Jenny beamed as she greeted Old Mr. Faust, "Grandpa.""Jenny?" The old man was shocked to see her. "Did that boy ask you to come?"Only Alec knew of his arrival in Bardoff City. If he hadn't informed Jenny, she wouldn't have shown up so soon."I live right next door, actually." Jenny pointed at the neighboring building, staying silent on her business with Evan.Old Mr. Faust grinned. "No wonder he chose this place."Jenny laughed, then changed the topic. "How are you? Feeling better?""I'm an old man, after all. Things are what they are." Old Mr. Faust sighed, having long accepted his reality. "Come, sit."Jenny sat across from him, noticing how frail he looked. "You don't have much to worry about from now on—Alec's most likely the head of the Faust family now.""Mhm. He's never disappointed me," Old Mr. Faust said proudly.Though he was never fond of Mortimer, the one thing he was glad of his son was his beloved grandson Alec.Still…"You're right. All that I'm holding onto
Old Mr. Faust was waiting for Alec when he returned to the living room. The old man seemed displeased. "Has she gone back?""Mhm." Alec nodded, sitting down beside his grandfather."What is wrong with you, Alec? How long has it been? Why aren't you two together yet? Are you even trying?" Old Mr. Faust questioned, genuinely concerned for his grandson.Alec sighed. "You make it sound like I don't want to, Grandpa."If Jenny had agreed to it, they'd have started dating long ago."She's only hesitating because of all the things you did that broke her trust. Bitter, isn't it?" Old Mr. Faust grunted out. Before Alec could speak, Old Mr. Faust continued, "When you two were married, I told you she was the right match for you, but you never wanted to even meet her in person. Look at you now. You lost your own wife, for God's sake."The more Old Mr. Faust spoke, the more upset he grew. God knew how much work he'd put into getting Alec to marry Jenny, only for it to end with a divorce.I
Just then, the doorbell rang."I'll get it," Jenny said, heading to the door, already guessing who it was.Sure enough, Zack and Gilbert stood outside the door, Janet alongside them. The atmosphere was tense between them, most likely due to the issue with Janet.Jenny ignored that fact, however. "Come on inside. It's cold out."She glanced at the sky; snowflakes already drifting down from the clouds. It looked like there'd be another few inches of snow today.Warmth surrounded them as they entered the villa."I've bought all the ingredients you asked for, Gilbert. Is there anything else you need? I can go get it." Jenny dragged her eldest brother to the kitchen.Spotting Evan in there, Gilbert scoffed, "Oh? You wanna help out too?""However way I can, yes." Evan smiled, ignoring Gilbert's poke. He knew Gilbert wasn't happy with him for asking Jenny to take care of him. But Evan didn't care.Gilbert sneered. "No need. Why don't you go back to your room and rest? Else you feel
Once they finished with the spinach, Zack and Janet went out to the garden with Jenny. The place was piled with snow at this point, forming quite the snowy wonderland."Jenny," Alec murmured longingly when he spotted the trio playing in the snow next door. He stood right beside the fence in his own garden.Jenny went up to him. "You guys finished preparing lunch yet?""Mhm. The butler's making it." A two-person meal didn't need much lavishness or grandeur.Alec only wished Jenny could join them for lunch.Recalling it would only be Alec and Old Mr. Faust eating together, Jenny suddenly pitied them. "You didn't invite Mortimer and Alfred for lunch?"She knew Alec would loathe seeing them right now, but it was New Year's, the time for family to reunite and spend time together."Them?" Alec scowled. "Why should I? We're not family.""Alright then." "What about you? I'm guessing Gilbert's cooking in the kitchen?" Jenny nodded, feeling embarrassed. "Yeah. Zack and I don't know h
Jenny was about to say something else but ultimately kept silent since Janet was there. "Be smart, then."After Jenny left, Zack huffed and pursed his lips, feeling conflicted."I'm sorry, Zack," Janet said softly.She knew things only devolved to this because of her, though Zack never said anything of the sort out loud. Janet guessed that Zack's siblings knew of her past too.After falling in love with Zack and his personality, she felt guilty for subjecting him to that sort of response from his family. If only she hadn't had such a complicated past, things wouldn't be so tense today."Don't be sorry. It's not your fault." Zack had done his homework on Janet, too, and confronted her about everything.Yes, it was morally incorrect, but Zack didn't blame her. Who wouldn't want to live a worry-free life?Now Janet really felt ashamed. "It is," she mumbled weakly."Janet…""I regret it all, you know that, right?" Zack's heart clenched painfully. He gathered Janet into his arms,
Gilbert eased up upon hearing that. "You have a point. Being too opposed right now will only incur Zack's hatred."He had thought of breaking the two up from the start, just hadn't put things into action. But now, Jenny's words had opened yet another window of understanding for him. It wasn't like Gilbert actually wanted to stay at a stalemate with Zack forever."We'll wait and see first." Jenny nodded, glad that her brother was taking her advice.Gilbert then shifted his focus to Alec, having seen him speak to Jenny earlier by the fence. "What did Alec Faust want? Does he live next door?""He…""Hasn't given up, has he?" Gilbert questioned. He'd thought Alec might feel defeated when Jenny moved in with Evan and finally gave up. The doctor was never certain whether Evan's injuries would heal. Therefore, there was a chance that Jenny would have to stay by his side for a long, long time. He imagined Alec would surrender under the pressure.Jenny sighed, glancing out the window to f
"Leave?" Evan gazed at him questioningly. "And go where?""Back overseas. To our home. We don't have to worry about all this anymore once we go back." Not even Alec could take them on at that point.Evan stayed silent as if actually considering it. "We can take advantage of Miss Walter's guilt right now and bring her overseas with us, saying we'll find treatment for you there. She might actually agree to come along."Howard really didn't care if Jenny agreed. Even if she didn't, they had ways of taking Jenny with them.Surprisingly, Howard's suggestion was quite appealing to Evan. He had a firm rule at his home overseas, and not only could Jenny stay with him for up to several years, but he might even give up on the act, claiming that treatment overseas was much more effective. At that point, he could do all he wanted, and no one could stop him anymore.But…Evan was worried he might be pushing Jenny too far with the request. Having her take care of him was already something agai
Meanwhile, Alec's home was much quieter than Evan's. He had made several dishes, and though they weren't as fancy, it was still nutritious and homey enough for the three of them—grandparent, grandson, and butler."Come join us, Mr. Duncan," Alec called to Warren, who was standing in the doorway.Warren used to be dismissed during the holidays in order to join his family to have New Year's dinner, but ever since Old Mr. Faust's condition worsened, they could no longer afford to leave the old man alone at home.To Alec, Warren was part of their family. The man had taken care of him since he was a boy, after all. In fact, it wouldn't be too strange to treat the man as a second grandfather.Warren fidgeted awkwardly. "I'm afraid that might be…""Eat with us, Warren. You've always been family, now is no different," Old Mr. Faust spoke up. Warren had no reason to refuse now. He sat down with Alec and the old man while Alec gave them each a cup of warm tea instead of wine. "Here, let's