“Er, why are you still here?” I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down. My mind was racing. I knew that I hadn’t said anything that would’ve given us away to Laura just now. At most, Arron called Laura “Grandma” several times.
My head started to pound. I thought that Rufus had left and had consequently became lax, but it turned out he was standing right outside the door for who knew how long!
Laura quickly put Arron down, opened the door, and walked out. She pretended to be surprised and asked Rufus, “Didn’t you leave with the doctor? Why’d you come back?”
Rufus didn’t answer Laura’s question. His eyes were so deep that no one could tell what was on his mind. He glanced at me and then looked away. “Mom, why did that child call you Grandma?”
It seemed that Rufus had overheard everything. I didn’t blame him for being suspicious, because it really was strange for Arron to call Laura “Grandma” the first time they met.
I was racking my brains to come up with an excuse, but fortunately, Laura reacted more quickly. “I like that child. He’s obedient, sensible, and cute, so I simply asked him to call me ‘Grandma’.”
After saying that, Laura snorted indignantly. “You refuse to get married and won’t have kids. Can’t I get a grandson for myself? Are you going to stop me?”
Embarrassment flashed across Rufus’ face. Being rendered speechless, he mumbled a goodbye to Laura and left quickly.
Laura and I breathed a sigh of relief as soon as he turned the corner.
“Fortunately, Rufus didn’t ask any more questions. If he kept on prodding, I wouldn’t have known what to say. We can’t talk too much either. That guy is very observant. If we’re not careful, he’ll find out that something’s off.” Laura rubbed her temples helplessly.
I smiled bitterly. “Fortunately, Arron was bandaged up, or Rufus would’ve found out on the spot.”
“Yes, good thing.”
While we were talking, the door was opened slightly. Arron squeezed past the narrow gap, wrapped his chubby arms around my legs, and asked, “Who was that handsome man?”
“That was…” I hesitated for a moment, not knowing how to explain it to Arron.
Suddenly, it dawned on Arron. “That handsome man called Grandma ‘Mom’, so that’s Grandma’s son, right? Is he my father?”
I stiffened. Inexplicable bitterness surged in my heart as I looked into Arron’s expectant eyes. Averting my gaze, I said with difficulty, “No, he’s not your father. Don’t call Laura ‘Grandma’ anymore. It’s not appropriate.”
Arron blinked in confusion. “Why?”
He looked at Laura and stuck out his lower lip. Although he was a little reluctant, he still obeyed me. “Okay, I won’t call Grandma ‘Grandma’ anymore. But Grandma, you’ll always be my grandma in my heart.”
Laura frowned deeply. She opened her mouth and seemed to want to say something, but finally she decided against it. She just turned around and secretly wiped away her tears, which made me feel bad.
Crystal’s POV
Time sped by and soon enough it was time for the military parade. I woke up at the crack of dawn to get ready.
I looked at Arron who was still sleeping and walked over to his side. I bent over, stroked his head, and planted a kiss on his forehead. Although Arron had to keep his bandages on at all times, he was generally enjoying his time at the imperial palace.
After setting the table and getting everything in order, I headed down to the city center to wait for the opening of the parade.
This year, more people came to the celebration. After Rufus took over the throne, the werewolves reclaimed a number of packs that had been under the authority of vampires. In addition, this was the first grand celebration since Rufus became king, so all the Alphas and royal aristocrats of the empire came.
As I joined the group of Alphas, I watched them exchange pleasantries and mingle. Most of these Alphas were already friends with each other, having been connected with interests or marriage relationships. Lots of them disdained the border packs. So of course, my presence was disregarded. But I didn’t care at all. I was happy to be ignored, otherwise I would have to find an excuse to disguise myself. I adjusted my white hat and moved to the most inconspicuous spot, trying not to make a sound.
Warren acted just like me. And it wasn’t because no one paid him any attention; he just didn’t like attending social engagements and dealing with the hypocrites. He stood not far away from me, with a cold face, and didn’t intend to socialize as usual.
Some of the Alphas went to talk to him. Even though he was nice, Warren didn’t seem very friendly. And after some of them noticed his implicit hostility, they gradually left him alone. Fortunately, Warren brought his subordinates here, who stood around him to ease the embarrassment.
I watched all this silently and felt a little surprised. When I met Warren at the reception party last time, I felt that he had recoiled back to his old stern self. Initially, I thought it was just my wild guess, but now it seemed I was right.
Five years ago before we parted ways, I felt Warren had changed a lot. He had basically let go of himself in front of his friends. All his joy, anger, and sadness were no longer hidden in his heart. He was completely tamed by Flora to be a good boyfriend. Love indeed made him a better man.
But why did Warren seem to have reverted to his apathetic self? He looked so cold now as if there was nothing he cared about in the world. His extraordinary coldness made me start to worry about his relationship with Flora. A man with a happy family and a loving wife and children would not be like this.
I couldn’t help but give Warren a few extra glances, and he noticed. He looked downcast as he squeezed his lips together and looked at me. He was full of hostility towards me.
I grinned at him, but then realized that I was wearing a mask. He couldn’t see my expression right now. Amused by my foolish behavior, I gave my mask an embarrassed tug and wanted to say something to Warren to break the awkward silence, but Warren had already turned his head away. He obviously didn’t want to be bothered.
Alright! He still remembered the fact that I had ignored him at the reception party. I pursed my lips and wondered if it was worth it to try and reconnect with him.
Unfortunately, there was no way to rectify the situation now that there was obviously a misunderstanding. Warren was a prideful man, so he wouldn’t talk to me first again. I guessed I might have been blacklisted in his heart.
After giving it some serious thought, I decided to withdraw my steps. I should probably find a more appropriate time and occasion to ask about him and Flora.
Crystal’s POV
Over the past five years, I was afraid that the past would haunt me, so I deliberately blocked news about my old friends and focused solely on the pack’s affairs.
Everyone was doing well before I left, so I didn’t worry about them.
Thinking of Warren’s obsession with Flora, I guessed that I might have been overthinking.
Warren had said that Flora was the only woman he would marry, so I figured the two wouldn’t break up.
I tucked these messy thoughts to the back of my head for the time being and looked into the distance.
The military parade had already begun, and the beautiful floats made their way down the street, one after another. The occasional bursts of firecrackers mingled with the music, making the atmosphere very lively.
I lowered the brim of my hat, trying to block out the dazzling sunlight. Complicated emotions surged in my heart. I recalled the first time I attended the military parade, and how it made me love the empire even more as well as the man who was now in charge of it.
At this moment, I felt as though time hadn’t passed at all. I still loved the empire and Rufus, and I just had to love them in a different way.
When I was lost in thought, I overheard two middle-aged Alphas standing next to me whispering to each other. They were badmouthing Warren, who was standing nearby.
I looked over calmly. I didn’t know who these two middle-aged men were, but I figured they were Alphas from some small packs.
Perhaps it was because they had just gotten the cold shoulder from Warren that they were now very unhappy and were speaking ill of Warren.
“Warren became an Alpha at such a young age, yet already he’s arrogant and doesn’t take us seriously.”
“What a proud bastard! I just don’t know what Leonard was thinking. How could he let an arrogant guy like him become an Alpha?”
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