Chapter 213: Affectation
Upon arriving at the Fords’ home, Sophie Shaw watched as the matriarch of the family came out of the house just as their car pulled into the courtyard.
Her face was wreathed in smiles. Overcome with excitement, she jogged all the way to Sophie, looking quite spry for her age.
By the time Sophie got out and closed the car door, her grandmother had run up and wrapped her in a warm hug.
"Sophie, you’re finally here! Grandma has been waiting for you all morning."
The old madam was still fraught with anxiety, terrified she might wake up one day to find that being reunited with her granddaughter had all been a dream.
She only had eyes for Sophie Shaw. After sparing Alaric Blackwood a brief glance, she pulled Sophie into the house.
The maids had prepared hot drinks and pastries. Alaric Blackwood was left to his own devices, as no one paid him any mind.
"Evan isn’t here?"
He asked casually.
The old madam replied, "Evan has a date today."
Alaric Blackwood was stunned. "He’s on a date? With a man or a woman?"
The old madam shot him a sharp look. "You little brat, what nonsense are you spouting now? Do you really think our Evan is gay? Of course he’s on a date with a woman."
Before Alaric Blackwood could say a word, the old madam’s expression turned cheerful again as she turned to Sophie Shaw with a proud tilt of her chin. "I called your cousin this morning and asked him to come over, but he said he couldn’t because he had a date. I’m guessing it’s with the girl I set him up with yesterday. He must be quite taken with her."
"Before you know it, this old grandma will be attending another wedding banquet."
The old madam was beaming. Leaving Alaric Blackwood behind, she pulled Sophie Shaw upstairs. "Grandma will show you your mother’s room."
Sophie Shaw murmured her assent and let her grandmother lead her to a room on the second floor.
All the furnishings and belongings inside had been preserved just as they were before Mina Ford left. A poster of James Dean was on the wall.
In a box beneath the bookshelf, numerous albums and CDs were neatly arranged. They were albums by SHE, a girl group from Tyria that Mina Ford had loved. Beside them sat a mini CD player.
Sophie Shaw picked up the CD player and opened it. Inside was a disc from SHE’s album, Beautiful New World.
She pressed play, and the sound of music and singing slowly filled the quiet room.
"Because we cannot fly,
The voyage to happiness is long.
Storms will inevitably lie in wait ahead,
Trying to tear our clasped hands apart..."
Sophie Shaw didn’t know the name of the song, only that it was beautiful, but also very sad.
Listening to the song, she could almost picture her mother and father’s difficult, unapproved love from all those years ago.
And yet, her mother never found happiness in the end.
She had tightly gripped the hand of the man she believed was her destiny, never letting go, but their story had a tragic ending.
Seeing Sophie’s eyes redden as she listened to the song, the old madam reached out and patted her shoulder. "Sophie, do you think Mina’s choice back then was wrong?"
"Yes."
Sophie Shaw was now filled with resentment for Joseph Shaw.
"I used to think so, too."
The old madam pulled her down to sit on the edge of the bed. "Your grandfather and I never liked your father, not from the very beginning. But your mother loved him. She never regretted her decision, not even up to the day she died. Perhaps she grew disappointed in your father, but she gave birth to you. More than your father, you were the most precious gift she received from that marriage."
A pang of sorrow shot through Sophie Shaw’s heart, and tears streamed down her face. "Why didn’t she try to contact you back then?"
"Perhaps she still resented us. Or maybe she was waiting for a bone marrow donor. But she never got the chance. A sudden cerebral hemorrhage took her life. Her illness had also dragged on for too long and deteriorated too quickly."
The old madam tightened her grip on Sophie Shaw’s hand. "Your mother actually had some last words. Mandy told me about them later."
"What were they?"
"She asked Mandy to tell us to fight for custody of you."
However, the Ford Family ultimately lost that intense, though bloodless, custody battle.
"Thank goodness you’ve come back. If I had died before you returned, I would never have been able to rest in peace."
Sophie Shaw reached out and hugged her grandmother. "Grandma, please don’t talk about dying. I’m back now, and I’ll never leave you again."
The old madam hugged her back, tears streaming down her wrinkled cheeks. "Grandma wants to give you the very best of everything. Whatever you need, whatever you want, just tell me."
"I just want you to live a long and healthy life, Grandma."
’Her grandfather was already gone. Thankfully, she was reunited with her grandmother now. She wanted to cherish their time together for as long as possible.’
"You have to live a long, long life."
Alaric Blackwood came up to the second floor and saw the grandmother and granddaughter clinging to each other, crying their eyes out in a raw display of emotion. He smiled pensively, then turned and went back downstairs without disturbing them.
He had just sat down on the living room sofa when his phone rang.
It was Vianne Kane.
He hesitated for a moment before answering.
"Alaric, I’ve already filed for divorce from Damian Morgan."
"Oh."
"Are you free tonight? I’d like to treat you to dinner. There’s something I want to talk to you about regarding Conor Sullivan."
"We can talk about it over the phone."
"I don’t think that’s a good idea. What if our phones are tapped? It’s much safer and more reliable to talk in person."
Alaric Blackwood was still debating whether to agree to Vianne Kane’s request when the woman’s voice turned sweet and coquettish. "Alaric, you said Conor Sullivan is back for revenge, and I believe you. Right now, I’m the only one who can draw him out. He said he’d find me again, so he’ll definitely be in touch."
Alaric Blackwood’s brow furrowed slightly. "When and where?"
A sly chuckle came from the other end of the line. "I’ll text you the time and place once I’ve booked the restaurant."
After hanging up, Alaric Blackwood tossed his phone onto the sofa. He leaned his head back, staring at the crystal chandelier on the ceiling for a moment in deep thought. Then, he picked up his phone again and dialed a number.
"Keep an eye on Damian Morgan."
...
After having lunch with Sophie Shaw and the old madam, Alaric Blackwood slipped away to the tea room. He curled up lazily on the sofa to catch up on some sleep.
He hadn’t slept well the previous night, and he dozed fitfully.
In his drowsy state, he vaguely sensed someone come in and drape a thick blanket over him, as if afraid he’d catch a chill.
"Wifey..."
The old madam saw that his eyes were still closed with sleep, a faint smile playing on his lips as he sweetly called out for his wife. She chuckled and slapped him on the shoulder. "You little brat, I’m not your wife. I’m your grandma."
She hadn’t used much force, but the slap was enough to jolt Alaric Blackwood awake.
He glanced at the blanket covering him, then at his grandmother’s wrinkled face, and frowned slightly. "Why wasn’t it my wife who came to cover me?"
"Why don’t you go ask her?"
"..."
Alaric Blackwood was a little peeved. ’It feels like Sophie doesn’t even care about me, her husband.’
Just as he was sulking over this trivial matter, his grandmother patted his shoulder again. "What are you so peeved about? Your wife didn’t come herself, but she’s the one who reminded me to bring you a blanket. She was worried you’d get cold."
Hearing this, the frown on Alaric Blackwood’s face slowly faded. Suddenly, even the blanket covering him seemed to smell sweet.
He ignored his grandmother’s words and, feigning nonchalance, turned over so his back was facing her. "I’m sleepy."
"So dramatic."
The old madam muttered to herself and left.
The moment she stepped out of the tea room, Alaric Blackwood’s phone pinged.
It was a text from Vianne Kane with the restaurant’s location and a meeting time set for six in the evening.