Little as she was, Lena Horne was watching with open envy written all over her face.
Sister Lia was really blessed, being able to win her big brother's true heart. Mm, and there was even a bit of credit in there for her.
"Big brother, Sister Lia, they're looking for you." Lena craned her head up at them from the stairway, then, with her sharp eyes, saw the rings on both their fingers, and the bouquet in Lia's arms. Lena was a clever little imp; she immediately guessed that her big brother had taken Sister Lia upstairs to propose.
Where had the proposal setup been upstairs? Lena just couldn't recall any spot up there that had been decorated. Could it be that her big brother hadn't set anything up at all and had just used a bouquet and a diamond ring to win Sister Lia over?
Thinking of her own parents and her aunt's story back then, Lena stopped disliking it. At least her big brother had brought flowers and a diamond ring for Sister Lia. Back then her uncle had simply dragged her aunt straight into the Civil Affairs Office. According to her aunt, he'd just had a bit too much to drink and blurted something out, and then he took her into the Civil Affairs Office—her aunt had still been all dazed and silly at the time.
Her uncle was the stingiest of all—he didn't even give her aunt a single flower.
"What's wrong?" Having successfully proposed, Ivan Horne was all spring breeze and sunshine, as warm as the March sun, his handsome-man charm boosted up another notch.
"The wedding date."
Ivan let out an "oh."
When the two of them walked past Lena, Ivan lowered his voice to his little sister and said, "Girl, thank you."
Lena beamed, winking at him. Ivan flicked her lightly, and Lena immediately puckered her red lips, playful and pretty.
Seeing that the main characters had appeared, the elders began to ask the two of them for their opinion.
As for Lia, standing there nonchalantly hugging her bouquet with that dazzling diamond ring on her finger, everyone just looked like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Only Celine Taylor and her daughter were going mad with jealousy inside.
"Let's do it early next month. Twenty days is enough to get a wedding organized." Ivan settled the date in one sentence. He was dying to get married as soon as possible. Lia opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but under his deep gaze she felt that if she dared to say no, he might execute her on the spot.
So she swallowed everything she'd been about to say. Sooner or later she'd be marrying him anyway—might as well get married and spare themselves the pain of pining from two different places.
Seeing that Lia didn't object, Ivan turned to Tom Aiken and spoke solemnly, "Dad, don't worry. I won't let Sisi suffer even the slightest grievance. You hand her over to me, and I'll make her the happiest woman alive. All the tenderness in this life of mine is only for her—cherishing her, loving her, spoiling her—just the two of us, for all our lives."
Tom felt reluctant to part with his daughter, but with Ivan's promise, he smiled and said, "I believe you."
He knew Glades Horne was devoted to his wife, so he believed Ivan Horne would also treat his own wife very well.
As for those philanderous stories from Ivan's grandfather's generation, Tom chose to automatically ignore them. "Like father, like son" wasn't always true. How good Glades was to his wife was plain for all to see—their feelings for each other had stayed like first love for decades.
Glades leaned close to Julia Bluen's ear and whispered, "Our son's got quite the thick skin. They're not even married yet, the certificate's not even gotten, and he's already calling you Dad."
Julia pinched him discreetly.
And just like that, the wedding date was set.
...
In the Horne Family's yard, Lia was strolling around with her father.
"Sisi, do you still hate Dad?"
"Dad, I don't hate you anymore. When Mom and Uncle's affairs were exposed, I stopped hating you. I can understand your resentment and pain. Even though these past nineteen years you haven't been very good to me, you still raised me, didn't you? You didn't strangle me to death, and even if you indulged Auntie and the others in bullying me, you didn't let them kill me."
Tom's old face flushed red. His daughter's magnanimity made him feel utterly ashamed.
It wasn't that he hadn't let Celine Taylor kill Lia; it was that Lia herself was strong and hadn't let Celine get the better of her.
"Sisi, thank you. You're making Dad feel like I've nowhere to hide my face. Dad is nowhere near that good. Back then, Dad hated you to death… Thank you for still being willing to forgive Dad, still being willing to acknowledge me as your father."
"Dad, let's just let the past be the past. Don't bring it up, and don't keep dwelling on it, or it'll just ruin our mood and affect our relationship as father and daughter. I still remember my childhood. I remember how good you used to be to me—it makes me especially nostalgic."
All these years, Lia had actually still been longing for a father's love in her heart.
Tom nodded. "Okay, we'll let the past be past. There's a Pavilion over there, let's go sit for a bit. This Horne Family yard is really big, and the scenery's great. It's more than twice the size of ours."
