Jenna came forward, took a bow, and brought General Delia before the memorial tablet.
General Delia placed the flowers before bowing sincerely three times towards Vivian’s portrait. Then, he retreated to one side with Trevor.
Sabrina had heard that General Delia was coming, and had hidden herself somewhere with the excuse that she had to deal with something.
As a result, General Delia didn’t see his daughter Sabrina despite having waited in the Ink Garden for the whole afternoon. Displeasure was written all over his dark face.
When the sun set, he remained standing in the back garden of Ink Garden with both hands clutching a newspaper behind his back. He was in a dark mood.
The funeral hymns in the mourning hall echoed from time to time, causing his mood to be clouded with worry.
His daughter, Sabrina, was 26 years old. A few years ago, she broke off the engagement with Norton Richards, and her reputation had been tainted because of what Norton did. As for the well-known bachelors in Capital City, they had already married. There weren’t many men left. As for those who were qualified, he assumed that they wouldn’t like his daughter. Hence, the matter of Sabrina’s marriage had been a headache for him for the past few years.
“Nice to meet you, General.” Just as General Delia was lost in thought, a young man’s voice sounded in his ear. When he raised his head, Sergio’s young and handsome face appeared in front of him.
He was a little stunned.
After a short while, he understood.
“Hi, Sergio.” He chuckled slightly.
“General, my condolences to you about Vivian passing away.” Seeing him standing there with his eyebrows knitted, Sergio comforted him in a soft voice, thinking that he was reminiscing about Vivian.
“Well.” General Delia’s eyebrows twitched but he didn’t say anything.
Sergio thought of something, and his face darkened.
General Delia had abstained from voting at the most critical moment of their election. Why had he done that? Did he know something?
“Sergio, is your father alright?” General Delia asked casually.
Sergio’s heart moved slightly. He could only nod his head and pretended to be courteous. “He’s good.”
“It’s the last day of the election tomorrow. Are you planning to stay here?” General Delia asked with a faint smile.
Sergio originally wanted to talk about Sabrina, but he didn’t expect General Delia to avoid mentioning her at all. He was worried when General Delia asked about the election instead. He didn’t know if General Delia had already known about his family’s failure. So, he just said a few words in a hurry and left.
General Delia looked at his retreating back and shook his head regretfully.
“Aunt Maria, come this way. Be careful. That tile has gotten loose. The housekeeper should have sent someone to repair it a long time ago. What if someone trips over it?” Carmella was carefully helping Maria towards the general’s direction.
“Well, Carmella, you’re right. The housekeeper only knows how to please Jenna. That’s all he does. The situation in Ink Garden is already considered alright. Wait till you see Emerald Garden. There are so many holes in that place. Maud hasn’t gone there all year round. Even though we reported this issue several times, nothing happened. After a long time, we decided to leave it be,” Maria complained.
Carmella smiled. “Don’t worry, Aunt Maria. Once Norton gets married, he’ll have some of the power. At that time, you’ll be in charge. You’ll be able to fix it however you like. Don’t worry, I’ll make arrangements according to your wishes when the time comes.”
When Maria heard this, a wide smile appeared on her face. She instantly praised Carmella for being so obedient. Carmella smiled as her face became red. The two of them chatted and laughed as they walked into the mourning hall.
There was a stone in Maria’s chest after staying in the mourning hall for too long. Furthermore, she had nothing to do with these matters. So, she had nothing to do. Carmella was watching the situation from the sidelines. When she saw how uncomfortable Maria was, she took the initiative to take a walk outside with her.
General Delia stood under a tree, staring at Maria and Carmella as they walked and chatted together.
“Sabrina, your father is here. Aren’t you going to meet him?” Norton came over and spoke to Sabrina.
During these two days, he had been responsible for receiving guests and running errands, while she had been responsible for gifts and the memorial service. Every decision was made by Norton.
The two of them cooperated very well. With Sabrina by his side, Norton did not feel very tired. Furthermore, he could chat with her from time to time. It made him feel content.
Sabrina focused on sorting out the expenses at the hotel for the day. She completely ignored Norton.
Norton had long mastered a set of techniques to amuse Sabrina. That was to stick with her regardless of what she thought of him. If Sabrina ignored him, then he would find another way to deal with her.
“Sabrina, it’s rare for your father to come to Richards Manor. You should ask him to stay for a few days. After I’m done with work here, we can bring your father to the beach.” Norton placed his head on his elbow and leaned towards Sabrina. He looked at her meaningfully.
As soon as Sabrina looked up, she saw his sparkling eyes, and she couldn’t help but to blush.
“Grandma’s been gone for less than a day, and you’re chatting about having fun at the beach. Is that appropriate?” She glared at him and rebuked.
Norton looked at her haggard face after days of work. His heart ached. He couldn’t help but to touch her face and said, “Sabrina, don’t stay up tonight. Go to bed early. Leave everything to me.”
“Move your filthy hand.” Sabrina reached out and hit his hand. Norton took the opportunity to hold her hand and said softly, “Sabrina, my heart aches when I see you so tired.”
He said with affection written all over his face.
He held Sabrina’s hand so tightly that she couldn’t move it. She was so angry that her face turned red.
Just as the two were struggling, they heard a cold snort.
Both of them were taken aback and looked up. General Delia was standing behind them with a stern face.
“Dad.”
“General.”
The two of them cried out at the same time, blushing. Norton quickly let go of Sabrina’s hand and hurried out.
General Delia’s eyes were dark and his face was gloomy.
“Dad, I didn’t know you came.” As soon as Norton left, Sabrina smiled and tried to lie.
General Delia said discontentedly with a snort, “Looks like someone’s grown up now and learnt to ignore their parents.”
Sabrina replied with an awkward smile, “Dad, please have a seat. I’ll get you a cup of Green Mountain Lake tea, your favourite.”
In order to avoid the questions from General Delia, she lowered her head and attempted to slip away as she said this.
General Delia seemed to have read her mind and instructed her. “Come back.”
Sabrina stopped in her tracks immediately.
“It seems like you’re enjoying your stay at Richards Manor. You work harder than when you are at your own home.” General Delia looked at the computer and the receipts on the desk. He said this with a mocking tone.
Sabrina’s face reddened before she said, “Dad, the Richards family is having a tough time. I just want to help.”
“Is it really as simple as just wanting to help?” General Delia’s eyes sharpened as he questioned.
Sabrina raised her head in panic. “Dad, I just want to help them. After all, Vivian treated me so well. Plus, I used to come here when I was a child.”
Sabrina hurriedly defended herself. General Delia stared at her, and his face darkened.
He had been watching when she and Norton were tugging at each other when he entered the manor. Others might not know, but he knew his daughter. She hadn’t been seen for the entire summer break. She was staying here instead. It wasn’t her usual style. Thus, he was very clear about what she was thinking.
“Then, when are you coming home?” He took two steps forward and asked.
“Dad, I’m studying fashion design now, and I’m looking for inspiration. After Vivian’s funeral, I planned to travel around Europe. I’ll go home during the new year,” Sabrina replied.
“You’re being ridiculous.” Hearing this, General Delia could not help but to berate her angrily. “You are an adult. Have you ever thought of the consequences of staying in someone else’s house as a woman? This will lead to the outside world’s speculation. You haven’t even called. You are not young anymore. Didn’t you think about your own reputation? Wouldn’t this do more harm than good?”
Hearing this, Sabrina defended herself. “Dad, I’m just helping Jenna and the Richards family as best as I can. How would this damage my reputation? Besides, I don’t want to marry Sergio. Quit forcing me to go back.”
Sabrina just thought that General Delia wanted her to marry Sergio. However, his face darkened even more. He threw the newspaper on the desk in front of her and shouted angrily, “You’re so disappointing. Take a look at it.”
“What is this?” Sabrina raised her head in shock. Seeing General Delia’s angry face, she quickly picked up the newspaper and looked at it. It was written in a more prominent place. “In Vivian’s funeral ceremony, we have been observing a prominent figure, Sabrina, who is Sergio’s fiancée. She has been busy working for the Richards family, such as managing Vivian’s funeral ceremony. Her enthusiasm is really touching. However, her relationship with her ex-fiancé, Norton, has also aroused people’s suspicion.”
Sabrina didn’t want to see it. At first glance, she felt anger rushing to her head. Her sight went black, and she almost fainted.
The media was absolutely disgusting. What did her stay with the Richards family have to do with them? Moreover, they were even splashing her engagement with Sergio in the headlines. It was ridiculous considering that she and Sergio had never been officially matched together. If they reported it in that manner, then of course it would taint her reputation.
That was way over the line! She used to stay in the Richards family’s house like this too. At that time, there had been no media gossiping about her. It was so infuriating!
“Now you know how powerful he is. Come back to Capital City immediately.” General Delia snorted and ordered in a cold tone.
Sabrina’s eyes were red with tears. “Dad, even if I go back, I’m not marrying Sergio.”
“Then, who do you want to marry? Norton Richards?” General Delia asked angrily, his eyes sharp.
Sabrina said through gritted teeth, “I didn’t think that.”
“You didn’t think so before? You’re right.” General Delia raised an eyebrow. “I know what you’re thinking. You stayed in the Richards Manor using the excuse that you were only helping out. With such a lousy excuse, who would believe that? Look, even the media doesn’t believe you. How can I be assured of your ability to handle this? Norton has humiliated you enough. Do you still insist on staying here and keeping up with this? Get rid of this ridiculous idea! I won’t agree to you marrying Norton. A woman must cherish her reputation. Norton had an affair with someone. Do you want to be his mistress? If you continue to ruin the family’s reputation, then I’ll have to forbid you from entering our home.”
General Delia said sternly and left after a flick of his sleeves.