Wayne was about to reply when Luther stopped him, "Alright now, this argument is the equivalent of chicken or egg. There's no right answer."Luther turned around and looked at the expressionless Sage and said, "Sage, what're you waiting for? Invite the old man in."Sage was about to invite Wayne in when he dodged to the side, "No, I'm not going in!"Wayne refused to go inside and squatted by the corner of the wall.Everyone else looked at each other knowingly, they, too, tried to get Wayne to rest inside the Rosa Garden, but he refused to. So everyone stood outside and waited.Luther could not understand Wayne's refusal. He looked over at Sage, whose expression was as still as the dead water, and frowned. He knew Sage was about to lose it."What's up with you, grandpa? Why'd you refuse to go inside?" Luther squatted next to Wayne and asked.Luther pointed at Sage and continued, "This girl here had been thinking about you every day. Now that you're finally back, you should spend
Leah hummed yes in anticipation. She knew Sage was going to cook as soon as she heard the word 'feast'.Hunter earned himself a spot for the feast as well.Sage was likely in a decent mood as she told Hunter, "If you're able to make the old man shower and change into a new set of clean clothing, you won't have to say goodbye to your seasonal bonus.""Roger!" Hunter thought to himself, how hard could it be? It was not the first time he had to shower an old man. He had some tricks up his sleeves when it came to old people.Rosa Garden had everything you could think of. There was a jacuzzi and even a sauna room.Unsure of what sorcery Hunter cast on Wayne, not only did he take a shower, he also went into the jacuzzi and sauna. When Wayne came out of the sauna room, he was spotting a new set of shirt and gray trousers, looking fresh as ever.Wayne also had his pipe in his hand, of course."Grandpa."Leah was setting the table up when Wayne walked toward her. She uttered in the mids
Sage's eyes were locked on Wayne's hands, and a wave of overwhelming emotions rushed over her. She felt like she had traveled back in time to when she was still a kid. She used to sit on her grandpa's lap and fully focus on him while he carved under the dim yellow light. Grandpa would carve all sorts of portraits, sceneries, flowers, ponds, and more on jade stones.During that time, Sage used to think jade-carving was the most interesting thing in the whole world, and her grandpa was the best Jade-Carving Master.The old man's palms were big, with thick layers of calluses, contrasting the tiny and delicate jade in his palms.Sage took the little portrait of her from Wayne's hands, holding it tight in her own palms as the corner of her lips lifted."Thanks, Grandpa."Wayne chuckled lightly and said, "You're finally willing to smile for me."Sage held the jade portrait of hers in her palms as she turned it around and played with it. She hummed mischievously, "You asked for it by ru
Sage brought Wayne upstairs to her parent's room.Even though her parents were not here anymore, Sage kept the room as it was. After she chased Braxton, who was bumming the room out, she renovated the room back to how it used to be.The maids cleaned the room every day, and there was no dust to be found.It was the first time Wayne came to the Rosa Garden and the first time he came into his son and daughter-in-law's room as well. The moment Wayne went inside and saw the altar of their portraits, his eyes reddened. "Come inside, Grandpa."Sage reached her hands out to Wayne and pulled him into the room. She then invited him to sit on the sofa and went to light some candles on the altar. "Dad, mom, grandpa came to visit."Wayne sat on the sofa, and his eyes were glued to the portraits of his eldest son and daughter-in-law. His heart sank to his stomach as he fell into a deep silence.Sawyer and Primrose's room decor was in Victorian-era style, and the furniture was made with m
Wayne asked, "What about now?""I've seen enough now to know," Sage responded.Wayne laughed audibly, "You're just like your father when he was young, smart, capable, with lots of temper.""Huh? Really? I thought dad had a pretty good temper," Sage said genuinely.Braxton and Zane did what they did to Sawyer, and yet he did nothing in return. If it were Sage, she would not have tolerated it."That's because of your mother."Wayne said, "Your father was a capable man, and so was your mother. When they're together, your mother managed to subdue him."Sage listened quietly. She liked hearing stories about her parents.Wayne's version of her parents versus Sage's version of them was different because of their different identities to either person.Wayne mentioned her father and mother leaving the house and starting their own business when Sage asked, "When father ran away from home to Salem City, was that mother's idea?""Yes, but not entirely," Wayne answered.Wayne was reminde
Uh…Sage chuckled and said, "My father…was pretty straightforward, huh?"Wayne responded, "Not just that, he was a thoughtless boy. At that time, I thought the boy would grow up to be successful, seeing as how odd he was, so I brought him home with me. I told your uncles that he was my son from another woman and had them treat him like their own big brother, and they did. Who knew that they'd bully him behind my back. However, your father was not someone that would tolerate bullies. He fought back and won."Sage said straightforwardly, "But they held grudges against him."Just like Yeva did.All Yeva had in her heart were grudges throughout the year.Wayne said calmly, "Yeah… not long after your father moved in, I started teaching Braxton and Zane carving. Both of them didn't like how it hurt their hands and never took it seriously. Your father, on the other hand, came to me by himself and told me he wanted to learn. I gave him a piece of white jade and a carving knife, and he st
"I'm begging you!""Tragic!""FML!""You guys are trying to kill me so you could take over my title of Miss Jerffeson!"…"I'm going to kill someone!"Both of Yeva's front teeth had fallen. She finally got it filled, but she was still speaking with a slight lisp, which was why she refused to talk too loudly. Her stomach had been so painful from the repressed anger.Never mind the fact that she became a laughingstock all over the internet; what pissed her off the most was how Julian brought Queenie back to the Jefferson's Residence right after the wedding, just so he could take care of her.On top of that, Wilson Jefferson and his wife agreed to it as well!They even asked for Yeva to be nicer to Queenie, promising that they would only keep the child when it was born.Which meant that Yeva had not even gotten the newly-wed wealthy madam treatment before she became a stepmother!How atrocious!Braxton also agreed that they went overboard. He wanted to talk some sense into the
It had been a few days since Wayne stayed in Rosa Garden. In the end, he still wanted to leave."I'm really not used to staying in a big house, nor do I enjoy being taken care of by other people. I prefer staying alone. Come on, Sage, please let me leave." Wayne really tried hard to pursue his eldest granddaughter by talking like a little child asking for candy.As Hunter and Leah heard Wayne asking to leave again, none of them responded at the dinner table. Both of them look at Sage.This time around, Sage did not reject Wayne's request directly. "It's alright if you don't want to stay in Rosa Garden. I bought a small house near Pheonix Vintage Market. Once it is ready, you can stay there."'Pheonix Vintage Market!' Wayne's eyes widened. The suggestion hit his sweet spot, and it was exactly where he was planning to move in to."That… works too." Wayne did not reject it. "But I need to go to Nadeem City soon. I have set an appointment with an old pal that I had not met for a long