Chapter 698 Daughterly Advice
Evelyn woke up earlier than usual the following morning, and got out of bed, ready to start her day.
Regardless of the circumstances, it wasn't every day she had the rare opportunity of having all her kids together at the same time under her roof. It had been such a long time since they all visited this way, and in as much as she was mourning her late father-in-law and friend, she knew she had to make sure her family was well taken care of.
She sent one of the housekeepers to go inform everyone in their various bedrooms that they should be down for breakfast by 8:30 A.M.
As she busied with preparing breakfast for her family, her thoughts drifted to Kimberly's visit the previous evening and she sighed as she thought about Lawrence and how much damage it could do to his reputation if the news got out.
Lawrence was a very respected world leader, and so many people would be disappointed to know he had been involved in such an illicit affair with his best friend's daughter to the extent of getting her pregnant.
No one was going to care about the real details. Everyone was just going to judge him, and then it would also affect the family in one way or the other.
She turned around, startled when she felt an arm come around her waist, and she smiled when she realized it was Desmond.
"Good morning, Eve. I was surprised not to find you in bed when I woke up," Desmond said as he kissed the crook of her neck and she giggled as she stirred the egg sauce.
"I have to feed my family. The kids are home after such a long time," Evelyn said and Desmond raised a brow.
"I can't remember the last time I saw you standing over the cooker this way. So, you can't cook for me but you don't mind cooking for the kids?" Desmond asked as tucked his chin in the crook of her neck.
"That is precisely the reason I stopped preparing your meals. You stopped joining me in the kitchen this way and making such romantic gestures," she said dryly and Desmond chuckled.
"Really?" Desmond asked as he bit her ear and she giggled as she turned around to look at him.
"Of course. Did you sleep well?" She asked, and he sighed.
"I did surprisingly. You missed a call from Janet. Andrew called to say he saw the news and they would be coming around later in the day," Desmond said, referring to Lucy's parents.
"That's fine. They must be aware that Lucy is around," Evelyn said and Desmond shrugged.
"I don't know. I didn't mention it just in case she had not done told them yet. She can do so herself," Desmond said and Evelyn smiled as she walked away from him to go take out the bread from the oven.
"Lucy is such a nice girl, you know," Evelyn said, and Desmond raised a brow as he went to pour himself a cup of coffee.
"Why do you say that?" He asked, and she shrugged.
"Because she is. I had a nice little chat with her last night after you had gone to bed," Evelyn said and Desmond raised a brow.
"What did you both chat about?" He asked curiously and she shrugged. noV-elu/Sb(C-O/M
"We were trashing out our differences..." Evelyn paused and shook her head, "I suppose I did most of the talking," Evelyn said when she realized that she had not really allowed Lucy speak much.
"Of course, you did," Desmond said as he pulled out a stool by the kitchen island and sat down.
"What does that mean?" She asked and he shrugged.
"We both know you don't leave anyone much of a chance to say stuff when you have your mind set on what you want to say," Desmond said and raised a finger before Evelyn could argue.
"Let's not argue over that. It's too early in the morning. You are free not to agree with what I said, but no arguments," Desmond said and Evelyn scowled.
"Are you not going to ask me what I told her?" Evelyn asked and he shook his head.
"I don't think there is any need to. I can guess that you probably told her you won't stop getting involved in Tom's business and she agreed without putting up any argument," Desmond said and Evelyn looked at him curiously.
"How did you know that?" She asked and Desmond chuckled as he sipped from his coffee.
"Because I know you well enough, and I understand Lucy. If she had put up an argument you wouldn't have started by telling me Lucy is a nice girl, and neither would you have said the chat was nice. Lucy is much too smart to argue with you," Desmond said and Evelyn raised a brow.
"Meaning?"
"Meaning I'm sure she will find a way to handle the situation that won't require her fighting with you. The girl doesn't like conflicts," Desmond said and Evelyn sighed.
"How are you feeling today?" Evelyn asked to change the subject.
"I don't know how I feel or how I'm expected to feel considering the fact that I didn't even like him much. So, let's just say I'm okay and not thinking about anything," Desmond said and Evelyn scoffed.
"You liked him a lot. Do you think I never noticed how you followed up on every news that concerned him over the years?" She asked and he shook his head.
"That doesn't change anything. I'm mourning him as every other person would mourn him since he wasn't a father to me but to the world," Desmond said and Evelyn sighed when she remembered Kimberly again.
"The girl would be back again today, right?" Evelyn asked, and Desmond didn't need to ask her who she was talking about.
"I believe so."
"What can we do to help Lawrence?" She asked, and Desmond looked at her with a blank face.
"What do you mean what can we do to help him?"
"His reputation is at stake here and..."
"Is this your way of suggesting that we ask Tom to claim the kid as his?" Desmond asked suspiciously and Evelyn looked at him like he had lost his mind.
"Why would I jeopardize Tom's reputation to salvage Lawrence's? I loved your father, but my son comes first and I would never do or suggest anything that would hurt him in any way," Evelyn said fiercely, and Desmond relaxed.
"Good. I just wanted to ensure that we were all on the same page. Besides, I don't think there is any reason to worry about my father's reputation. I doubt that her parents would want to announce to the world that she got pregnant for such an old man. If I were her parents I would want to keep it under wraps so that it would remain a family secret," Desmond said reasonably.
"Do you really think so?" Evelyn asked, and he gave her nod.
"Yes. All we have to do is convince her to tell them the truth, and maybe offer to help her speak with them as well and assure them we will take full responsibility for the kid." Desmond said and Evelyn sighed.
"Alright then. Let's do that," she said with a nod just as Jade walked into the kitchen.
"Good morning," she greeted as she kissed her father's cheeks before going to pour herself a cup of coffee.
"This kitchen smells divine, mom. Why are you doing the cooking?" She asked when it occurred to her that none of the domestic staff were present.
"It's been a while since I had you all here with me, so I want to feed you. I've missed doing that," Evelyn said and Jade smiled.
"Nice. Can't remember the last time I ate something prepared by you anyway," she said as she took a seat beside her father.
"Did you sleep well?" Evelyn asked and Jade smiled.
"I did. I never realized how much I missed my room until I walked in there last night. It seemed like I walked back in time. Everything was still in their place," Jade said with gleaming eyes, and Desmond gave Evelyn a smug smile.
"Your mom said your room looked too much like a teenager's room and wanted to redecorate your room some time ago, but I opposed the idea," Desmond bragged and that earned him another peck from Jade.
"Thank you, dad. I prefer it just the way it is," Jade said and Evelyn rolled her eyes as Desmond rose and walked out of the kitchen to give mother and daughter room to talk.
"Apart from the fact that it looked like a teenager's bedroom, I thought one of the reasons you didn't want to come home was because it might remind you of your last visit home with that brat, so I wanted you to have something different when you come around," Evelyn said defensively.
"That was thoughtful of you, but I'm glad you didn't change a thing. The room has more pleasant memories for me than memories of that visit with him," Jade said as she took a sip from her cup.
"Well, that's good to know. I'm glad I listened to your dad. But don't you think you should change the room decor? The whole place looks pink and is covered with Barbie stickers. What if Harry decides to visit and sleep over? Wouldn't that room decor be too immature for someone like him?" Evelyn asked reasonably and Jade giggled.
"Harry is much too busy to visit. And even if he did, I'm sure he would manage the room as it is. After all he wouldn't be the first guy to sleep there..."
"I can't believe you are comparing that cow to Harry," Evelyn said with disapproval and Jade tittered with laughter.
"Cow?" Jade asked in amusement.
"Yes, he's a cow. And if I remember correctly which I do, Harry was here the last time you visited with the cow. I'm not sure he would be comfortable staying in the same room," Evelyn said thoughtfully.
"You are thinking too far ahead, mom. I'm sure Harry wouldn't be sleeping over. He will be here for the funeral and will most likely stay at the hotel or leave the same day," Jade said and Evelyn sighed.
"Well, you're going to have to change the room decor before before your wedding at least. I won't have my son-in-law sleeping there when you both visit after you get married," Evelyn said and Jade grinned.
"Alright. You can change it then. But leave my keepsakes and other stuff," Jade said and Evelyn nodded, satisfied.
"How do you feel, mom? I know how close you were to grandpa," Jade said, and Evelyn sighed.
"I'm okay I suppose. I will definitely miss him, but the living has to keep living, right?" She asked and Jade nodded.
"And thanks to the distraction, I'm thinking more about the little girl than I'm thinking of Lawrence right now," Evelyn said and Jade nodded.
"Me too. I wonder how her parents are going to take the news," Jade said thoughtfully.
"What else can they do other than accept it and move on? How are things going with Harry?" Evelyn asked, changing the subject and Jade smiled at the mention of Harry.
Her sweet Harry. She had spoken with his before going to bed and first thing that morning. The man knew just how to make her happy.
"Great. He's wonderful. I planned to spend the weekend with him before this whole stuff came up," Jade said and Evelyn smiled.
"I'm glad to hear that," Evelyn said and then Jade looked at her with interest.
"I saw you stepping out to the patio with Lucy last night," Jade said, and Evelyn nodded.
"Yeah. She wanted us to talk," Evelyn said and Jade raised a brow.
"I guess she talked to you about meddling and prying in their relationship?" Jade asked and Evelyn smiled.
"I guess she wanted to do that, but I didn't let her. Tom is my son first before he became her man. So, I will keep doing all I can to make sure he is okay," Evelyn said and Jade sighed.
"Well, maybe you should tone it down a bit," Jade suggested and Evelyn raised a brow.
"What?"
"Lucy is not the only one complaining about the way we meddle and pry. Harry has pointed out the same thing and so has Candace. Do you know what Harry calls it? The Hank trait. I've always thought it was normal and okay to pry as long as I'm looking out for the best interest of the person involved, but I'm not so sure about that anymore. When someone says you need to butt out of their affair, you should respect them enough to butt out," Jade said with a shrug.
"You are my kids and I can't butt out of your affairs. I am your mother, I have to look out for your best interest," Evelyn insisted stubbornly.
"No one is disputing that fact that you're our mother. But do you really think you know what is best for us more than we do? And would you rather upset us with your interference than trust us and listen to us? Your role at this point in our lives isn't to try to fix our lives for us. Your role is to advise us when we come to you for guidance," Jade said and Evelyn scowled.
"You are asking me not to do anything even when I see things not happening right?" She asked incredulously.
"What I'm saying is that it wouldn't hurt to give minding your business a try. I know it has become a habit for you. It is for me too but now I'm trying to change so I wouldn't always get on the nerves of those around me. You've lived your whole life looking out for us, maybe now you need to focus on looking out for yourself and enjoying your time with dad. Tour the world and have fun instead of focusing on us. We are fine and can take care of ourselves," Jade said and Evelyn frowned.
"Go set the table for breakfast. Your brothers and the girls should be down for breakfast soon," Evelyn said not wanting to continue with the unpleasant conversation anymore and Jade rose to do as she was told having said her piece.
