At six–thirty in the evening. Briar’s motorcycle pulled up to the gates of the Jennings family villa. A servant was already waiting there, and when she saw. Briar arrive right on time, her face lit up with a warm smile. She greeted, “Miss Jennings, you’re back! Mr. Jennings and the others have been waiting for you. Please, come inside.”
Briar nodded. She set her helmet on the bike and replied, “Alright.”
This was the same servant who, back when Briar lived with the Jennings family, always tried to sneak her extra food whenever she was home. Briar had a good impression of her and was always gentle with her in return.
The servant led Briar inside with a cheerful smile, “Mr. Jennings, Miss Jennings has arrived.”
The Jennings family was all sitting together in the living room, just like the day Briar first returned home. The four of them turned to the door in unison. When Edgar tooked over, his face was already wearing a loving smile, as he said, “Briar, you’re back! Halle and I were just talking about you.”
Briar let out a low scoff, “Oh, really? What were you saying about me?”
Edgar had just said it casually and didn’t expect Briar to call him out. He stammered, “Uh… what else could we say? We were just worried about how you’ve been these days, if you’re eating well, if you’ve lost weight.”
Briar glanced at Halle, who was sitting there awkwardly, and the smirk on her lips grew even wider. She laughed, “Are you serious? I don’t buy it. Either you’re seeing things, or Halle’s got something wrong with her. Do you want me to give you a check–up? Maybe I can cure you both.”
Edgar and Halle fell silent at her words.
Beatrice, who was sitting nearby, was fuming. Briar had barely walked in and already started mocking their parents, saying they were out of their minds and probably sick in the head. Beatrice was about to jump up and argue with her, but Camden, who was just as pissed off but still keeping a straight face, quietly reached out and held her back.
Camden shook his head at Beatrice, signaling her to let it go for now. After all, they had tricked Briar into coming home tonight because there was something more important to deal with.
Beatrice gritted her teeth and shot Briar a venomous glare. If looks could kill, Briar would be riddled with holes by now.
Briar’s words killed the mood instantly, and Edgar, worried she might say something even wilder, quickly tried to smooth things over with a forced smile, “Hey, Briar, you must be hungry, right? Dinner’s ready. Come on, let’s eat, let’s eat.”
With that, Edgar led Briar toward the dining room. Halle and her two kids were still seething inside, but no matter how angry they were, they could only grit their teeth and follow to the table.
Briar single–handedly brought the mood in the Jennings house down to freezing point. The servants didn’t even dare to breathe too loudly as they hurriedly set the dishes on the table before retreating to their rooms to hide.
Edgar was well aware of Briar’s fiery nature. She wasn’t afraid to express her anger, even going as far as to confront her father, which made him cautious. Tonight, he was planning to say something that would likely upset her even more. To be safe, he decided not to let the bodyguards go just yet. If Briar got agitated and tried to cause trouble, at least the bodyguards could step in to keep things under control.
Briar let Edgar pull her over to the table, but she picked the seat farthest from Halle and her kids, still close enough to reach Edgar sat down, didn’t even touch her fork, and just held out her hand to Edgar and demanded, “Where’s the photo? Hand it over first.”
needed to. She
Edgar hesitated before responding, “The photo is in my study. Let’s eat first, then you and I can look at it together, alright? Look how anxious you are. Do you think I would keep it from you?”
“Hand me the photo first, then we can have dinner,” Briar repeated, her face turning cold in an instant. “Otherwise, nobody eats.”
Edgar was so choked by her words that his breath caught for a second.
‘Nobody eats? What is she going to do? Is she gonna flip the table or something?‘ he thought.
An
Chapter 158
ue, 19 Aug
But when he met Briar’s frosty stare, Edgar didn’t dare push his luck. He got up in annoyance and went upstairs to fetch the photo from his study
‘If this unfilial girl dared to his me, her father, flipping the table would be nothing for her,’ he thought.
Not long after, Edgar returned downstairs, holding a photo in his hand. He said, “Here, this is a picture of you when you were a hundred days old and your mom was holding you. You can have this as a keepsake.”
Briar took the photo, and when she saw the familiar woman in the picture, her eyes softened with a gentle longing. That was her mom, back when she was still young.
The background was a nursery. Briar was cradled in Rosalia’s arms, her chubby little hand clutching her mother’s shoulder–length hair as she strained her neck to look up. Rosalia was gazing down at her with such tenderness; in that moment, the whole world seemed to be just the two of them.
‘Back then, I must’ve felt so safe being held so gently by Mom,‘ Briar thought. ‘Maybe that’s the happiness Grandpa always talked about the bond between mother and daughter.‘
Beside the crib was a colorful little cabinet, with a baby bottle, a small white medicine bottle, and some toys scattered on top. Anyone could tell that Rosalia had someone snap this photo on a whim, just like Edgar said, just to capture the memory.
Unfortunately, Briar was too young to remember any of it. Otherwise, this moment would be burned into her mind, something she could pull out whenever she missed her mom.
Briar’s fingers tightened around the photo until her knuckles turned white, but she quickly relaxed her grip. The photo was over ten years old, neither laminated nor in good condition, and already showed signs of wear. She carefully slipped it into her pocket, then looked up at Edgar, who’d been watching her reaction the whole time. “Let’s eat,” she said.
Edgar nodded with a smile, clearly satisfied with Briar’s reaction. “Alright, let’s eat, let’s eat.”
The Jennings family typically preferred light, mild flavors and avoided anything spicy. However, more than half the dishes on the table were spicy, red- hot Zakian cuisine specially prepared to suit Briar’s love for spicy food.
It was obvious Edgar was making an effort with this meal.
‘Whatever Edgar wants from me later must be a pretty big deal,‘ Briar thought.
During dinner, Edgar kept trying to strike up a conversation, hoping to get closer to Briar, but she just kept her head down and ate, not saying a single word.
Eventually, Edgar gave up, poked at his food for a bit, and just waited for Briar to finish so he could take her to the study for a talk.
Briar, on the other hand, was enjoying her meal wholeheartedly. Despite Halle and her kids being an eyesore, and Edgar talking non–stop like a nosy neighbor, the food was simply delicious. She didn’t hesitate to dig in and finish off two bowls of rice, leaving the table completely satisfied.
After putting down her utensils, Briar stood up and, for once, actually gave Edgar a rare friendly smile, “So, that’s it, right? If we’re done here, I’m heading home.”
With that, she turned and strode straight for the door without hesitation.
Edgar couldn’t just let Briar walk out like that as he hadn’t even gotten to the main thing he needed to discuss with her.
He quickly waved for the bodyguards to block Briar, his smile stiffening on his face as she said, “Briar, wait. There’s something important I need to talk over with you…”
4.2
