Ice and Fire

Chapter 951 What's Going On Among You Four

In the afternoon, Lawrence left Wilson's house after they'd had lunch. Shortly afterwards, Violet and

Greg also bid farewell to Jacob and Elsa before taking their leave.

To see them off, Cherry walked Violet and her husband to the gate. Before her daughter entered the

car, she held her hand. "Give our kind regards to Greg's father once you get home. Tell him that we will

treat him to a meal another day," she said.

"I will, Mom. I bet Fred will be glad," Violet responded. Greg's father had left a good impression on her.

"Ummm. Be careful on the road," Cherry urged.

After Greg's car had disappeared in the distance, Selina turned her eyes to Cherry who was standing

beside her. "Now you don't need to worry about them, do you?" she asked.

"Oh, yeah," Cherry replied with a smile of relief.

"Let's get inside. Mom and Dad missed you so much and always talked about you. They'd be happy to

spend more time with you," Selina proposed as she reached for Cherry's arm, and led back to the

house.

In the car, Violet looked out through the window pensively. An unrelenting sense of apprehension about

Greg's father gripped her heart, although she inwardly fought hard to downplay it. Finally, feeling

exhausted, she yawned as she turned to steal a glance at husband in the driver's seat. With a

concerned look on her face, she asked, "How is Fred doing, Greg?"

Intending not to keep his wife in the dark, Greg in detail explained, "At first, when my stepmother

passed away, Dad was quite upset, and quietly grieved, rarely talking to anyone. For some time, I

stayed with him, while Selina held the fort down for me at the hospital. It was not until three months

later that Dad began to open up a little. Then he asked me to go back to work. Although he was still

grieving Sharon's painful death, he said he'd be okay. But I was still worried about him. So I hired a

nurse to attend to him at home while I was at work. But anytime I was through with work, I'd go home

and relieve the nurse. Now, he is much better, but I don't think he'll ever be the same again after the

gruesome death of Sharon."

"I'm glad that he has coped fairly well. Eventually, he'll get over it. Time heals," Violet said calmly, a

shade passing over her pretty face.

"Yeah, you have a point," Greg replied. With one hand holding the steering wheel, he grabbed Violet's

hand tightly. He took a glance at her before he continued, "I hope that we will live happily. Meantime,

take good care of my Dad and your parents."

"We will. I'm so happy to have you by my side," Violet returned, smiling.

The radiating smile on her face reminded Greg of their school days. Violet's smile was still as sweet

and enchanting as before.

At long last, Greg steered the car into the Xiao family's house. The moment Violet alighted from the car,

she caught sight of Fred. He was sitting in the yard reading the newspaper.

Hesitating, she cast her husband a glance, to which Greg nodded, indicating that she could come

closer to his father. She then sneaked up on Fred who still focused on his newspaper.

"Dad," Violet softly called as she stood beside Fred.

The familiar female voice left Fred confounded. 'Who is she?' he wondered. With a baffled expression,

he turned his face to look at Violet.

Not believing his eyes, Fred exclaimed, "Violet?" 'Am I not in a dream? When did she come back?' he

wondered, his surprise written all over his face.

"Oh, yes. It's me, Fred. I am back," Violet assured. Watching his gaunt, old face, her heart was moved.

'He is younger than Dad. But he looks much older. Oh, what a poor Fred, the loss of Sharon appears to

have really had a toll on him!' she thought.

Slowly, Fred, now certain that he wasn't dreaming, rose and gently put his hand on Violet's shoulder.

"Dad, I am back," Violet gave Fred a tight hug. Down at heart, she mused, 'He is an elder. He brought

up Greg whom I love the most. He is my relative.'

"I am glad to see you back home," Fred said, tears of joy forming in his eyes. Almost overwhelmed by

mixed emotions, he had to restrain himself.

"Have you had lunch? How about I ask Kimmy to prepare a meal for you?" Fred asked courteously.

"No, thanks. We already had lunch at Uncle Wilson's house. Greg and I paid them a visit. My parents

are staying with them," Violet replied. For a moment, she hesitated, apparently lost in other thoughts.

But quickly, she picked up and she continued, "My parents just came back, so they will be busy for

some time. But they asked me to send their regards to you. They'll plan to meet you."

"It''s okay. They can meet me any time. We are a family," Fred replied with a smile. After a pause, he

asked gingerly, "Violet, do you plan to leave again?"

"Even if she wants to leave, I will not let her go," Greg butted in with an feigned domineering air, as he

put his arm around Violet's shoulder.

When Violet turned to look up at Greg, they made eye contact, to which they smiled sweetly.

In a courteous, but firm tone, Fred advised, "Treat her gently, Greg." Then he cleared his voice before

adding with a light touch, "If you ever think you can bully my daughter-in-law around, I'll gang up with

her to make your life miserable."

"Oh, Daddy, no! I'm always the one being bullied. You can't do that to me!" Greg argued jokingly.

"Are you sure, honey?" Violet asked with fake displeasure in her voice, as she turned a sidelong glance

at Greg.

"Easy, sweetheart, I retract that fib I threw in there. You never bullied me, to be honest," Greg said, now

turning honest.

Seeing that the couple got on so well, Fred gave a satisfied smile.

"Let's get inside, Dad. I have a lot of things to tell you," Violet said to Fred.

"Oh, yeah," Fred agreed immediately.

As they went inside, Violet inspected the living room. 'It still looks the same as when I came here last

time except for some new furniture, ' she remarked.

At the moment, Kimmy, the new nanny of Xiao family, got out of the kitchen. When she saw Greg, she

greeted respectfully, "Hello, Mr. Greg, welcome home."

"Ummm," Greg nodded. He then introduced his wife, "This is Violet."

When Kimmy heard this, she bowed to Violet instantly. She greeted reverently, "Hello, Mrs. Violet."

With a warm smile, Violet walked to Kimmy's side, held her by the hand, and said warmly, "You can call

me Violet."

"But..." Kimmy started to say something in response, but she faltered. With a hesitant expression, she

thought to herself, 'I'm a countrywoman, and I'm their servant. They are a wealthy family. How can I call

her name directly?'

"It's okay. Just call me by my first name," Violet insisted.

"Well, okay. Violet," Kimmy mumbled stiffly.

"It's alright. You can go back to your work. Daddy, Greg and I have a little more to talk about," Violet

permitted.

"Thanks," the maid answered. She stood there, staring at Violet's receding figure. 'Despite her blue

blood, she's so humble and friendly. That's so different from other ladies of her class, ' Kimmy judged

silently.

In the living room, Violet, Greg, and Fred sat, having a cheerful conversation. Overjoyed at seeing his

son bring his wife home, a satisfied smile spread on the old man's face. For him, staying with his family

was the greatest delight.

After 5:00 pm, Fred, feeling exhausted excused himself. "I am a little tired. I'll go to my room for a rest,"

he said. Then he exited the lounge, leaving Violet and Greg watching TV.

Suddenly, Greg's phone started buzzing.

"Who is calling at this hour?" Violet asked immediately.

"I don't know. I will take a look," Greg replied as he took out his phone. When he saw the caller ID, his

face turned to a confused look. "It's Mike," he murmured.

"Mike?" Violet repeated in surprise. She snatched the phone from Greg's hand and said, "I am curious

why he has to call at this hour.''

Keeping his calmness, Greg mulled. 'We always talk, but rarely is it anything serious. It's no big deal if

she answers the call. Perhaps Mike will be nicer to her for she is Lawrence's brother.'

The moment Violet picked up the phone, Mike from the other end of the line quickly began talking.

"Oh, man. What were you doing? Couldn't you have answered it more quickly?" Mike whined.

"Are you blaming me, Mike?" Violet challenged, showing no remorse for her intrusion.

"Is this Violet I am speaking to?" an obviously baffled Mike asked. Little had he expected that Violet

would answer the phone. Flustered, he explained, "Don't get me wrong, Violet. I thought it was Greg.

How would I blame you? Don't get mad at me, okay?"

"Then what were you trying to say?" Violet continued, not intending to let him go. Resting her head on

Greg's shoulder, she said playfully, "Let me guess. Do you often treat Greg like this?"

"No. No. You're mistaking me, Violet. I have always been nice to Greg. If you don't believe it, you can

ask him. He'll prove my innocence," Mike explained, although sounding panicky. 'I can't afford to cross

her. Even Lawrence doesn't dare to mess with her. I must explain myself, or else she'll kick a storm, '

he pondered.

Lifting her head, Violet stared at her husband's face.

All that time he had listened in to their conversation, carefully studying his naughty wife, and smiling

without uttering a single word.

"I've always wondered if you and Lawrence often bullied my husband while I was away," Violet grilled.

"That's not true, Violet. I and your brother have always had Greg's back like crazy. We both know that

he means a lot to you, so we try our best to protect and look after him. Believe me, we've always been

his crew. Take a look at Greg to see how well we've helped him weather the storm. Can you see his

radiance? Besides, he is safe and sound, thanks to our ever present help and companionship, even in

lowest moments. Honestly you can't accuse us of neglecting him. Can you?" Mike tried to reason with

Violet.

"I see," Violet responded with a contented air. After a pause, she asked, "So what were you calling

for?"

When at long last Violet dropped the subject, Mike let out a sigh inside. Calmly, he replied, "Tim and

Alice are throwing a party at the Oriental Hotel tonight. You and Greg are invited since you are Alice's

best friend and Greg is Tim's butt buddy. I just called to inform you that we'd be glad to have you attend

the party, which begins at 8:00 pm."

"Butt buddies? That's gross, Mike. Did you just refer to Tim and Greg?" Violet asked, looking

bewildered. She wriggled free from Greg's embrace and stared at him with an astonished expression.

Laughing at Mike's crude joke, Greg shook his head promptly.

"The guys always make a team and take advantage of Lawrence and I. So I call them butt buddies,"

Mike explained., still sounding playful.

Grateful to learn about the friendship Greg had formed with the Lawrence and Mike, Violet nodded, a

sense of relief showing on her face. Her initial surprise which had changed to disgust at Mike's ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

otherwise offensive language vanished into a soft smile. With her eyes glued on Greg now, she

inquired, "Looks like many things have happened between the four of you, while I was away, right?"

"Well..." With a laugh, Mike responded, "You'd better ask your husband or your brother. Anyway, the

party will kick off at 8:00 pm on the dot. I hope you guys will keep time. I can't wait to see you there."

With no further ado, Violet ended the call and focused her inquiring gaze on Greg. "Don't you think you

owe me an explanation for what is going on among the four of you?" she grilled.