While Brandon was having his coffee, he asked about it, and Sophia told him everything.
“You’re making them do this because of me, isn’t it?”
“Yes!! Because you’re a freak in terms of cleanness.” Sophia responded, reminding him how he hated to see things not in their order in the room and liked to keep everything neat and clean. Hell, he didn’t even want to go to a local restaurant because of a hygiene issue. “And also because they’re not allowed to play Holi in the house.”
“What’s Holi?” Artemis asked in a low tone.
“Holi is the festival of colors, festivals of love which is celebrated in India,” Caroline replied. “When we were kids, we used to play Holi, but as we grew older, the excitement of Holi died because of everyone’s busy schedule.”
“It was easier to celebrate all the festivals all around the world because childhood is the best phase of life.”
“Artin is still a baby. Then, I think he should enjoy that festival.”
“I bet that.” Caroline agreed. “He will run here and there, coloring everyone with all the colors.” She added with a smile.
“And in that way, you can also recall your childhood,” Artemis added and kissed her cheek.
*****
Colton arched his eye in surprise when he saw Caroline and Artemis eating like they were working very hard before dinner. He arrived at the time of dinner, so he had no idea about the things that had happened before. It was a rule of the house to eat dinner together until and unless something popped up at the last moment.
“There is enough food. You both don’t have to worry about that.” Colton remarked.
“Don’t disturb them, Colton. They have worked really hard.” Logan teased.
“Eww,” Colton made a disgusting face thinking about sex.
“You have such a dirty mind,” Caroline said, throwing cucumber at him.
“Gross!! Have some manners while eating, lady.” Colton muttered.
“Caro!!”
“Sorry, dad.” Caroline apologized before resuming the dinner. Soon, Artin walked into the dining humming some songs, and watched everyone have their dinner. Caroline thought he would come near her, but he reached near Logan.
“GGpa, story,” Artin said cutely because last night he was not here to tell him a story.
“Sure, son. I will tell you an interesting story after dinner, okay.”
“Okay!!” Artin agreed and raised his hand to take him in his lap. Logan smiled and carried him in his lap. Though, he had his dinner an hour ago. He started eating from Logan’s plate as well.
*****
“So, you will be returning back to work tomorrow?” Brandon asked.
“Umm… yes, dad,” Artemis replied reluctantly.
“You do know that your marriage is in the next eight days.”
“I know that, but I hope you will understand the workload that is on my shoulder for a while,” Artemis responded, understanding the concern of Brandon for his daughter. “At the same time, I also assure you that things won’t be the same for the upcoming three weeks. I’m trying my best to manage both my love and responsibilities together.”
“You can postpone marriage, you know, at least for a few years, until you’re well settled as a CEO,” Brandon suggested and hoped this to keep his daughter with him for a while and also his grandson. To be honest, he was the soul of the house nowadays.
Artemis laughed, shaking his head. “I’m afraid that I won't do that, dad.”
“So, there is no chance?”
“No. Dad. We are just three hours away by flight and a few seconds away by Sarah’s power. She can visit you anytime she wants or whenever you want.”
“In that case, the wedding is really happening.”
“Yes, dad. Finally!!”
“If not, Caro, then you can leave Artin with us as a replacement.” Brandon thought.
“Daddddd. We didn’t adopt him to abandon him. I know we are still learning, but I think you should now start preparing your mind to walk down on aisle with our daughter.”
Artemis and Brandon talked about other things while Caroline was spending time with Artemis’s family to strengthen their bond with them. All these while, she had a habit of visiting them at least twice a week to check on them and to know them better. She felt blessed to have in-laws who treated her like a daughter than a daughter-in-law.
“How is our grandson? You didn’t bring him with you?” Sila asked after talking with Caroline for a while.
“He is with Grandpa. He has now built a habit of listening to stories before going to bed.” Caroline chuckled.
“Now that I’m retired from pack duties, I think I should start reading stories.” Lorenzo joked. Caroline nodded her head.
“Mom can teach you about that. She knows a lot of stories because she told me about a story of two fallen angels.” Caroline said, and a dead silence followed then. Caroline didn’t miss the tense look on both Lorenzo's and Sila’s faces.
“I didn’t know she was good at storytelling,” Lorenzo commented with a smile, but too late, Caroline had already sensed that something was related to that two fallen angels. She knew that her grandpa told the stories of real incidents.
‘Is this possible that the story of two fallen angels is a real incident?’ She wondered.
‘There can be a chance of it observing their previous expression.’ Shaba said.
“By the way, Santino wanted to come to your wedding,” Sila said, changing the topic. “I know he denied first when Arti invited him before, nor did he give his measurement for his cloth when your cousin was in the city. But now, he wants to attend.”
.
#TBC