Bryant Korade was a kind man in the mind of Sheena.
Since the very beginning, Alex Korade had kept helping Elsa's family out of trouble: finding the hospital with the best treatment, paying the cost of Grandpa's hospitalization...
It was from Alex Korade that Sheena realized friendship could do more than you imagine. If not for Alex Korade, Sheena didn't know what ended up like when Grandpa Bryant was diagnosed with cancer.
Therefore, when called to have a chat with Alex Korade, Sheena feared nothing but grateful. No matter what, she wanted to do something to pay back.
Sheena stood at the door of the study room. Right when she was about to knock at the door, Alex opened the door as if he had an instrument detecting her arrival.
"Wow, there you come, come in, Sheena." Alex opened the door and stepped back to leave space for Sheena to walk inside.
"Grandpa Alex, it's heard that you have something to discuss with me." Sheena grinned from ear to ear sincerely.
"Take your seat." Alex led Sheena to sit along a tea table right in the space on the right.
The whole room was decorated in an antique style, as if the sense from the past had get through time to stack here.
"This tea cup looked nice." Sheena picked up one of the tea cups on the table and looked carefully. Seen from the quality and the picture, it seemed to be a piece of artwork from China that wouldn't be at a low price.
"Just for enjoyment." Alex sat on the opposite and looked at Sheena with a warm smile, from which Sheena seemed to have witnessed her grandpa was on the opposite side.
"How do you feel?" Bryant asked carefully.
Sheena nodded her head. Sheena had never expected this visit would end like this, because she thought the different family backgrounds would cause a big gap between her and them. What she predicted the least was all of them had treated her like a real family member.
"As long as you feel comfortable, it's good enough." Alex looked satisfied with the reaction of Sheena and continued with a serious face after a few second, "From now on, please take here as your home."
Sheena thanked the nice treatment that they had given, but she couldn't say yes as Alex wished.
Clever as eagle, Alex seemed to sense the hidden disagreement of Sheena but just smiled, "In fact, I know what you feel. You think this is a marriage forced by Alex and me, right?"
With Alex talking straight to the point, Sheena couldn't say more but silent.
Bryant took a sip of the tea and put it down on the table before he continued, "It's us to keep the promise." Alex stopped for a while to observe the reaction of Sheena.
Although Sheena desired to reveal something, she couldn't do it when recalling of the words that her mother had nagged. So Sheena didn't reply but give a forced smile.
"It's fine for you to think like this now." Alex seemed to not intend to interrupt or change her mind or opinion. He stood up and walked to the window.
"I could still remember the days when I got along with Bryant," Alex said in a pitiful voice, "that's the best years of our life."
Sheena couldn't see the expression of Alex, but she could sense the miss that Alex had borne towards the past.
"I couldn't do anything to change the life of Bryant, " Alex choked with sobs out of Sheena's prediction, Sheena stood up and wanted to walk towards him, but stopped by the gesture of Alex who seemed to be not willing to let Sheena witness his sadness.
Sheena had to stop and stand still in the middle of the room.
"If there are anything that I could do for Bryant now, I would rather to try at means. " Saying this, Alex turned around to stare at Sheena firmly. Sheena even could feel his persevering.
That's why he asked Stephan Korade to marry her?
"I know you might think Stephan is not a good husband, " Alex said with firm eyes expression.
Alex must have been a mind reader! Sheena yelled in heart but had no guts to speak out at this moment.
"But please believe me, " Alex Korade continued, "Someday he would realize what's important to him, and you won't regret the decision that you've made today." Saying this, Alex looked at Sheena confidently as if the fact would just develop as he wished.
Touched by the kindness from Alex, Sheena couldn't deny anything in front of him. Although she believed gaps would always exist between Stephan and she, right now she had to maintain the current status as long as she can. After all, this was exactly what Grandpa Bryant desired the most now.
"Here you are." Before Sheena took a notice of, Alex walked to the study desk and picked up a box from the drawer. A red antique box.
Driven by the sixth sense, Sheena stepped back and planned to leave. Instead of receiving anything that's unproper, Sheena was more willing to misunderstand as a impolite girl.
However, Alex had walked in a pace that was fast enough to stop her impertinency.
"Here, this is the bracelet that Stephan's grandma has worn for years, it was her favorite bracelet. " Alex said in a face that Sheena could tell he was missing her so much.
At such a moment, a clear announcement of refusing was too rude and impolite. Sheena was stunned and could neither take the bracelet not reject it.
"Come on. Just accept it, it's a gift from your grandma." Alex smiled as a gentle grandpa.
"No…I…" Sheena tried to get back her voice and refuse such a valuable gift. It's not suitable to accept such a treasure with such a meaning if the prospect for the future is not good or happy. So Sheena shook her head to show her rejection, "sorry, Grandpa Alex, I'm afraid that…"
"I'm afraid that you must accept it, " Alex smiled but insisted in helping her put on the bracelet, "at least now, you're qualified to wear it, aren't you?"
"Just take it, otherwise I would be pissed, then I'll go and complain to Alex!" Alex said after finished the help in her wearing.
Therefore, when Sheena left the study room, she left with a bracelet in her wrist.
[Fine, take it now and return to Stephan later. ] Sheena thought in mind and walked along the long corridor on the second floor. Sheena didn't know behind these doors would be what kind of scenes or people, but she knew one point very clearly, this was totally different from what's in her home. Her real home.
[I don't belong to here.] Sheena reminded herself before she could have any fantasy towards the case here.
"Stephan, couldn't you just change a little bit? Sheena is a nice girl!" It's the voice of Stephan's mother Maggie.
What they are talking about? Sheena was stunned and still. It seemed that Stephan and his Maggie were talking about her, even though Sheena didn't know whether his father William was there or not. Although Sheena knew it's impolite to eavesdrop others' conversation, Sheena just couldn't move a step.
Soon it's Stephan's voice, what just went on like this, "Mom. This is not what I could control." Stephan must have said it in a helpless face.
"Why couldn't you change? You're married, stop messing around among the girls as before!" Maggie said in a serious voice that Sheena had never heard in here throughout the whole day. She didn't know such a nice woman would be so serious in front of her son.
"Mom, even I could, nobody could promise the happiness between Sheena and me, right?" Stephan was unexpected to not release the true status between he and she. Sheena was a little amazed by the reaction that Stephan had given.
"Stephan, I don't want to blame what you've acted in the past, but…" Maggie seemed to be tenderer due to the attitude of Stephan, and Sheena heard the patting sound of Maggie on the shoulders of Stephan, "it's not easy for Sheena, please be like a man in the future." At this moment, Sheena felt the motherlike sense from Maggie. Maggie looked younger than her age, so Sheena always ignored she had been a mother of Stephan.
However, Sheena didn't want to get any sympathy from others, even though that's done for kindness.
"Mom, I don't know, I think Sheena is just..." Stephan stopped without continuing.
"What" Maggie suddenly louder her voice before Stephan could continue. Sheena didn't know whether she could step out and knock at the door to confess to her.
However, it seemed that Stephan had stopped the story direction and changed his mind, "Mom, I'm a playboy among flowers, nobody could trap me in a cage formulated with love."
Stephan successfully pissed Maggie off that even Sheena was out of the door could hear the beats from Maggie on Stephan.