness for his mother, but showed little love for him. Edward thought his father loved no one but his wife, not even Edward. He thought that the only reason he was in their lives was because of his mother, and he had gotten used to the thought already. He also thought he would be cool with it when he heard they were coming back. However in reality, he was overwhelmed and not ready yet.
"Daddy, don't be afraid. You still got me!" Justin felt bad when he saw the sad look on his daddy's face. He didn't know why his daddy looked like this, but he could tell his daddy was depressed. He had seen the same look on his mommy's face a lot before. "Yeah! I still have you, my little pumpkin! Come on! Let's go home."
Edward put Justin down, with a warm smile on his handsome face. He decided to focus all his love, which his father had never given him, on his own son to make up for the loss and emptiness he had been through before.
"Are you going home now, Mr. Edward?" Anna asked Edward when she saw the two coming out, like she still had something to tell him. "What's the matter, Anna?" Edward said with a deep frown. He knew this look. It meant there must be something he wasn't willing to deal with, but had to.
"Well, I came here to tell you that the president of Ouyang Foreign Trade is here. He is waiting at the reception room." Anna had become more cautious since she knew the president of Ouyang Foreign Trade was Edward's father-in-law. She tended to remain wary about telling Edward this, knowing that he didn't like the old man and it was always a test of endurance to meet with him.
"Oh! What is he doing here?" Edward didn't want to deal with him, because he had someone else at home to deal with already. He supposed his father would be waiting at the house to argue with him, because he didn't pick them up at the airport, which made his mother sad. So at this moment, he didn't have the energy to deal with Leo. If Leo came here for Daisy, that would be another story, but he didn't.
"I don't know. He didn't mention anything." Anna could feel Edward's impatience although she didn't know why. 'Aren't you supposed to like your father-in-law because he's your wife's dad? Then why are you so averse to his visit every time?'
"Okay. I got it. I'll see him. C'mon Justin! Let's meet your grandpa." Edward knew that most of time Justin thought like an adult, so he didn't want to hide anything from him. After all Justin would know everything sooner or later. Now that Leo was here, why not take this chance to introduce them? He'd like to see how Justin would react when he saw his grandpa.
"Grandpa... Daddy, I'm almost overwhelmed by all these people. Grandma and grandpa, then another grandpa. Are there still some relatives I don't know coming by later?" Justin said and shook his head. He felt he was here just to meet all these relatives today.
"Yes! Theoretically, there are, but you can ignore them." Edward didn't think the Ouyang family would see Justin as their family, so they could be ignored.
"But why?" It was good for a kid to ask questions. Besides, Justin was a good and smart kid, so he never felt ashamed to ask questions.
"You'll know later. But don't feel disappointed. Because there are still lots of people loving you even without them." Edward wasn't sure if Justin could understand what he had said, but he knew he probably would. He realized Justin was a kid with high intelligence, because he hacked into his computer before.
"It seems they don't like me, right?" Justin did get the point. He thought this so-called grandpa was just a name for him.
"No, they don't, for the moment." They talked as they reached the door of the reception room. Edward took a deep breath before pushing the door open, then walked in.
"How do you do, Mr. Ouyang? I'm sorry to keep you waiting." Edward knew that Leo didn't like Daisy. After all he was Daisy's father, so he thought he should at least behave politely even though he didn't intend to address him as "father". Leo didn't take him as the son-in-law, so he didn't need to connect the dots where there were none.
"Mr. Edward, I'm sorry to show up without an appointment. Is this kid your son?" Leo asked, and felt a little surprised to see Justin for the first time. He read about him in the newspaper, but here he was in the flesh.
Yes. Mr. Ouyang. Don't you know him?" Edward squinted at him, a cold smile gleamed on his face.
"You're kidding. How would I know your son?
It's the first time I've seen him." It was true that it was the first time Leo saw Justin. There were plenty of articles about Justin, but there were no photos being released to the public, as the FX International Group tried to prevent this happening. Leo did know Edward had a son, but he didn't know what his son looked like.
"Well, you must know Daisy, I suppose.
He is her child." Edward said with an even more evil smile. He thought to himself, 'Well, Leo, I guess you are here for Mary! I wonder what your position is on this issue.'
"What? He is Daisy's son? I heard she was missing." Leo held on to the desk in shock, stunned by the news, blinking slowly. Daisy was always the pain in his heart. She was like a reminder to him, laughing at him and telling him that he was a loser. He had never felt comfortable with her existence.
"It was just your imagination. Daisy never left the city. I'm surprised you still remember her." Edward said in a trembling voice. These words were not just for Leo, but also for himself, because he had also ignored Daisy for years. It was more like he was blaming himself rather than Leo.
"Is she... well?" Leo asked cautiously, ignoring Edward's attempts to goad him. However, Daisy used to be the one that he loved with heart and soul. Finally, he figured out she was not his daughter, which floored him. He couldn't believe the report in his hands, couldn't accept the fact that his wife had cheated on him. Every time he saw Daisy, he felt deeply ashamed. Finally, he began to keep Daisy at arm's length, becoming increasingly distant with her.
"I think you can figure out whether she is good or not. You kicked her out of the house when she was but a little girl. Remember?" Edward became emotional as he spoke, and couldn't help clenching his fists.
Ow! Let go! Daddy you're hurting me. Justin frown and thought FX International Group would always bring him bad luck. Last time it was his Mommy who had clenched his hand too tightly, and today it was his Daddy. This made him feel miserable.
Oh, Justin I'm sorry, I got carried away. Show me your hand. Edward immediately let go of Justin's hand when he heard the scream of pain. With a panicked look, he took Justin's little hand and check it carefully? Chagrin and heartache flooded up wjen he saw the red handprint on Justin's hand..
It's okay Daddy. The pain is gone now. Justin said while Edward was rubbing his little hand. Justin clutched Edward's hand to sooth his Daddy's tension, and glared at Leo. He was good at observing and understanding, so he understood the conversation between his daddy and Leo.