Meanwhile
Inside Wood's Villa,
" Dad don't be stubborn and eat your breakfast," Suzie's worried voice rang inside the living room but the stubborn old man didn't even consider listening to her.
From the early morning she didn't even saw her son god knows where Leo was and Robin was so silent from yesterday, Grandpa William didn't even say a word from the morning and this was not normal at all, no one was talking or even eating anything, Robin didn't even go to company today and their was no sign of Leo from the morning , Grandpa William didn't even scold anyone for waking up late and not doing exercise everything was just too silent and this was making Suzie worried, Edith was also not talking to her and that was hurting her badly she wanted to know how her Ed was but she was not able to even contact her.
Just as Suzie was about to say something again she saw Leo entering the house she heaved a sigh of relief and said," Leo where were you huh?,".
Leo stared at her face and said," Something came up," after saying that he walked towards the living room and saw Grandpa William but he didn't even greet him and walked past him without saying a word.
Grandpa William saw his behaviour and frowned but before he could say anything he heard Suzie's voice," Dad look Leo is also here now both you come have your breakfast I'll go and call Rob,". But before she could even move from her place she saw Robin coming towards the living room in casual outfits as if going somewhere.
Suzie frowned as she knew Robin would never go to company in this outfit so she asked," Where are you going ?,"
Robin looked towards her and said," Jim called, going to meet him,".
Suzie nodded and said while walking towards the dining area," Ok but first come have breakfast you can go afterwards, Leo, Dad come fast,".
Robin looked at her back and said," I'm not hungry, I'll be leaving,".
Leo also started walking towards the stairs and said," I'm also not hungry,".
Grandpa William stood from the sofa and said while walking outside," I'm going to meet Lucas,".
Suzie stopped in her tracks when she heard their words and clenched her fist and took a deep breath to calm down her anger. Now they were getting on her nerves, she turned around with a serious dark expression and said in a firm tone," Everyone STOP right where you are,".
Her low firm tone forced all of them to stop on their tracks. All three of them turned around to look at her with a frown but after seeing the expression on her face their frown vanished and they knew they were dead now.
Suzie looked at them and said," No one is going anywhere before having breakfast I'm not stupid to wake up early in the morning to make breakfast for you guys and you just leave, not happening, and if you leave I will go and live with Edith and will not come back then do whatever you want to do, And Dad I think you forget that your medicines are going on and you can't miss them and don't give me that look, I'm really tired because of you all, Edith is not picking up my call from yesterday I don't even know how my baby is right now and here my son was missing from the morning and my husband is not talking to anyone, Ugh are you serious right now? We all should think how to bring Edith back but what are we doing right now? Not even talking to each other,".
*Silence*
After a few minutes of silence after Suzie's outburst Robin , Leo and Grandpa William looked at each other and then at angry Suzie then silently moved from their place and walked towards the dining area for breakfast. Suzie looked at their back and a smug smile formed on her lips. She scoffed and then walked towards the dining area.
Everyone settled down in their places and started to have theirs breakfast silently few minutes past and then Grandpa William said," Did anyone talk to Edith?, Where is she?".
Suzie looked at him and said," I don't know I tried calling her but she didn't pick up,".
Robin also shook his head with a solemn face indicating even he didn't know where Edith was. Grandpa William frowned and said," What? No one knows where she is? This Brat, how can she just disappear, I will tell someone to find her,".
Leo looked at him and said calmly," No need, she is at her penthouse. I talked to Caleb and he said she is at Phoenix,".
Everyone turned towards him and Robin hurriedly said," Is she fine? How can she live there when her apartment is not even ready? Is she going to Chicago? Forget it I'll talk to Caleb,".
Leo stared at his father and said," She is not going to Chicago, Instead she took a leave for a week and she told Caleb she will arrange her apartment, and don't forget Ethan lives just next door till now they would have already bumped into each other you guys have literally planned everything, she must be very pissed right now after seeing him, I wish they both have not seen each other yet,".
Robin stood up from his chair and said," I'm done, I'll go and talk to her,".
Suzie also stood up and said," Wait for few days Rob let her think first we both will go and visit her,".
Robin stared at her face and said," But what if..,".Before he could complete his sentence Grandpa William looked at him and said," Suzie is right Edith is not a child anymore give her some time,".
Robin didn't say anything after that. After breakfast Robin and Grandpa William leave the house for Smith Villa to meet Jim and Lucas while Leo went to his room and Suzie left the house for some work.
—----------
Phoenix Condo
Condo no 707,
It was almost 6 in the evening when Edith was done arranging her Kitchen and Living room with the help of two training guards who Stefan had sent to help her. While doing work she has ordered lunch for her and 2 guards during lunch time, as both guards were at the same age as Leo she started to enjoy their company and all three of them talked about the training and their daily life while doing their work , this actually made Edith relax and gave her the time to clear her mind, both the guards were quite hard working and funny, and this was the reason Edith decided to hire them as personal bodyguard for Maria, Louis and Erin if Ethan agreed to her proposal. Edith didn't say that to both the guards; she just thinks that she will do it later after everything is confirmed.
After everything was completed Edith gave them their payment and obviously they refused as they were not allowed to take money if they are not official hired this doesn't mean they won't get the payment they will but from the department, and their work was also not completed yet, there was a lot off work left, Edith has to make dinner for Ethan and kids that's why she decided to do the remaining next day, after guards refused Edith didn't listen to them and still give them the payment and told them that she knows the rule and will talk to Stefan so they don't need to worry. After her assurance both the guards took the payment and left.
Edith sat lazily on the sofa and looked at her phone she saw the email notification from the Happy Days Orphanage, her finger stopped right there, that was the orphanage where Erin was, she took a deep breath and opened the email. Her face lost its color when she saw the content inside it, it was the rejection letter from the orphanage for Erin adoption. The reason was the same : they will not give the child to a single woman. Edith knew this was coming but still it was hurting her.
After a few minutes she stood up and walked towards the kitchen to make dinner for everyone. She got relaxed when she got busy with cooking and she didn't let any negative thoughts take over her.
Meanwhile at condo no 706
Ethan was doing some work on his laptop when his phone rang, he looked at it and saw Joyce calling him, he picked it up and said," Evening Mom,".
Joyce from the other side said," Evening Eth, what are you doing?,".
Ethan stood up from his seat and walked towards the window and said," Checking some office work,".
Joyce said," Hmm, where is Maria and Louis?Are they coming back to Villa today?".
Ethan replied," Maria is busy with her digital art and Louis is playing with Ace, and no they are not coming yet, maybe I'll drop them on Monday,".
Joyce smiled and said," Good Good enjoy with them,". After that she didn't say a word but also didn't cut the call.
Ethan took a deep breath and said," Say it Mom,".
Joyce signed and said," Did you think about it?,".
Ethan shook his head at her question and then something clicked in him and he said," Mom, can I ask you something? Please don't lie,".
Joyce frowned at his words and said," Why would I lie, go on,".
Ethan stared outside the window and said,'' You always wanted me to marry Dr. Wood right?,".
Joyce's eyes widened at his question as she said," What?,".
Ethan replied," You gave her our family heirloom when she was just seven and I know family heirloom was only given when the girl is going to be the member of the family. This only means she was always the first choice for everyone,".
Joyce went silent when she heard him then thought about something and said," You met her right?,".
Ethan chuckled and said," You got it, I knew it's not a coincidence that she lives right next door, you all planned it, answer me mom?,".
Joyce really wanted to bang her head somewhere so that she could run from his interrogation but still she said honestly," Yeah you are right, Ethan Jane was my best friend and we always wanted to marry our kids together we even named you both with same letter E, and we all have seen Edith grown up and become such a nice lady, all we wanted was to see to both happy, but things didn't go as we planned you met Emmy and fell in love while Edith met Max and fell for him, we all respected your decision, yes Edith was everyone's first choice in our family but that doesn't we didn't love Emmy, we all loved her she was a great partner and great mom, and about family heirloom I gave that to Edith when she was 7 on her birthday as a gift and when you told me about Emmy I decided to get a new one for Emmy, I didn't take that back from Edith because I have always consider her as my family, I promised Jane that I will always look after Edith and I did,".
Ethan smiled at her words and said," I understand mom,".
Joyce took a deep breath and said," Eth, please consider our suggestion honey, we accepted your decision of marrying Emmy without even saying a word, try considering ours, I know Edith she will always love Maria and Louis with her whole heart, being a mother does not always means giving a birth to a child raising a kid with love also makes woman a great mother, and Edith was raised by Suzie and we all know how much Suzie love Edith,".
Ethan heaved a sign at her words and said," I'll talk to you later mom," after that he hung up and walked out from the study room…