Chapter 100 — Forgotten dreams

"Why wouldn't I? Uncle Robert is like our substitute parent, darling. If he invites us for dinner, it means no matter what, we should make an effort to attend. Besides, his house is close to ours. After Garret's bath this evening, we'll visit him. Is there anything you want to buy?"

Lyyana shook her head, taking Petra's finger, which was near her, and bringing it to her lips. Unexpectedly, Lyyana kissed the back and palm of his hand. "Thank you, you've accepted me and my family so well."

Petra smiled broadly. "Your family is my family too, darling. Whatever the circumstances, I'll wholeheartedly accept." Lyyana smiled as she looked at Petra, and he gently kissed the back of her hand.

Petra then played romantic songs to accompany their journey. Along the way, they both softly sang along to the songs playing on the car radio. Before they knew it, Petra's car had arrived at their home. As usual, Petra got out first and opened the door for Lyyana. Petra took Garret from Lyyana's lap and carried him inside, while Lyyana hurried to the kitchen to prepare the gift she would take to Uncle Robert's house.

"Darling?" Petra called from behind Lyyana.

He was still wearing the same clothes as before. Lyyana turned and slightly turned her body to face Petra, a smile on her face. "Don't you want to rest first?"

"Not now, I'm just going to make a cake quickly, to take to Uncle's house." Lyyana shook her head and moved closer to Petra.

In her hand was a cup of hot drink, and she handed it to Petra. "Do you want to rest?"

Petra shook his head, taking the offered glass from Lyyana and placing it on the kitchen table directly opposite where Lyyana was cooking. "There are a few things I need to finish before our wedding, wait a moment." Without waiting for Lyyana's response, he quickly walked away from her and climbed the stairs.

Lyyana shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. She then returned to the neatly arranged kitchen table, where all the utensils and ingredients for making the cake were laid out. While she was busy mixing the cake ingredients, Lyyana heard some noise behind her. She turned slightly and found Petra getting ready to sit down with his laptop and files.

"Are you sure you want to work here?" Lyyana asked as she approached Petra.

Petra looked up and nodded. "Am I bothering you?"

Lyyana shook her head, her slender fingers softly caressing Petra's shoulder. "You're not bothering me, but I might be bothering you. My activities here are quite noisy. Are you okay with it?"

Petra looked up, smiling at Lyyana's words. He hugged her and wrapped his arms around her waist, leaning against her flat stomach, looking very affectionate. "You never bother me, darling. You know, I become many times more enthusiastic than before when... you're here."

"Why are you being so charming!" Lyyana exclaimed, hiding her embarrassment.

They hugged for quite a while until the sound of the oven timer beeped. Petra reluctantly released his embrace and let the woman walk towards the kitchen. He smiled, seeing the woman who always occupied his thoughts now standing in front of him, so close to him. There was nothing else in the world that made Petra smile again after all the tragic events that had happened to him except for Lyyana's presence.

Lyyana and Petra seemed busy with their respective tasks, occasionally chatting about many things, reminiscing about their childhood or sometimes Petra asking for Lyyana's opinion on the project he was working on.

"Darling, about your dream of opening a restaurant—"

"Forget about it, Petra."

Petra furrowed his brow, then looked at Lyyana intently. "Why should it be forgotten?"

"Because I don't dream anymore."

"But I want to open a restaurant after we get married. I want the restaurant to provide free meals for the homeless on certain days only. And the dishes would be traditional homemade ones. Sounds exciting, right? But if you're not interested anymore, it's okay, I can change it to fast food instead—"

"Are you serious?"

Petra looked up at Lyyana who was approaching him, nodding. "I'll think about it again. I'll check my savings first."

"I'm offended, darling."

Lyyana sighed heavily, knowing why Petra was offended, but she also didn't want Petra to continue pursuing his dream without her making an effort first. "It's not like that, Petra. I don't want to keep relying on you. I—"

"Rely on me for the rest of your life, darling. I'm willing a thousand percent."

Lyyana looked at Petra with tears in her eyes, slightly bowed, and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, let's talk about this another time, okay? For now, focus on the project you're working on. Don't end up with many types of businesses but none of them are optimal and maximal. It's better to have one that can help many people."

Petra smiled happily. "Thank you, darling. Like you, one forever." Petra hugged Lyyana gently again, and Lyyana returned his embrace, gently rubbing his back.

Time passed so quickly, it felt like just this afternoon Lyyana was busy in Petra's kitchen, and now she had moved to Olive's kitchen. As she said this afternoon, tonight she and Petra were invited to have dinner with Robert at his house, for whatever reason, because Robert, Olive, and Laura didn't say anything.

"So, how's your wedding preparation going? Everything's going smoothly?" Olive asked amidst their activities in the kitchen.

Lyyana nodded and said, "Everything is almost done, Aunt. We just need the final dress fitting, and the day after tomorrow we'll be ready to go to the venue."

"Oh yeah? It doesn't feel like it, in a matter of days, you'll be a wife. Have you talked about Garret's issue?" Olive asked, looking deeply into Lyyana's eyes.

"Garret's issue? What do you mean, Aunt?"

Olive nodded, she put down the knife in her hand and turned her body to face Lyyana. "Has Garret found out that you're not his mother? Has he always known that you're his mother? Have you explained it to Garret?"

Lyyana fell silent, she had never thought about that. "You haven't talked about it? Lyyana, no matter what, Garret will grow up, and sooner or later he will know all of this. Either from you, his own search, or the most painful is knowing it from someone else."

Lyyana remained silent, not saying a word. Now her heart felt worried and restless. "So, what do you think I should do, Aunt?"