"Let's play again!" Benjamin cutely announced.
Even after losing several games in quick succession, he was not in the least discouraged and wanted to play more.
"That's enough for today, Ben." Keith gently ruffled his hair and smiled at him. "We will play some other day."
The little boy deflated a little at his words, but soon recovered and smiled brightly.
"Come!" He enthusiastically stood up. "I will introduce you to Bells!"
"Okay, let's go." Keith glanced at the clock, which was about to hit 2pm, and nodded to Ben.
Yingying silently followed her Master, who was allowing the little boy to hold his hand and lead him to his room.
Along the way, Ben informed him that his sister allowed him to keep Bells in his room after he requested her about it. And he talked in detail of how he had been taking care of it, serving it the meals, and then grooming it every night before going to bed.
"Bells!" Ben ran ahead and entered his room, and by the time Keith entered, the little boy was already holding the fluffy white, doll-faced Persian Cat in his arms.
"Bells is in good health, Ben. You have been doing a good job!" He praised the little boy after he accepted the lazy cat in his arms.
Bells looked at him with its beautiful blue eyes, and by how well behaved it was in his arms, it was evident that it had recognised him.
Keith gently scratched the back of its head with his finger tips, and the cat cutely purred under his ministrations.
Ben laughed happily when he heard the cat purr, and clapped his hands applauding Keith for doing a good job.
The fluff ball snuggled deeper into Keith's arms, loving his body heat, and then closed its eyes, ready for another nap.
"As lazy as ever." Keith chuckeld when he saw it behave the way it usually did. "Why don't you go freshen up? It is lunchtime." He said to the little boy.
"Give me five minutes!" Ben nodded his head and then ran into the washroom to get ready.
"Want to hold him?" Keith smiled at Yingying and offered Bells to her.
"No." She shook her head and then checked the watch on her wrist that had just vibrated. "Lady Venessa and Master Demiliore are here." She informed him.
"Let's go." He nodded to her and then walked out of the room after putting the sleeping cat in its bed.
It was quite a big place, and it took them a few minutes to arrive outside the Manor, where Danielle and Damien were receiving his family.
Keith looked around and sighed in relief when he saw that Sol had chosen not to appear before his mother. It was for the best, and he carefully observed the reaction of Damien, who greeted Caesar with a handshake.
Even though he knew that Damien held no goodwill towards his late father, but shaking the hand of the very man who had killed him must have gripped his heart a little.
"Grandfather!" He approched them and greeted his old man first, who simply patted his shoulder and nodded at him.
Keith then proceeded to hug his mother and squeezed he lightly in his arms.
"I love you!" He whispered near her ear.
"I know!" She giggled and planted a kiss on his cheek before they separated.
"Uncle Damien!" He smiled at the tall man who towered him, and found him smiling back at him.
"I expected you to visit us in the last few days, but Kiara informed me that you were out of the city to attend to some important matters. Everything went well?"
"Yes." He nodded to him. "We will talk about it after lunch."
Damien curiously raised his brow at his words but nodded his head before inviting the Demiliore Family to come inside the Manor.
It wasn't the first time Raizer and Venessa had come here, and in their childhood, this Manor was like a second home to them. However, neither Raizer nor Venessa looked at anything in nostalgia. They both looked focused and wore indifferent expressions on their faces.
Danielle worriedly glanced at him, but Keith smiled at her and nodded his head, assuring her that everything will be fine.
She had known Venessa since childhood, and even if they had drifted apart after all that transpired, she was still expecting her former friend, to greet her warmly. But Venessa had not shared anything more than a polite greeting with her.
Damien led all of them to the study of the current Head of the Angelini Family. And for the first time in a long while, Keith caught his Grandfather sighing.
"How's the old man doing?" He asked.
"He has been doing better since last week..." Damien hesitated to say more and then just turned silent, lowering his head in shame.
Keith knew that he was feeling guilty for not being here all these years to take care of Darius. And now that he knew the state of the old man's body, he was blaming himself for being too stubborn.
"Keith?" Raizer suddenly called out to him, and Keith understood what he wanted to know.
"I did not give him a check up last time. But from my observation, he only has a little more than a year's life left in him. If it was anyone else, they might have passed away years ago, but he is only alive due to his stubborn desire to protect the legacy of Angelini."
His words made them all frown, and Raizer closed his eyes, trying to suppress the emotions in his heart.
"I will go inside first." He said and knocked on the door before entering the room.
Everyone knew that they needed some alone time.
It had been nearly two decades since the son-in-law and the father-in-law last met each other. And from what Keith had gathered from the things Caesar had told him, Darius had always treated Raizer just like a son.
"Aunt Diana is busy?" Danielle decided to break the ice and asked Keith.
"Yes." He nodded to her. "She will be returning home on Wednesday. And she will stay in Sameran for a couple of weeks."
Both Danielle and Damien nodded to him, and then the former mustered up the courage to talk to Venessa.
"You are as beautiful as ever, Ness! I feel like an old lady standing next to you." She sincerely smiled at her.
"Thank you!" Venessa smiled back at her, and for a moment everyone thought that this was it and she would ignore them again, but she did not. "I heard you gave birth to a little angel, Dany. I would love to meet him!"
"His name is Benjamin, and he would love to meet you too!" Danielle felt like a lot of weight has been lifted off her chest when she heard Venessa call her by the nickname. And from her words, it could be felt that she was willing to let the bygones be bygones. "I was planning to visit Sameran University in the next few days. Would you like to come with me? I really want to see all our favourite spots on the campus again.." She proposed.
Soon the two of them were chatting about their daily lives, and they even set a date to visit the Campus in the next week. And by the smiles they wore, it appeared that they were happy to see each other again.
Venessa was a good actor, so good that she could lie to anyone. But Keith was her son, and he had inherited these traits from her. How could he not know that the smiling eyes of his mother were not really smiling?
She was only standing here in this Manor because of him. And he knew that she was only willing to bear all these people just because her love for him dwarfed the resentment she held in her heart for the Angelini Family.
"Come in." Raizer opened the door of the study after a while, inviting them inside.
"Greatfather!" Keith took the lead and approached the old man who was sitting on the couch.
"Young Demiliore!" Darius smiled at him. "You look more sharp than the last time I saw you."
"Some things happened. We will talk about them later." He smiled and nodded to him before turning to look at Venessa.
He found her smiling lightly as she stepped forward and then she lightly bowed to the old man.
"It's been a while, Grandfather!" She said and then straightened up, looking the old man in the eyes. "You have grown older."
Darius stayed silent as he kept looking at her, and Keith knew that he must have sensed that Venessa was not really happy being here. And the sigh that escaped his lips later proved his hunch.
"I am happy to see my only living granddaughter again, Venessa." He said to her. "And you are beautiful as ever." Darius said and then held onto his cane, helping himself up.
Damien was about to step forward to help him, but the old man raised his hand and stopped him.
Under the uncomfortable eyes of everyone, he came to stand in front of his granddaughter, and then lowered his head to her.
"I know it won't make you feel better about everything, but allow your Grandfather to be selfish and say what he wants to say." He said and then waited a while to say his next words. "I am sorry, Venessa. There was a lot that I could have done to prevent everything that happened, but I was weak. And I paid for my mistakes by losing my family. Forgive me if you can ever find it in your heart."
Everyone tensed at his words, and then waited with bated breaths for how Venessa would respond to what had just happened.
Darius Angelini, a man who was known to have never bowed to anyone in his life, had just lowered his head in front of his estranged granddaughter.
"You don't have to worry about anything, Grandfather. I love my child a little too much." She smiled at him and responded after a few seconds.
It might have not been the answer that Darius wanted, but it was enough to free him of his worries. However, things turned out better when she stepped forward and lightly hugged him.
"Please pay more attention to your health."
"I will hold on for a while longer, my child." Darius chuckled and nodded to her.
