Chapter 18
David and Vera Watson, Damien’s mother, were not present for the dinner. Since Dawson was around, it was highly likely the situation would turn sour if they showed up. Their absence was a good thing.
The empty spot between Dawson and Autumn was left vacant for Hank.
Autumn glanced at Britney and noticed that she was glaring at her. She thought it was rather amusing. Being forced to have dinner with the person she was terrified of was one of the rare moments in Britney’s life where she had to endure hardship.
Britney truly had lived such a pampered life.
Hank arrived just as Autumn finished her pondering, causing everyone to rise to their feet. Hank was 73 years old this year, but one could still see how handsome he must have been in his youth, despite the hardened lines on his face.
He was 5’9“. His body appeared to be free of rickets as his back was as straight as a board. When Hank was younger, he carried himself with a severe demeanor, but after he’d aged, his character softened greatly. As a result, his grandchildren were less scared of him than his own son.
Britney sighed in relief when she spotted Hank. “Grandpa, I heard from the housekeeper that you’ve been under the weather recently. Why did you only tell us after you recovered? You shouldn’t shoulder the burden of your illness by yourself.”
“It was just a common cold, so it wasn’t a big deal,” Hank explained. “If I asked all of you to come over before I recovered, I would spread the illness to you. Come on, let’s all sit and eat.”
Hank swept his gaze over the younger generation, one after the other. His gaze finally stopped on Autumn. His voice was colored with concern when he asked, “Did you get thinner?”
Autumn hastily scrambled for an excuse. “I’ve been working out recently, so maybe I lost some weight.”
In the past, she had dedicated all her time that wasn’t occupied by work to Damien, which in turn left her no time to take care of herself. Her colleagues had told her she looked absolutely haggard during the past week, which made sense since she had just experienced a miscarriage and was in the midst of her divorce.
She couldn’t show a better condition even if she wanted to. She had applied a light layer of makeup before dropping by, so her face might look alright, but perhaps her body did indeed get thinner.
Autumn didn’t like it when she was weak. She hoped to readjust her body by exercising and watching her diet. She wanted to be healthy again. By next week, she should be able to slowly get back into exercising again.
Hank approved of her actions. “Working out is good for you. It keeps your body healthy, but you should take care not to get too thin.”
Autumn nodded in agreement.
Britney launched into a complaint. “Grandpa, you have no idea how much Autumn has changed recently. She scolded and called me immature when I was talking to her earlier.”
Autumn wanted to stop Britney. She was making things up.
But Britney refused to stop running her mouth. “She even berated me for being late. I was just picking out a gift for you. It wouldn’t be right to pick a gift for you without putting my heart into it, right?”
Britney tried to steer the situation to her advantage. “You misunderstood me, Autumn, so you should apologize to me. I’ll forgive you if you apologize,” she said in a whiny and not aggressive voice.
If Autumn didn’t apologize, those who were not privy to what had actually happened would assume she was petty. It was clear to her that she needed to take cover when Britney was acting insane. She wasn’t going to endure it like she did in the past, hoping for a happy ending.
However, she didn’t get to respond before Damien spoke up, “You’re in the wrong. Apologize.”
Autumn looked at him. The gaze Damien shot at her told her to obediently follow his orders. She had to consider the big picture and shouldn’t cause tension during the family banquet.
Out of all the people seated at the table, Damien understood his sister the most. He didn’t need to think too much to know that Britney was intentionally stirring up trouble. However, Damien didn’t care who was in the right, or who was in the wrong–he was going to get Autumn to concede to Britney.
If they were in a private setting, Autumn would absolutely refuse to apologize. But Britney had a silver tongue. She had brought up the gift for Hank to elevate her moral position. If Autumn didn’t apologize, Britney would continue pushing the pitiful angle. She only had to whine a few more times for Autumn to be subjected to a barrage of criticisms.
Autumn decided to endure for a little while more before finally deciding to concede. It wasn’t every day that she got to see Hank, so she didn’t want to be embroiled in a conflict.
She lowered her head slightly and murmured, “Sorr~”
“You’re complaining to me over something so small?” Hank asked. “Let’s eat dinner first.”
Autumn looked at Hank. His eyebrows had turned white, and even his eyes had turned hazy. Despite that, he could still see the situation clearly.
From Hank’s perspective, the incident was just a small scuffle between Autumn and Britney. Their argument wasn’t too serious, so there was no need for him to get involved. However, he also knew that Autumn would be forced to face some hardship.
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Hank was fond of her, which was why he was showing his favoritism for her. It made Autumn’s heart squeeze.
Since Hank had spoken up, Britney had to swallow back her words, no matter how unhappy she was. She regretted being there and wondered why she had made the trip specifically to drop by the Caldwell residence. Not only did she have to be on her tiptoes around Dawson because she was scared of him, but she also had to endure being angered by Autumn.
Dawson was one thing–she didn’t dare get on his bad side. But in her eyes, Autumn was nothing more than Damien’s babysitter. In the past, Autumn would do whatever Britney asked of her, which made Britney extremely pleased with herself.
She couldn’t believe that Autumn was being disobedient, which angered her beyond words.
Hank got the housekeeper to serve wine to them.
“Grandpa, my gut has been unwell recently, so I’ve been refraining from drinking,” said Damien.
Hank didn’t force Damien to drink. He asked Dawson instead, and the latter didn’t reject him.
“It’s been three years since we last saw each other.”
It was hard to conceal the love that shone in Hank’s eyes as he looked at Dawson. He asked what Dawson had been up to for the past three years. Dawson simply brought up the work he was involved in abroad and explained what he was doing in detail.
Hank nodded as he listened. Despite how he rarely smiled normally, his face was lined with mirth. It was obvious that Hank was very happy that Dawson had returned to the country to visit him.
Since he had just recovered from his illness, Hank didn’t limit his drinking. Dawson matched every sip that Hank took. Every time they clinked glasses, Dawson’s glass would have less wine compared to Hank. They truly shared a tight grandfather–grandson bond.
When Autumn had visited Hank in the past, she had learned some information from chatting with both Hank and the housekeeper.
David had been involved in two relationships at the same time in the past, and as a result, he had gotten both women pregnant at the same time. Dawson’s mother was an influential lady in Clerestia. She was seduced by David’s handsome face and ended up giving birth to a child. When she found out that she was the mistress, she had caused a huge ruckus for the Caldwells.
On the other hand, although Vera hailed from an average family
they
responsibility for what had happened.
till held a certain status in Havenmoor. They wanted the Caldwells to take
David had no idea how to handle the messy situation, so he had no choice but to have Hank involve himself.
Vera had married into wealth. There was only a month left before her child would be born, so she wasn’t willing to get a divorce. She only asked for a sincere apology from David and wanted him to never make the same mistake again.
As a result, Hank was primarily occupied with comforting Dawson’s mother, Dahlia Faulkner.
Dahlia never would have imagined that there would come a day when she was tricked by a handsome man. She wanted to tear David’s family apart and force the Caldwells into bankruptcy, and she was willing to do anything to make it happen.
After conducting an investigation, Hank found out that the head of the Faulkners had passed away, and the siblings were embroiled in an internal conflict over the inheritance.
Dahlia had a wild heart. It was hard for her to win the inheritance because the sons were prioritized during that time. Hank offered her a deal—if he succeeded in helping her gain the inheritance, she would forget all about how David had wronged her.
In the end, Dahlia successfully snagged the position of head of the Faulkner family. Naturally, Dawson would return to be a part of the Faulkners. However, since Dahlia had just inherited the position of head, she had no energy to raise a child. After experiencing a bloody internal struggle, she was also extremely wary of the other Faulkners.
On the contrary, she trusted Hank more than her own family. She had a condition–David was not allowed to interact with Dawson. From the moment he was born till he was seven years old, Dawson lived with Hank in the Caldwell residence.
Some of Hank’s friends had asked him in the past if he was frustrated that the grandson he had raised with his own two hands did not share the same last name as him. Hank didn’t mind in the slightest. He only needed the seven years he spent with Dawson to prove that he was Dawson’s biological grandfather.
If Hank did not personally nurture them, it didn’t matter if the person had the same last name as him; he still wouldn’t have an emotional attachment to
them.
Reality had proven his opinion to be correct. Although so many years had passed, Dawson still didn’t get along with David and Damien. However, he continued to make time to visit Hank. The strongest connection between two people was definitely forged out of love.
Autumn and Damien may be tied together because of their marriage certificate, but since they didn’t have an emotional connection, their marriage was doomed to fall apart.
Autumn had never been one to be particularly chatty during a family banquet. She ate her food quietly as always, as she listened to Hank and Dawson’s conversation.
“I’ll be staying in Havenmoor for the time being,” Dawson said.
Hank was over the moon with joy upon hearing his words. Autumn lowered her eyes while Damien gripped his fork tightly. It was obvious that he was upset by the news.
Hank asked them to stay the night. Seeing how Damien didn’t reject his suggestion, Autumn didn’t have anything else to add.
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Hank fell asleep after 10:00 pm. At 11:00 pm, Britney sneakily tried to make her escape. She didn’t want to be forced to eat breakfast with Dawson the next morning.
Every guest room in the Caldwell residence had a study of various sizes built next to it. The study and the room were connected by a door that was installed in the shared wall, and the door was usually kept shut.
After discussing some business that was related to Caldwell group, Damien had remained in the study. Before she sneaked out, Britney secretly sought out Damien. She couldn’t help herself and wanted to complain to him.
“Damien, can’t you control Autumn? She’s getting bolder and opposing me at every turn now. If you continue to leave her be, I’m going to be forced to act according to her moods one day.”
