The little thing usually would be sleeping in the crib. Tonight, however, a guest was present in the mansion. This guest was an elderly who had flown all the way back here to see this little thing. While the baby was still awake, Angelica ordered Patricia the maid to bring the baby to her bed.
Next to Angelica was her younger brother, Nicholas Chandler, and Nicholas's son, Theodore Chandler.
Nicholas had to attend an important meeting overseas, so he missed the baby's month-old celebration. The first thing he did as soon as he landed was to rush back to the mansion to see the baby.
The little thing held up his little fists as he laid on his grandmother's bed. Angelica bent down and pulled out a bolster, placing it next to him. She explained, "This is to train my little grandson's neck. He can hold his head up for more than half a minute now!"
Jackson rolled up his sleeves, revealing a pair of strong and firm forearms. He wasn't wearing a coat now, and the first two buttons on his white dress shirt were undone.
The look suited his tall build.
"Come to papa." The man's cold expression was now filled with fatherly love.
"Guh, guh~" The little thing was licking his wrists, making weird noises. It seemed like he was giggling.
"Our little Bubsy loves papa, huh?" Angelica couldn't stop smiling. The more she looked at her grandson, the more her love for him grew.
Even Betty, the caretaker, said that the madame seemed so much brighter after seeing her grandson.
Jackson picked up his son.
Nicholas then turned to Angelica. "Sis, I envy you. You have a grandson now! You even said that I'd be the one with many grandchildren during new years. Now look at you!"
No one in the large city would have predicted that the cold-hearted business tycoon, Jackson Cunningham, would suddenly turn up with a darling little child after staying single all this time.
Angelica, still smiling, then turned to her nephew. "Theodore, when's the wedding?
Look at your father, he's getting impatient! If you're engaged, then that means you're serious about this girl. You should marry her as soon as possible. Have a baby or two, and your parents will stop nagging you about it."
"Last I heard from Theodore, the wedding is set on the eleventh, right? But it hasn't been announced to the public yet." Nicholas smiled hopefully.
Angelica's smile widened once more. "The weather would be pretty nice on the eleventh. That's good. We'd have enough time to prepare, too!"
Theodore, who was standing behind Jackson, stared at the child in his cousin's arms.
As he played with the child, he said, "I'm engaged because I'm worried I'd change my mind. That's why I didn't propose immediately. I don't really love her so much that I'd marry her. Engagement is a thing, but I still need to decide if I really want to marry."
Nicholas realized something was wrong. He furrowed his eyebrows and asked angrily, "Theodore, what is the meaning of this?"
Theodore didn't want to argue with his father, so he stayed silent. Fighting might frighten the baby, after all.
Nicholas' expression darkened. He wanted to give his son a lecture, but Angelica pulled on the corner of his shirt. Only then did he allow the matter to slide for now.
Nicholas decided he would wait until they reach home, and then ask this bastard what he's really thinking!
Jackson was unfamiliar with holding his son. Patricia smiled as she gave him some instructions and adjusted his position. "Yes, like this. The young master is still small, so his body is a little underdeveloped. You have to hold both his head and his neck at the same time."
The man's arms were very strong, the muscles in his forearms firm. With such big arms holding such a small infant, he seemed very unprofessional and stiff. However, it was still a very sweet sight to watch.
Suddenly, Theodore's phone vibrated. He then pulled out his phone from his pocket and checked his messages.
A lot of people had sent him messages, but he decided to only read one of them.
"Prince Charming Theodore, Nidia is with me now. I've shared my location with you.
She's a little drunk now, so are you going to pick up the princess?"
...
"Dad, Auntie, if you'll please excuse me. I have something to tend to." Theodore said without hesitation, picking up a document from his aunt's table as he did so.
He glanced at his watch and waved the document at Jackson. "Hey Jackson, would you be having breakfast at home tomorrow? If you are, we can talk more in the morning."
He was new to the business field. He wasn't particularly interested, so he still had a lot to learn from his cousin.
"Sure, drive safely." Jackson said without lifting his head. He was still learning how to hold his son.
Theodore rushed out of the room. He didn't seem like he was rushing to a meeting, nor to hang out with the boys. It seemed like he was hurrying to see the one he loved most.
Angelica shook her head and turned to Nicholas. She said straightforwardly, "Nick, I think Theodore has fallen in love with another..." Nicholas clenched his fists in anger. "Bastard!"
Meanwhile, Nidia was drunk. It was a rare opportunity for her to drink her worries and stress away, so she drank a little too much for her own good.
Hanging out with her old classmates made her reminisce about the good old days of their youth. Just another shot, Nidia thought to herself. She would give anything to be able to start over.
She wouldn't have sold her body for 30 million. She would be waiting outside the ICU, never leaving her mother's side. Abby wouldn't have had the hospital euthanize their mother and she wouldn't have given birth prematurely. Now her child had been taken away as well.
At the end of the gathering, Lily and Amy, who both had high tolerance to alcohol, wanted to help send her home. However, just as they arrived at the entrance, Amy's phone started ringing.
Answering the call, she said, "Are you here yet? We're at the entrance. What? Oh, sorry, it was too loud inside. I couldn't hear the phone ring."
After hanging up, Amy checked her phone log. As expected, Theodore had been calling her for the past ten minutes. He probably couldn't find their table.
"Do you guys still remember Theodore? Our moms have been best friends since forever, so I'm pretty close to him too. He seems to care about Nidia a lot. He told me from time to time to inform him once I've got any info on Nidia from our classmates." Amy said to Lily. She then turned to Nidia and said, "He's almost here, let's hitch his ride!"
Lily exclaimed in surprise, "Theodore? Oh! The pride of Baile High, the one and only prince charming, Theodore Chandler?"
Amy raised her eyebrows. "That's the guy."
"Wait..." Lily felt as if something wasn't right. She took a moment to think and pointed at Nidia, "Theodore had been looking out for Nidia, oh my... do you think he has a crush..." Amy gave her a look of approval.
Lily's mouth was now wide open from shock. She was sad and happy for Nidia at the same time.
She was happy because a prince charming like Theodore Chandler has a crush on Nidia. This was probably the best thing to have ever happened in Nidia's life.
However, Lily was also sad because Nidia was only reunited with Theodore at the lowest point of her life...
Nidia was already the mother of a child now.
Nidia seemed very drunk at the moment. Lily furrowed her eyebrows, holding Nidia in her arms. She hoped Theodore wasn't the type of guy to care about a girl's past.
They got into Theodore's car. No one spoke a word until they reached Nidia's house.
Lily and Amy were on their phones, whereas Nidia was seated near the window. She placed her forehead against the window, eyes closed, her eyebrows slightly furrowed.
Nidia had thought she could drink her problems away, but this turned out worse than she thought.
Her sadness and confusion were now infinitely amplified, and she seemed more aware of her emotions than when she was sober.
...
Ignoring the burning sensation in her stomach, Nidia bid her goodbyes to the three.
"I'm fine, you guys can go home. Take care and drive safe!"
She walked up the stairs on her own. Unlocking the door with her keys, she opened the door to her apartment.
"Look at the time. Finally back from fooling around outside I see!" A middle aged man's voice echoed through her apartment.
The door closed behind Nidia. She was surprised to see two familiar yet unfamiliar faces. The one who yelled at her was none other than Barend South.
It had been years since she saw him. The fifty-two year old man seemed to look younger than his age. Well, that was a no brainer. This man had been enjoying the best of what life has to offer, so of course he seemed to age slowly.
On the other hand, her mom was naive. She took care of Barend for years, and all she received was the cruel reality of her youth fading as time passed. In the end, she ended up getting dumped by Bared for not being lascivious enough. He didn't like how conservative she was.
Her grandmother seemed stressed out, sitting on the sofa with eyes closed.
Next to Barend was a young woman. If Nidia didn't look closer, she wouldn't have realized that this woman was in fact her mother's younger sister, her aunt Elizabeth Miles.
Grandma gave birth to her second child at the age of 35. Elizabeth was only 27 years old this year. She was almost the same age as her nephew, just two years older.
The two did not study at the same school. Nidia had played with Elizabeth back when she was 6 years old. Back then, both of them were still oblivious to the world of adults.
Years passed, and Nidia and her mother had to stay with her grandmother in San Caj. Elizabeth, however, transferred to the best high school in Baile City. Elizabeth had only come to see Grandma once during her university days. They had a fight and ended in bad terms. Later on Elizabeth never returned to see Grandma, not even once.
Nidia didn't understand why Grandma hated her aunt so much. When asked, all Grandma said was that she had disowned her.
Upon seeing them now, Nidia was curious as to why Elizabeth came with Barend.
'Doesn't she know how Barend insulted her sister?' 'Doesn't she know how Barend kicked them out and how he hurt them deeply?' Barend pointed towards her bedroom and ordered Nidia, who was still slightly drunk, "Pack your bags now, I'll have someone send you back to the countryside!"
"Barend South, this is the Miles household. You shut your mouth..." Grandma's voice was weak. It would seem that they had been fighting a while ago, and the old woman was tired out.
Elizabeth turned to her mother. "Mom, Barend dear is just looking out for the two children. Stop being so biased, please?"
Still dizzy, Nidia then realized what Elizabeth just said.
'Barend dear?' Grandma was angered, so much her hands shook. "Silence, Elizabeth!"
Elizabeth ignored Grandma, and put down her Hermes purse. She approached Nidia, who was still standing at the door. Nidia stared into Elizabeth's fox-like gaze, unable to see through her intentions.
"Niddie, I'm your aunt. Both you and Abby are my dearest nieces, so I won't be biased!"
Elizabeth placed her soft and delicate hands on Nidia's shoulders and said, "Listen to me, go back to San Caj. Niddie, you should know better. To the public, the Souths only have one daughter, and that would never change!"
Nidia parted her lips slightly and asked, "Why?"
"When you and your mom left, you gave up on your identity as a South. Now that we're doing really well, our every move is being monitored by the public eye! If your identity were to be exposed to the public... Both you and your mother would bring scandal to our family. We'll end up being just mere gossip!"