observing her now in person, she had finally believed that her husband was not exaggerating, as the girl's disposition was almost similar to her friend's.
The atmosphere around the dining area brightened up slightly as everyone continued eating silently and the only sound inside the room was the one coming from the girl whose hands were trembling slightly as she grip tightly to the spoon while eating carefully.
"Kelly... Relax." The middle-aged woman glanced up again at the girl and chuckled softly while shaking her head slowly.
"Kelly... where did you come from," She softly asked after a while, then watched as the girl looked up with a slight gasp.
Kelly hurriedly swallowed the food which was in a mouth then stuttered, "Ci... City X Ma'am... I am from City X..."
"Oh... City X." The woman slowly nodded with a small frown while staring dazedly at the girl who had now turned back to her food. She quickly broke out of her thoughts then turned back to her food with a soft sigh.
'Urgh!' Kelly sighed exasperatedly, feeling that she couldn't control her trembling hands and sweats had also started forming on her forehead. She sneaked another nervous glance at her boss and after some seconds, stood up with a jerk.
"Th... Thank you for the food... It__ It was really delicious, I'll take my leave now__ M... Ma'am, Madams, Sirs." She bowed frantically then turned around and started rushing toward the large door.
"Kelly, your bag," Mira called out to the girl who had almost reached the door and she chuckled slightly then they all watched as the girl rushed back with an anxious expression.
Kelly quickly took her bag and felt like crying, then she bowed again and hurried out of the place, not daring to glance at her boss's expression. 'Argh! That old man.'
After running out of the large door, she noticed the driver waiting for her with the car's door opened, while trying to catch her breath.
Her gaze darted between the car and the mansion's gate and she clutched tightly to her bag, then gave him a fleeting glance before dashing toward the gate.
______
Meanwhile, back inside the house, after the girl had left. the dining area became silent again as everyone continued eating after breaking out of their shocks from the girl's weird behavior.
Carl sighed inside after glancing at the door, and some seconds later, he stood up silently then started walking upstairs toward his room and everyone's gaze followed his back and they all sighed heavily.
They all glanced at his unfinished food as the gloomy atmosphere returned.
"Henry?" The middle-aged woman turned to her husband with a worried expression and he slightly rubbed her shoulder with another sigh.
After they were done eating they all went back to their separate rooms as the maids returned and started clearing the table.
After watching the family walk up the stairs in slow footsteps, the maids carefully packed the utensils away while sighing inside. They all hoped that one day, happiness would return once again in this mansion, as sometimes they could hear their madam sobbing silently in the garden.
And also, the eldest young master, this is their first time of seeing him after so many months, except when he usually appears in the news.
** Upstairs **
After coming inside his bedroom, Carl closed the door with another sigh, while slightly rubbing his chest. Then he walked toward the bathroom and came out later, freshly bathed and dressed in simple home clothes.
He walked toward the bed and sat down with a sigh, then carefully drew open the drawer on the bedside table before retrieving a small box from it.
Opening the box, he stared down at the huge diamond ring in a trance then started caressing it slowly while sighing inside again. After a long time, he carefully put it back then carefully pushed back the drawer.
After that, he rested down on the bed with a hand splayed on his forehead, then he took out his phone and tapped into the email notification that had suddenly popped up.
After reading through the contents, he unhurriedly typed a reply then sent it and was about to put down the phone when his eyes darted to the door which was suddenly opened slightly then he watched as his sister carefully peeked inside the room before she opened the door wide then slowly walked inside with some papers in her hands.
"Big bro," Lucy muttered softly as he sat up on the bed and she sat down beside him while looking down.
She extended the papers toward him then continued. "These are the universities I want to choose from... Which one do you think is the best?"
After taking the papers from her hands, Carl skimmed through them then a small frown settled on his forehead. "You don't want to study abroad?" He asked softly and watched as she quickly shook her head.
"No no, Big bro... I don't want to go to a foreign country, I... I want to study here," Lucy replied quickly while gazing up at him anxiously. Although the university abroad was a very good one because it was the one her brothers had also attended, she was not sure if she could survive in a foreign. She quickly averted her eyes from him then looked down again, after noticing that he was now staring at her eyes and she sighed inside.
"Mm." Carl nodded then turned his attention to the papers and carefully skimmed through them before picking up one and giving it to her. "Do you like this one?" He asked calmly and Lucy's eyes lit up after taking the paper from him, as she had thought that he would try and convince her to study overseas.
She quickly nodded and replied, "Yes, Big bro." The University is the best in the city and even though it was a difficult one, it wasn't a problem as she just needs to study a lot.
"Thanks, Big bro," She said happily then stood up and skipped out of the room while making a mental note to call Gina and inform her of her decision.