Anastasia was walking toward the study room from outside when she heard Harriet’s voice coming from the opened door of the room.
“Wonderful! This is great, Elliot. You have to treat both Anastasia and Jared well
after she becomes your wife.”
Upon hearing that, Anastasia came to a halt before she heard Harriet’s voice rang out again. “Thank God my wish for the Tillmans and the Presgraves to become a family has been fulfilled. I will make sure to give my gratitude to Officer Amelia if I were to die someday!””
Anastasia’s chest seemed to clench at that. She could tell that Harriet was truly grateful to her mother for saving one of the Presgraves.
“Grandma, I promise to treat them well for the rest of my life, Elliot reassured Harriet. At that, the latter said in an
earnest tone, “You must not force Anastasia if she is unwilling to give birth again in the future. You can always train Jared to be your successor.”
“It is all up to her to decide. She can have another child if she wants, but I won’t pressure her into anything if she doesn’t. To me, Jared is my son.”
“Okay. I like him very much as well. He is exactly the same as you were when you were young. This is all God’s will.”Harriet sighed at that..
Anastasia was hit by a myriad of emotions when she heard the conversation. Even she wasn’t sure if she wanted to have a child with Elliot.
In fact, she should give birth to a Presgrave if she loved him.
At that point, Anastasia decided to stop trying to make sense of the mess in her head and heart for now. It only confused her more without solving anything.
Instead of going in and interrupting the chat between the grandparent and her grandson, Anastasia went to the garden, where her son had been having fun by himself. Harriet even spent money to build him an outdoor playground that
was equipped with an air conditioner.
The young boy continued to play in that cozy space.
This was a very thoughtful gesture on Harriet’s spart. Anastasia deeply felt that she and her son were being pampered by the Presgrave Family.
The tide at a faraway beach was starting to come in when evening came and as night fell, the lights of the city seemed to illuminate the whole place as though it was still morning.
The Presgraves had a feast for their dinner. As Elliot sat beside Jared, he made sure to spoon more food onto the young boy’s plate.
Harriet was secretly happy when she saw what was going on. Anastasia, too, quietly saved this scene of Elliot showing his love into her memory.
“Young Master Tillman, I will add some rice to your plate,” one of the servants standing aside respectfully said to Jared.
She even seemed like she was treating
him like a precious young master of the
Presgraves.
Anastasia’s heart skipped a beat at that, but the little boy proceeded to announce out loud politely, “I can do it myself, Madam.”
His one sentence was enough to show how well he had been educated at home to be so polite. He was a child that everyone, the servants included, would easily fall in love with.
After they were done with the meal, Anastasia brought Jared to the second floor for a video call with Francis. The man was waving a present in his hand as he said to the boy, Jared, your grandpa prepared a present for you.”” “Thank you Grandpa!”
The man then turned to his daughter. “Anastasia, are you bringing Jared home for lunch tomorrow?”
“Yes,” she briefly replied with a nod. It was normal to pay visits to relatives after Christmas.
She hung up the call after their
conversation ended. As she turned around, she was greeted by the sight of Elliot walking toward her. He gave off a homely vibe in his gray sweater and a pair of dark-colored slacks.
He, too, had four presents in his hands. Looking at Jared, he walked over and gave him two of them. “These are for you.
“Thank you, Mr. Presgrave. The child was ecstatic as he took the presents from Elliot. He then waved at the adults. “Mommy, I will be going back to my room now!”
Anastasia couldn’t help but lift her gaze at the man. “Oh-you didn’t have to give him two. Just one is more than enough.”
“Those were from Grandma and I respectively, Elliot replied in a low voice. He swiftly reached out to pass Anastasia the other two. “And these are also from Grandma and I to you.”
“For me?” She blankly blinked at him. She wasn’t even a child who needed a present!
Elliot quickly came up with an excuse to give the presents to her then. “This is our family’s tradition. We always give out presents to guests who come to visit during Christmas.”
And so, Anastasia had no other choice but to take them. The man, however, continued to encourage her to open up her presents. ‘Open them and have a look.”
She shook it around a few times. The contents were so light it didn’t seem like there would be much in it. She was starting to get curious when she noticed the mirth in his gaze. She finally tore the present wrapping open, only for a piece of black credit card to slide right out.
