Did she look like Old Master Garcia? Elena stared at the older gentleman instinctively. She was touched when she heard that. A specific thought in her head had become more explicit. It was a suspicion that she had, but something had always interrupted that train of thought. She bit her lower lip and covertly grabbed Old Master Garcia’s hair.
“Grandfather, look at your white hair! Don’t you take care of yourself?”
“What are you talking about, Elena? I am old; why wouldn’t I have white hair?”
However, he was happy to hear that Elena was worried about him.
Butler Milo said, “Elena, this old man is already more than 70 years old, isn’t it normal for him to have white hair? Look at me!” He pointed to his short and partially-white hair as he smiled.
“I’m younger than the old man, but I also have gray hair, don’t I?”
“Is Grandfather really more than 70 years old already?”
Elena was distressed when she learned his age. The older man had looked good for his age. Perhaps it was because of his positive and cheerful attitude; he looked as if he was only in his 60s. Who would have thought that he was already more than 70 years old?
He was finally reunited with his granddaughter, so he wanted to cherish their time together. Elena could not help it; she was envious of Ava.
“What’s wrong? Are you afraid that I am too old and won’t have much time with you?”
“Grandfather, don’t say things like that!”
That struck a chord in Elena’s heart. She thought of the mother she could barely remember and her grandmother. Old Master Garcia was depressed to see the little girl’s sad and red eyes.
“It’s okay; I was only spouting nonsense. Don’t be sad, Elena. I will live for another hundred years, so there’s no need to be sad.”
Old Yang sighed; he was envious of his friend.
“You’re a lucky pair of grandfather and granddaughter, so don’t show off in front of me. You just made me feel very lonely.”
For someone to be friends with Old Master Garcia for so many years, he must be someone from a prominent background. Old Master Yang also had many bodyguards with him, and they stood near him.
Most of the time, those from wealthy families would not have the privilege to enjoy a family’s warmth. Most of the younger generations would wish the patriarch of the family an early demise so that they could get their inheritance. Old Master Yang was moved when he saw the interaction between Old Master Garcia and his granddaughter.
Elena contained the grief in her heart and gave the old man a gentle nudge and a smile.
“Grandfather, I’m not a kid anymore. You don’t need you to baby me like this. People will laugh at us.”
“I am only too happy to baby our Elena. Why should we care about other people’s judgment?”
Milo wanted to say something, but a phone call interrupted him. He walked to the side to pick up the call.
After a few seconds, Milo’s facial expression changed, and he rushed to Old Master Garcia. “Old Master, Miss Ava had been in an accident!”
…
Accidents.
For the rich and affluent, an accident might not just be a simple accident. Ava had been in City L for a month, and that was the third accident that she had encountered. She only sustained minor injuries in the first two accidents, but she almost died in the third one!
“Grandfather! Grandfather!”
Ava burst into tears when she saw the older man.
“Grandfather, I thought I won’t see you anymore. Grandfather!” Ava wailed.
“What’s the matter?” Old Master Garcia hurried to hug her.
Then, he turned around and glared at Joseph. “Didn’t you get someone to protect Ava? How did she get into another accident?”
“I…”
“It’s not Eldest Cousin Brother’s fault. I insisted on going out and walking around, which got me into the accident.”
Ava darted a look at Joseph before she turned toward Old Master Garcia again. She continued to cry pitifully.
“Grandfather, someone in this family wants to hurt me. I can’t live here anymore!”
The older man tried to comfort her. “How could that be? No one in our family will harm you. Everyone loves you and cherishes you.”
Ava cried even louder. Grace walked to her and gently caressed her hair.
She looked at the old master uneasily. “Old Master Garcia, our Ava is…having a tough time here…”
“What’s wrong? Mrs. Garcia, has anyone been disrespectful toward any of you?”
Even though he thought that Henry and Grace were Ava’s adoptive parents, he respected them. A mother who raised her children was no inferior to their birth mother. After all, they were the ones who raised Ava. Old Master Garcia was afraid that the husband and wife would demand to bring Ava back to Bentson.
“Mrs. Garcia, if anyone has offended you, I apologize to you on their behalf. Please forgive us.”
It was ridiculous that Old Master had to be so courteous toward the two! Most of the Garcia family members had dark looks on their faces. Old Master Garcia had two daughters, and they were the family’s elite members.
They held significant positions in Garcia Corporation. If the old master was submissive toward Grace, would they also be forced to do the same? They were accustomed to the opposite, so how could they stomach such grievances?
The eldest daughter, Lottie, was indifferent about the matter. “Dad, there are only a few of us in the family. Isn’t it too much of her to accuse one of us of harming her?”
The second Garcia daughter, Sasha, was also upset.
“Dad, we lived together harmoniously before Ava’s arrival to our family home.”
“What should we do now that she thinks one of us is out to get her?”
“Grandfather, are my aunts saying that I am trying to drive a wedge between the family members?”
Ava started to cry again. Her arm was injured, and yet she pushed the older man away from her and lifted the quilt off her body. She wanted to get out of bed.
“I can’t stay in this family anymore. No one cares about me except my adoptive parents!”
Old Master Garcia would never allow her to move around with that wound on her arm; even the gauze had blood stains on it!
” Ava, your aunts didn’t mean that. They just wanted to tell you that they would never hurt you.”
“But Grandfather, you saw it too. My aunts looked down on me.”
Ava was not afraid to fall out of favor with Lottie Garcia and Sasha Garcia. She knew that they had no respect for her. They had not been kind to her since she stepped into that house. They were only the young misses of the family. Their sons would not have carried the Garcia surname if not for their uxorilocal marriages, and their husbands became part of the Garcia family.
She was the Garcia family’s real granddaughter, how could they act so arrogant in front of her? How could she be not perturbed by their behavior?
“Grandfather, I am not happy here. I want to go back to Bentson. I don’t want to stay here anymore!”
“Ava, this… How can you do that? You are my granddaughter! You’ll have to live with me from now onward!”
Old Master Garcia was frightened by her request, and he quickly looked to Butler Milo for some help.
Milo said, “Miss Ava, this is just a misunderstanding. Eldest Young Miss and Second Young Miss are fond of you; they are your dear aunts!”
Something flashed in Grace’s eyes. She held Ava’s hand and spoke in a soft tone. “Ava, this is your dear grandfather, and you are his only granddaughter. No one will dare to bully you in this family.
“Don’t worry. Old Master Garcia would never anything happen to you while you are here.”