The weekend rolled in in a blink of an eye and it was ti for Cosette to visit their ancestral ho where her grandparents were. The Blac's ancestral ho was in another state, so Cosette and Conrad flew over Friday night to use the weekend with her grandparents to its maximum potential, but that wasn't the father and daughter's idea; it was the request of the grandparents.
One might think they were in it for a heartwarming family reunion, but the reality was far different from that.
Silence dawned in the dining hall with Cosette sitting next to Conrad, an old man on the head seat, and then an elderly woman on the left across Conrad's spot. The old man on the head seat was in a knitted sweater. His hair was already blanched but was neatly tucked behind. He had visible wrinkles on the corner of his eyes and near the corner of his lips, but his overall appearance could be concluded as strong. He seed younger and healthier for his age.
Cosette pursed her lips and shifted her eyes at the elderly woman across from her father. Just like her grandfather, the woman's hair was arranged in an old-fashioned low bun with a gold-plated pin. The wrinkles on her small face were shallow, and Cosette could tell the woman aged elegantly. She had only a few pieces of jewelry on her, but she was certain each piece costs a fortune.
Cosette's eyes carefully veered to her father, who was sitting on her side. As usual, Conrad was eating silently, as if they weren't having a family reunion. The quietness wasn't even peaceful, it was only awkward as none of the three had said more than what was necessary since their arrival an hour ago.
"Cosette and I will leave Monday morning," was Conrad's icebreaker after the prolonged silence, raising his eyes at the elders. "I believe that is already being filial, considering Cosette will have school on Monday."
The old man snorted. "What is the rush, boy? I can send her straight to her school via a chopper. I assu her school will at least have enough space for a chopper to land."
"It doesn't."
"Then we can find another —"
"I don't think you understand." Conrad paused, arms propped against the edge of the table. "I am not asking for your permission, nor I am looking for a vehicle to send my daughter to school. What I am saying is informing you because I don't think we'll have ti to when we leave."
SLAM!
Cosette flinched when her grandfather slamd his palm against the table. Her grandfather and her father stare at each other, and sohow she could see the invisible blue flas around Conrad and the bright red fire around her grandfather clashing in the middle.
"Marcel, Conrad, should you really argue the first ti you see each other after a very long ti?" Cosette's grandmother, Gretchen Blac, let out a long-suffering sigh. "This is our first family al together after a long ti. Please, you two. Behave yourselves."
Gretchen shifted her pair of gentle eyes at Cosette, offering her granddaughter an apologetic smile. Cosette smiled back ekly and then reached for Conrad's hand.
"Papa, please be kind to grandpa. This should be a happy occasion." Cosette watched Conrad look back at her and caught how the fire in his eyes diminished the second their eyes t. "Thank you."
"Hmph!" the grandfather, Marcel Blac, let out a loud huff, obviously displeased at his son. Conrad had always been like this: distant, apathetic, and too blunt for his own good. How could he talk about leaving when it hadn't been an hour since they sat down here?
"Grandpa, my dad is only concerned about my health since I'll be too exhausted on Monday." Cosette flashed the grumpy Marcel a sweet smile, attempting to dispense the tension in the air. "But we have the weekend for ourselves. I really want to spend this weekend with grandpa and grandma."
Marcel was still frowning as he arched a brow at Cosette. Staring at the sweet and bright smile plastered on her face, the gloom reigning over the dining hall slowly disappeared.
"Our sweet Cosette." Gretchen smiled subtly, reaching for Marcel's hand and tapping it. "Your baba and nana also want to spend ti with our dearest princess. Right, Marcel?"
"Hmph!" Marcel looked away with a huff, but Gretchen simply chuckled.
"That ans he is happy," she said to Cosette, retrieving her hand from her husband to signal Cosette to eat up. "Eat, my dear. Your nana prepared everything, knowing you'd co tonight."
"Yes, Nana." Cosette happily picked up the cutlery to resu eating.
As she ate, Cosette could not help but glance at her elders and her father from ti to ti. She couldn't take off the smile on her face because seeing them, having a al with her, was sothing that didn't happen in the past.
Conrad's relationship with his parents wasn't nded in the past because he was in an accident in Sharie, which he, thankfully, avoided in this lifeti. She rembered her grandparents had contacted Conrad after the accident, but for so reason, that was just one ti. Cosette assud her father shunned them.
Her first official eting with them was Conrad's funeral, but Cosette was already too numb to even bother at that ti. So, she didn't have such a great relationship with those two, whom she had always believed had abandoned her father and her. Not to ntion, they were the ones who made that deal with the Stone family and her engagent with Ezekiel Stone. Hence, she partly blad them for her miserable life.
Cosette only realized her grandparents truly cared about her when they took care of her while she withered in the hospital. Now, in this lifeti, Cosette had thought about this family relationship more and figured there were surely certain things she didn't know that she didn't bother finding out before. It was not like she planned to dig into whatever truth lies behind the crease in Conrad's relationship with them. But…
"I'm really happy that Nana and Baba ca to the country to spend ti with and Dad," she expressed out of nowhere, catching the three off guard. Cosette raised her head, lips stretching from ear to ear, chuckling seeing the slight surprise in their eyes.
"I'm looking forward to this weekend."
Conrad's stiff shoulders slightly relaxed as her bright smile ward up his heart. Finally, a smile resurfaced on his face. Gretchen, on the other hand, smiled warmly, casting Marcel a look. The latter looked flustered, clearing his throat to keep his brave front, but the slight blush on his cheek was apparent.
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