Chapter 138 A WARM SURPRISE

Chapter 138 A WARM SURPRISE
Godiva's POV

"I had to bring the hoverboard so Godmother wouldn't suspect a thing," Jerald said with a laugh.

"Woo, you actually went back there to pick it up?" I asked in disbelief.

"Yes, I did." He winked as we walked into a yard that belonged to Trevor, one of his childhood friends.

We spent hours at Trevor's place, playing cards, Scrabble, Truth or Dare, and lots more.

"Stay by my side," Jerald murmured, gently pulling me closer.

Thankfully, nobody was crazy enough to come up with an awkward dare. No one asked me to do anything weird because Jerald kept Trevor and the guys in check with his possessive, judgmental glare.

That lasted until Diva spun the bottle. It landed on me.

She smiled mischievously before daring Alex to choose two random exercises for me.

I frowned slightly when I noticed Jerald's expression change, but Alex was like a father to all of us. He always knew where to draw the line.

He picked up the hoverboard. "Diva, would you mind doing that skating dance you told us about?"

"Oh my God." I shot him a fake glare before standing up and picking up the hoverboard.

Three minutes later, I was done.

"For your second exercise, Diva..." Alex smirked as he handed me a bottle of cola. "Let's see who finishes first."

Jerald's expression relaxed a little while Dina laughed nonstop.

"One... two... go! Drink!" Dina shouted.

I immediately began gulping down my bottle.

Twenty seconds later, Alex was done while I hadn't even finished half of mine, so they came up with a weird punishment for me.

After leaving Trevor's place, we stopped by Hilda's house. Thankfully, Mr. Mike wasn't home.

It would've been awkward facing my dad after discovering the truth about our relationship.

Hilda made pancakes, and before long we were singing as though we were having a full-blown karaoke session.

"I guess we're finally heading home now," Alex said with a yawn.

"Why? You tired already?" I teased.

"Hell no, dude." He grinned. "I'm just hungry."

"After all those pancakes?" I laughed. "Whatever. Let's spend the rest of the night with Godmother."

I reached for Jerald, but he refused to move.

"What is it?" I asked curiously.

"Don't you want to say hi to Mom?" Jerald asked, raising his brows.

"Your mum is here?" I asked, genuinely surprised. Then I laughed. "You know we aren't exactly best friends, so I'll pass."

"Whatever." Dina shrugged. "I need to say hi to my mother-in-law. It'd be irresponsible not to pay homage since I'm already here."

She marched toward the house. "Damn, Dina," I muttered before following behind.

"You coming?" Jerald turned to Alex, Trevor, and Travis.

"Oh no, we'll just head home. See y'all soon," Alex replied, hurrying away while dragging the twins with him.

Those three were definitely up to something. They avoided that house like the plague, and somehow I felt we'd soon find out why.
………………

We sat quietly in the living room.

For over ten minutes, not a single person uttered a word.

The silence felt strangely uncomfortable because there was none of the usual drama from Mrs. Young. Even more surprising, she sat with us in the living room the entire time, making the atmosphere even more awkward.

Thankfully, Jerald was seated beside me.

I secretly stepped on his foot, signaling that it was time to leave.

"Mum, I need to see them off so Godmother won't get worried," Jerald finally said, breaking the silence.

"Alright. Thanks for visiting." She never looked up from the phone she'd been staring at for the past fifteen minutes.

"The pleasure is ours," Dina replied politely.

We quickly headed for the door, but just as we were about to leave, Mrs. Young called Jerald back and whispered something into his ear.

Whatever she said, we neither heard nor cared.

At that moment, all we wanted was to get out of that suffocating house.

"That was intense." Dina heaved a sigh of relief the moment we stepped outside.

"I thought you wanted to greet your mother-in-law." I laughed, teasing her.

"I could tell you girls were really uncomfortable in there," Jerald said, laughing as we strolled home.

"It's just that I'm used to the dramatic version of your mum, so seeing her this calm was honestly scary." I pretended to shiver.

"Totally fair," he laughed.

The moment we entered Godmother's compound, chills ran through me.

"Wait... why is the whole house dark?" I asked, turning to Jerald and Dina.

"I'm getting a really bad feeling about this." Dina tiptoed to the front door.

She twisted the doorknob, then turned back to us and whispered, "Guys... it's locked."

"You two, relax. Nothing's wrong." Jerald took the lead. "Why don't we try the garden entrance?"

"Easy, guy." I grabbed the back of his shirt. "Tiptoe, just in case it's a kidnapping or something."

"Surprise!" The loud chorus erupted from the garden, followed by flashing lights and firecrackers.

"Jeez!"

"The hell!"

Dina and I screamed in unison, nearly turning around to run.

"What is happening?" I asked, clinging tightly to Jerald as my voice trembled.

"Congratulations, little ones, on surviving your stay at All Saints." Godmother smiled warmly. "Being away from home for the first time wasn't how you planned to spend your break, but I'm glad you honored my invitation."

She paused, looking at all of us with pride.

"I thought I was having a blast with just Diva around, but when Dina came, I realized 'blast' was an understatement. Looking back at the memories we made together, I truly feel blessed. Sometimes I even wish you girls could start schooling here..."

"Schooling here is out of the question," Jerald cut in playfully, making everyone laugh. "How are we supposed to see them? They're equally loved back in Mavick City."

The garden erupted with laughter.

"Thank you so much, Godmother, for opening your doors to us, treating us like friends, and giving us everything we needed." I smiled gratefully before glancing at Jerald.

"Honestly, I was angry about coming here because I thought it'd be boring. The truth is, I only agreed because I needed to avoid someone."

Everyone laughed knowingly.

"But it's funny how I didn't spend a single second being bored. Instead, I met my brother Alex, his troupe of friends, the twins, and so many wonderful people. The hospitality I've enjoyed here almost makes me want to stay."

My voice grew softer as I finished.

"Thank you so much, Godmother, for opening your home to me and adopting me as your goddaughter." Dina hugged her tightly. "I'm glad I finally have a godmother too, so Diva can't keep oppressing me by always talking about hers."

I joined the hug, then Alex did the same.

"You all are snitches, you know that," I laughed at Jerald, Alex, and the twins as we munched on snacks from the buffet.

Then my eyes landed on an unfamiliar face.