WELCOME TO THE FAMILY

Tiffany laughed, "How is that possible when you are just slightly older than me?"

Jake smiled, "What I'm trying to say is that, right from when we were kids, I dreamt of spending the rest of my life with you. I would secretly watch you and marvel at how beautiful you looked.

When we grew older and became teenagers, I realized that what I felt for you was love. I've never stopped loving you since then. Trust me, I tried to stop but my love for you only got stronger."

Tiffany squeezed his hand which was intertwined with hers, "We lost so much time, thanks to my stupidity."

"We will make up for it, I promise," Jake replied. "And as for getting married again, let's talk about it the day you get discharged from the hospital."

"Hope I'm not interrupting?" A familiar voice suddenly asked.

Both Jake and Tiffany had thought it was the doctor when the door was opened. They were both surprised to hear Lisa's voice, especially Tiffany."

Jake got up and said to Tiffany, "I'll be right back. Let me ask the doctor a few questions."

He smiled at Lisa before leaving the ward.

When she saw Monalisa, Tiffany recalled all the times they had clashed since they never liked each other. She didn't want their relationship to be bad because she loved Jake and knew that Lisa meant a lot to him.

She smiled, "Hi, Lisa. It's been a while. Thanks for coming to see me."

Lisa smiled, "I should be thanking you. I heard that you took a bullet for my brother and realized that I misjudged you before. I don't know why we never got along or why I always thought you were selfish and arrogant."

"I actually thought worse about you," Tiffany confessed and they both laughed.

Tiffany continued, "To be honest, my opinion of you swayed after you helped Cora out in court and exposed your dad's wrongs. And you were not completely wrong about me. I can be self-centered and a little arrogant sometimes but never with the people I love.

I love Jake a lot and now it extends to you."

"I guess it's safe to say, welcome to the family!" Lisa replied.

"Thank you so much, Lisa. Paris told me that our families plan to get together during the holidays. I'm hoping to get to know you so much better during that time."

Lisa sighed, "I'm afraid that will not be possible. My flight to NYC leaves tomorrow and I may not visit London until next year. But rest assured, we'll speak on the phone and I'll tell you all you need to know."

"Looking forward to it," Tiffany replied.