Grandma Hanada had a smile on her face even though tears were still cascading down her beautiful face.
Fely and Jessie approached her once they had reached the door.
"We are so glad that you’re feeling better. Co, co! We’ve made all your favorite dishes. I’ve also made sure there were no fats, no cholesterol, or anything that might disrupt your health. All the food here is perfectly healthy," said Fely as she wrapped her arms around the older woman and gave her a light embrace.
Jessie did the sa, not embarrassed about it at all. They were comfortable with each other, especially since they were family. Hugging each other definitely seed like sothing appropriate for them to do.
After the greetings, grandma Hanada noticed the twins being held by their two caretakers. She asked them to bring them over to get a good look at her great-grandchildren and kiss both of them. Inday and Juanita complied, bringing the two children right in front of the older woman.
"Alright! Let’s all go inside. If I get bitten by a mosquito, I am blaming it on all of you," complained Tanaga while Ashley tried to stop him from saying anything. Just as they were about to walk inside the house, she had stopped when her eyes landed on Koji, who stood further away from everyone else, saying nothing and doing nothing either.
She let go of her husband’s arms and went straight to Koji. She approached him, grinning.
"President Hanada! How have you been? I didn’t know you were coming, when did you arrive? For what occasion are you in town?" She asked, bombarding him with questions. She was too excited that she didn’t realize what she did. Koji didn’t mind, and he was just as ecstatic to see the lady his heart belonged to, but he had to keep up the act.
"Hello, President Jones," greeted Koji before he bowed to pay respect to the wife of his boss and cousin-in-law.
Ashley’s brows rose when she heard how Koji had addressed her.
He never called her President Jones in the past. He had always called her by her first na, even around other employees. What had changed? Why did he suddenly call her President Jones? Ashley was lost and dejected, her mind clouding with questions she knew would stay unanswered.
She knew now was not the ti to discuss such trivial matters, so she decided to talk to him later. She returned to her husband’s side and ushered him inside the house, following grandma Hanada while Tanaka pushed her wheelchair through the house’s doors.
Everyone else stood there, waiting for the matriarch to enter the house before they all followed and would be able to have dinner together. Koji was the last one to enter, and he felt out of sorts. He didn’t feel included in this big, happy family. He felt like an outcast—the black sheep of the family.
===
Nonetheless, dinner was excellent. Everyone enjoyed the food, had fun chatting with each other, and thanked Fely for a great job of cooking the food.
After dinner, everyone had gathered in the living room to continue to chat. Tanaga stayed by his grandmother’s side the whole ti, and she loved every minute of it. She had never received this kind of attention from Tanaga. He had always been an aloof child.
Tanaka was completely different; he craved attention and love. If he had received that from his grandmother, he’d be fully content. Knowing that, he simply sat next to her, remaining quiet as the older woman held his arms as a gentle sign of affection.
After a long chatting ti, the Gusman family excused themselves and gave the other so ti to bond.
Inday and Juanita took the twins back to their room to prepare them for bed while Ruffy, Tiny, and Harumi left to do so tasks.
All of this had been to give grandma Hanada, Tanaga, and Tanaka so alone ti. Koji and Ashley being the only people left with the three of them, Ashley took this opportunity to invite Koji to the swimming pool’s garden.
"If you’ll excuse , I have so business to discuss with President Hanada," Ashley announced as she looked at Koji, gesturing for him to follow her. Tanaga was going to say sothing, but grandma Hanada interjected.
"Of course, you go ahead. This will give us so ti to bond. There are so things I need to discuss with these two," she said.
Hearing that, Tanaga shut his mouth, only watching as Koji followed Ashley to the swimming pool’s back garden.
Once the two had disappeared from his sight, grandma Hanada began questioning Tanaka. She wanted to know what happened during the many years he was considered dead.
Tanaga only sat there, waiting for Tanaka’s answer. He, too, wanted to know how he and his mother lived back then and why he never once tried to contact them.
Tanaka didn’t hesitate to tell them everything he rembered and knew. He began at the very beginning when he woke up, not rembering who he was and how he was filled with many lies.
He was raised thinking the man his mother had married was his biological father. It was all a lie until one day; his mories ca flooding back, making him rember a part of his childhood. That was when everything began to change and how his life had turned into a living hell.
Grandmother Hanada and Tanaga were listening to him as he recounted his past. Tanaga, listening to all of this, couldn’t help but feel remorse for his twin brother. He thought he had been living a hard life without any parents and siblings and only a grandmother who raised him, but he now realized that he was in a much better situation than Tanaka was.
===
anwhile, in the garden, Ashley confronted Koji about his attitude with her a while ago.
"Koji, what’s going on? Why call President Jones when we’re in front of our family? Didn’t we discuss this already? You only call that around other employees of the THJ Group. Did sothing happen?" Ashley asked worriedly.
Koji couldn’t answer right away. He was thinking of the political or ’right way to reply to her questions. He didn’t want to tell her Tanaga made him think that way or even let her know that her husband treated him worse than poorly.
"Ashley, I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! I know we’ve discussed this before, and I would love nothing more than to be able to call you by your first na, but I’m treading on a thin line with my cousin. I had made a huge mistake, and I did sothing I shouldn’t have done. He’s in a foul mood when he’s around , and I didn’t want to make it worse," Koji admitted.
"What happened, Koji?" Ashley asked, now curious about what was going on. She wondered what Koji had done to upset Tanaga.
"Nothing that I couldn’t fix. It’s just better for to be more careful, or I might get kicked out of the house," he said sadly.
Ashley did no such thing. She didn’t decide to push the issue away and let the matter go. She truly cared about him and even thought of him as an older brother. But what she didn’t know was that Koji didn’t think the sa thing of her.
===
anwhile, back inside the living room, Tanaka had finished telling his whole story, or everything he had rembered about. Still, Tanaga got wearier and wearier by the minute, even wondering why Ashley and Koji were talking so long to talk and chat outside.
He wondered what business they needed to talk about and why they needed to go outside to discuss it. His jealousy kicked in, and soon enough, he was already preparing an excuse to look for the two of them. Just as he was about to say sothing, Ashley and Koji returned, happily chatting with each other. Tanaga’s face turned sour, and he clenched his jaw as he furrowed his brows. He sat there, sulking when Ashley had co and sat next to him.
Grandmother Hanada and Tanaka saw this from the corner of their eyes, and they, especially Tanaka, were tempted to laugh. Tanaga really did have jealousy issues, even sulking when any man ca near her. He grinned secretly.
Tanaga was so besotted with his wife that he would sulk like a spoiled child if any man ca near her, even if it was another family mber. On the other hand, Grandma Hanada figured that they needed so alone ti to make up, so she decided to head to bed much earlier than usual.
"It’s late, and I’m getting quite tired. How about we continue this tomorrow. Since you will be around for the week, we will have more ti to do this again and chat. You two go ahead take so rest," she said as she turned her head to face Koji and Tanaka.
"How about you two? Are you staying here?" She asked the two n.
Tanaka shook his head.
"Well then, go ahead and head back to the condo. There’s no more room here for you to stay at. Tomorrow, you are to co here since we still have so business to discuss as well," she said as she then called Harumi to co and take her to her room.
Tanaka got up, ready to help his grandmother, but she declined his help and told him and Koji to head back ho before it got too late.
Tanaga and Ashley got up, waiting for Harumi to take grandma Hanada to her room.
Koji and Tanaka then bid them goodbye, leaving Ashley and Tanaga alone.
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