Chapter 314: Accepting (4)
"Why are we trusting him to not take Rafael somewhere to fight him?" Annalise asked, looking out one of the kitchen windows to spot her father’s return with Rafael.
"Because your father knows we would be angry with him if he lied about just wanting to talk. I would love to stay here to wait for them with you, but I must get a few things for dinner. I can’t have his first meal be bad," Celine said, looking around for the basket she used when going into the market.
"To be fair, I don’t think his mother can cook, so you do not need to try too hard. Your cooking is already good. If you think too much about it, you might ruin it. I wonder if grandmother will be here," said Annalise.
Annalise wanted Celeste to meet the grandson of the man Iris loved. Rafael might have some stories about Iris that would make her grandmother happy to hear.
"She rarely comes down for dinner, but we have a special guest, so she might be here. I hope she comes early so she won’t have to fight through the crowd already gathering. Your father needs to bring Rafael early too. This all needs to go well so I want all of you to be on your best behaviour. I will be back soon," Celine said, deciding to pick up a basket on the way since she could not find her own.
Annalise continued to look out the window for any signs of her father or Rafael. She ignored the small crowds of people confused about how the fight ended gathering around her home. They would eventually find out about the truce and her relationship.
She couldn’t focus on them right now when she was concerned about Rafael and her father coming back in one piece.
Annalise ended up moving away from the windows since standing around wasn’t going to make them come faster. "I should tidy up to distract myself," she said, inspecting the kitchen. Unfortunately, her parents always kept the house tidy so there was nothing to clean.
Annalise walked over to the dining table to sit down and stare at the door for the second it would open. "They wouldn’t fight each other," she said, having faith in the two. She tapped her fingers on her arms to calm her nerves. "I should go to sleep- Father!" Annalise yelled as the front door opened.
Phillip smiled, enjoying the warm welcome. "I’ve missed this excitement whenever I come home. A hug would make it even better," he said, spreading his arms wide for Annalise to come to him. A memory of her younger with a dress full of dirt appeared in his mind.
Phillip was pained to watch Annalise stand up and walk by him to check the man behind him. "Wonderful," he muttered, dropping his hands to his side. If only he knew she would be ignoring him like this, Phillip would have enjoyed every second of her greeting him at the door with a hug in the past.
Annalise closed the door after Rafael stepped in to have some privacy from the confused prying eyes outside. "It doesn’t look like the two of you tried to kill each other. That’s good. You should take off your armour to get more comfortable," Annalise said, holding Rafael’s hand to lead him to her bedroom.