Chapter 270 Meeting the Smiths
[A/N – I am sorry for the delay. There was dengue and COVID viral – one after the other – in my place, and my entire family was affected. I have been too busy and sick – flitting about the hospital and work these past few months and did not get the time. I will complete this as soon as possible. Thank you for your support.]
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Liliana and Jonathan took their twins to meet Jonathan’s grandmother – Emma Miller Smith.
The visit was scheduled weeks in advance.
Old Madam Smith had tried her best to call her son and daughter-in-law back home. But they had declined irrevocably.
Jonathan’s parents – Tyler Smith and Sophia Smith, had left P City when Jonathan returned to take over the company at the age of 22. They had not even bothered to teach him the ropes or help him establish his position.
They handed him the shares and the reins and just left. They had not returned since, and it seemed they did not plan to return anytime soon.
Jonathan wasn’t surprised.
His grandmother had forced his parents to have a child – an heir.
His mother was infertile, and they had used her eggs, which – thankfully – were viable to make him in IVF.
Then they used an unnamed surrogate to give birth to him.
His parents were college sweethearts, but his mother was a foreigner, and the union suffered a lot of backlash.
Emma had forced Sophia to change her name to Sophia Smith to better integrate with the family and had vehemently denied adoption.
The entire childbearing business had traumatized her.
She never wanted a child and couldn’t forget the tons of medications, injections, the painful procedure of extracting her eggs, and the trauma and taunts associated with the ordeal.
Ultimately, she couldn’t bring herself to love the child born with her DNA.
It did not help that Jonathan did not inherit any of her features. Maybe, he mirrored her expressions and personality, but she had never paid enough attention to him to find out.
Emma Miller-Smith wanted an heir to take over and expand the Smith Group. If she loved her grandson, Jonathan never knew.
He never felt the family love, belongingness, or sense of home.
The Smith family dynamics were as frosty as they could get.
Liliana knew, of course, and kept mum. She did not want to poke his wounds.
Nathaniel sensed something was wrong and kept quiet.
Joyanna, on the other hand, was too curious to notice anything. She thought her parents were nervous about meeting the in-laws, as she had heard from the maids.
She consoled her mother gently, “Don’t worry, Momma. You are the best. Daddy’s family will also love you. They won’t throw water and money in your face.”
Liliana was speechless.
Jonathan was shocked. He asked, “Honey, where did you hear that from?”
Joyanna spoke guiltily, “Daddy, I wanted a drama in Jasmine’s room. She went to search for my kitten toy and left it on. Sometimes, I sneak into her room and watch the drama.”
She added when none spoke.
“In the drama, the in-laws throw money and water in Mommy’s face. Jasmine caught me, and I never found out why they did that.”
Joyanna pouted. She had wanted to know more about that, but the maid wouldn’t allow her to watch soap operas.
She wondered why the in-laws would not like the mommy. She was also afraid that they might take her and her brother away. But she shook herself out of it.
Her mother would never allow that. Her mother was a superwoman. Joyanna knew from the bottom of her heart that her mother would always keep them close and protected.Belongs to NôvelDrama.Org - All rights reserved.
She did not need to worry about getting slapped by the ‘in-laws’ or ‘other woman’ as in the TV.
Joyanna looked at her parents, who exchanged a look between them and laughed out loud.
Liliana patted her head and corrected her, “Honey, none of that will happen. I am only worried because your great-grandma is old. We returned to P City more than half a year ago, but we still haven’t gone to meet her. You should not ignore your ancestors like this.”
Nathaniel asked curiously, “Mommy, why did we not visit her sooner?”
Jonathan answered, “Because I was busy. I wanted to focus on our health and get to know you better before bringing you to meet anyone. That way, I can take care of your mommy better.”
Nathaniel nodded and did not ask further.