“What are you doing offering your help when you have loads of unfinished business yourself?” Peter gasped, flabbergasted.
“I told you, Commander Burke, we’re two completely different people now,” Henson joked mischievously.
This made General Burke glare at Peter out of the corner of his eyes. “What are you on about? Henson’s girlfriend is amazing. Not only is she pretty, she’s disciplined too. The nerve of you to compare yourself to him,” he chided.
“Granddad…” Peter whined.
“Shut your trap. I’m already agitated just by hearing your voice,” General Burke snapped back. “I’m not your granddad now when it comes to negotiations. At this moment, I’m Major Edward to you, ya hear?”
“Fine fine, I’ll just listen to every word you say then, old fart,” Peter said while rolling his eyes at him.
General Burke could only glare at him and scoff in reply. He then turned to Henson to ask, “Anyways, how’s things with your girlfriend these days?”
Henson took a sip of tea and replied, “Not bad, thanks to your blessing,”
“I could tell right away that she’s a sensible woman just by looking at her and I’m glad that happened to be the case. So, you better not bully her just because you have some extra cash lying around. You’d better treat her right, ya hear?” General Burke snapped.
“If only Wendy could hear those words from you right now, Grandfather. She’d be crying tears of joy by now,” Henson chuckled.
“I doubt it since I made her go through a lot last time. Did you do a good job pacifying her afterwards?”
“Nah, she’s not the petty type,” Henson said and laughed. “On the other hand, she felt that SHE was the one who caused all that mess, and feels like she owes YOU an apology instead,”
“Eh, it’s nothing big from what I heard from the servants in the backyard anyways. It’s not like she’s to blame for anything,”
“Oh, yeah? I actually thought that the mother and daughter duo from the Nicholson’s was going to cause a scene with you the moment we left,”
“What kind of an old fart do you take me for? Anyone with eyes in the courtyard would’ve seen them calling your woman over to meet them in the backyard. Out of all those people in the yard, they chose your woman, so doesn’t that mean that they were deliberately trying to pick a fight with her?
“Then again, it isn’t like I’m totally clueless about the Nicholson’s motives in meeting me, which is why I’m not surprised at the reason they’re picking on Wendy right now. Your woman’s already giving me so much face just by not coming up to me to blame me for everything even though I made her go through so much pain and suffering,”
“Don’t say it like that, Grandfather. I just so happened to be so busy that I couldn’t send you off properly that day. Who would’ve expected the mother-daughter duo to be so shameless though,”
“But seriously though, May’s the one to be blamed for this. I can’t believe she’s still incapable of functioning like a normal member of society even at her age. What’s the point of being overbearing anyways? Her father really did such a splendid job of spoiling her.
“I remember back then when her father also had to go through a lot due to the conflict between both families. His two daughters weren’t the easiest to deal with either. On one hand, there’s a daughter who’s an expert at breaking hearts, who eventually ended up with Ken and couldn’t stop boasting about it ever since. On the other, there’s a daughter who gave birth early after falling for your second uncle who’s lost his legs before cheating on him for another man. And even after ruining her own future, she still had the nerve to hold a grudge against both families.
“He couldn’t catch a break after the middle daughter got into a pickle too. Maybe that was why he turned all his attention to his eldest daughter since. Then again, I doubt he’d ever thought that things would turn out this way in the end,”
“Wait, Sarah has kids?” Henson probed.
General Burke just realised that he’d said too much, so he merely picked up his tea cup and said, “I’ve said too much. Anyways, what I was trying to tell you with all that was that the Nicholson’s are a mess, so I’m proud of the fact that you’re keeping your distance with Julia now,”
Henson could only nod and give him a faint smile.
However, he still had his own suspicions. Where was Sarah’s child now? And why hasn’t he heard anyone bring it up at all until now?
After they finished lunch together, Henson told General Burke that he had a habit of napping after lunch, so he excused himself first.
“Wanna play golf later in the evening?” Peter asked as they arrived at the entrance of the villa.
“Nope,” Henson answered without hesitation.
“How about basketball?” Peter suggested.
“Let’s go tomorrow morning. It’s the weekend, a rare opportunity for Wendy to get off work,” Henson said.
Peter frowned at that. “Why are you putting on the good guy act now, Bro?” Peter whined.
“Don’t say it as if I wasn’t already like that in the past,” Henson replied with a smirk.
“Heh, I didn’t know you were one in the first place,” Peter scoffed.
“I’ve always been one. It was just that I hadn’t met my other half yet back then,” Henson replied coyly.
Peter nodded a few times before asking, “Are you saying you’ve finally walked out of Daisy’s shadow?”
Henson gave a short chuckle when he heard Daisy’s name being mentioned.
“I should’ve walked out of that relationship a long time ago. It was all me, always guarding the past and letting my thoughts run wild due to how bitter and frustrated I was. I feel so stupid now that I’m reminiscing though. To think that I actually though that my feelings towards her were real, but I suppose it takes experience to truly understand what it means to develop true feelings towards someone,” Henson lamented.
Peter then turned to look at Henson in admiration. He felt that he was so much more different this time round upon his return.
The man’s certainly grown a lot since then.
He supposed that it was true that people can change once they’ve gone through emotional turmoil and after they’ve taken time to truly think things over.
Henson later looked at him, his lips slowly curving into a faint smile. “You should really start walking out of Sarah’s shadow too, Peter. So long as you continue to wallow in the past, you won’t be able to have a good future. Sarah’s a good girl, and I bet you know how much she wouldn’t want you to miss out on living a happy life just because you’re still hung up over her if she were still here,” he said.
Peter looked up into the sky and smiled. “We’re not the same. It’s like we’ve… never even been separated in the first place,” he said sadly.
“We’re not the same, indeed. You’re just saying that because you haven’t completely let go of her yet. Peter-”
This caused Peter to pat his shoulders to interrupt him. “I get it, Henson. But I’ll have you know it’s really hard to let go of a person you’ve truly loved before. I’m sure you’re aware of why we’re not together, and it’s not because we don’t love one another- Ugh, forget I said anything,” he sighed.
Henson was indeed aware of how emotional Peter can be at times. He supposed that some words were better left unsaid.
Peter nodded in reply. “I’ll be on my way first then. You should go back and get some rest too. You choose whether you’re up for basketball or golf tomorrow, alright?” Peter suggested.
“Fine,” Henson grunted and
got into his car. His driver drove him away shortly after.
In the middle of their journey, he told the driver to make a stop and he stepped out of the car
to give Dayne a call.
“I need you to arrange for a few people to help me track down a person in secret in the next few day’s time, Dayne,” he ordered.
“And who might that be, Master Henson?” Dayne asked over the phone.
“Its the second Young Missus of the Nicholson family. Apparently she bore a child when she was younger. I want to know if the child is dead or alive and their current whereabouts,” Henson said.
“Alright, Master Henson,” Dayne obliged.
“Remember, no one other than me should know about this,” Henson warned sternly.
“Understood, sir,” Dayne said.
After hanging up the phone,
Henson’s gaze turned chilly as he stared at the horizon out the car window.
With how the Nicholson’s were back then, the old fart from the Nicholson’s surely wouldn’t want Sarah’s child to fall into the grubby hands of others.
Thus, this must mean that they must’ve hidden the child away.
If he managed to find him… he supposed that it won’t be a bad idea to have him pay back the all the debt his mother owed.
His lips slowly curled into a sneer.
“Rest assured, Second Uncle, I won’t let your death be in vain,” he thought.