As Travis said that, Sarah sighed inexplicably.
"You're always so nice. If something happened with Robert, you'd have more of a chance. But at such a moment, you're still hoping that Robert would be fine, and Miss Lane wouldn't be hurt. If you go on like this for the rest of your life, Travis, you'll never be able to be with her."
So Sarah was still hung up on that.
Travis' car had reached Sarah's mansion. He opened the door and waited for her to get off.
He stood in front of the door and spoke to her earnestly.
"Didn't I tell you last time? What I want the most is for Georgia to be happy. As for whether or not I can be with her, I've already thought it through. It just wasn't meant to be between us. When she was suffering the most, I didn't appear... this isn't just my own experience. Millions of men and women in the world might have once been moved, even fallen deep in love with each other, but ended up losing to time and fate. I just had to learn to accept it, that's all."
Travis' words were helpless, but his face was relaxed.
Ever since Georgia had talked with him last time, he'd tried to clear up the knot in his heart.
Especially now that he'd seen Jayson flee into the dark. The rest of that man's life would be a bitter, pathetic mess, even if they couldn't find him again.
Travis had cleared his vision. His hate still remained, but that was just for Jayson.
Now that Jayson had come up on his just desserts, Travis felt like his obsession and pain had diminished a bit.
For some reason, Sarah suddenly felt an urge in that moment.
She wanted to ask Travis – if he'd really set the matter down – if he would consider spending the rest of his life with her.
Sarah was no longer sure of what she felt towards Travis. She just felt safe around him, and liked the days they spent this way, working together, supporting each other.
But Sarah didn't end up speaking those words.
She was afraid that if she did, the two wouldn't be able to be together so peacefully like this.
"Since you've set the matter down, I won't try to persuade you, then. It's late. Uncle Brenton should have had his secretary send you the information. Get some rest. Don't call Miss Lane right away, either. She's emotionally unstable right now, and probably wants to have some time alone."
"I know. Good night."
With that, Travis went back inside his car and drove away.
Sarah stood at the doorway, until the shape of the car disappeared into the distance, and she opened the door back into her place.
It was quiet. The day was so quiet, it was eerily lonely.
Meanwhile, inside Robert's mansion.
Georgia finished up the call with Robert and cried by herself for a while before hurrying to the bathroom and washing herself all over.
Bathing in the hot water, it relieved the swelling around her eyes.
Before going out, she also put on a set of glasses and sat silently in the garden for a while.
At night, she had dinner with Annie, Robert, Ivan, and Elsie.
"It'll be the holidays in another fortnight. The weather's getting colder. What are you going to do for the festivities?"
Elsie probably felt the house was getting too boring, and asked the people around the table.
Georgia didn't speak. Her mind wasn't on the dinner table, and she hadn't even heard what Elsie said clearly.
Annie, though, spoke up excitedly.
"This is my first time spending the holidays with Daddy and Mommy. By then, I want to make snowmen and go sledding with Daddy and Mommy, and take family pictures."
Annie said that, then thought about Wesley.
"Is Wesley going to come be in the picture too? It feels weird, but it doesn't feel right to not have him too..."
Annie mused over the matter on her own, while Ivan chuckled at the side.
"You're pretty devious with all the things you're considering. You've also got a grandmother, you know? Wouldn't Grandma have to come take the picture with you too?"
Ivan had been joking and reminding his niece that she was forgetting one person.
Annie's expression, though, turned a bit sad.
"Grandma doesn't like me. She was fierce to me and yelled at me and hates me. She wouldn't want to be in the family picture."
At that, Georgia finally noticed what everyone was discussing.
Robert's face turned apologetic as he turned and comforted Annie.
"Annie, your Grandma isn't feeling too well right now. I'll say sorry to Annie for Grandma. Grandma was wrong, and she had a lot of misunderstandings with your Mommy. When Grandma sobers up, I'll have her say sorry to you too. By then, if Grandma wants to be good to Annie again, could you give her a chance? Back then, when she heard she had a granddaughter, she was actually really happy, but then there were some misunderstandings with Daddy and Mommy, and she thought that you weren't her actual granddaughter, and bad people were trying to pull strings like in the TV shows. Bad people made her think that way. That's why Grandma has such a bad attitude towards you."
Annie wasn't a petty person, but she was sensitive and had an intuitive grasp of others' emotions.
Even if a person was smiling in front of her, if they didn't mean it, she could sense how fake someone else was. She turned to Robert.
"Daddy, if Grandma really does apologize to me and explain that bad people made her think that way, of course I want to be good to Grandma too. Grandma is Daddy's Mommy, and a family has to be happy together. I don't want the family not to be happy. I just feel like Grandma really doesn't like me, and she really doesn't like Mommy. I think you're too optimistic, Daddy."
Annie spoke with a maturity that didn't fit her age, and Elsie bust out laughing to the side.
She hadn't met Robert's mother that often, but she'd also heard of what happened before, which amused her a little.
Men were always so naïve, believing a mother and daughter-in-law could get along just like that.
Sure, there were examples of it, but for most families, being able to refrain from arguments and fights was already plenty.
It was absurd to wish for a good relationship.
Robert did feel like his daughter made sense, and he knew his own mother's personality. He'd just been hoping for a chance.
"All right, then let's forget Grandma for now. If Grandma still doesn't want you around, you can just not be around her from now on."
With that topic having been broached, Elsie spoke again.
"I haven't ever had a good holiday before. Maybe I could call my sister over, or we could go to her instead."
Ever since Georgia had gone overseas after Robert's incident last time, Vanessa had taken her son and Alfred and gone back to G City.
For this time, the two hadn't been in too much contact, but Georgia was always busy. Elsie, though, often video called Vanessa as her sister, and looked upon her niece at the same time.
At Elsie's words, Georgia suddenly spoke.
"It's too cold up north. How about we spend the holidays on a tropical island, where it's warm?"
Georgia was suggesting that naturally because she wanted everyone to be happy.
She suddenly had an inexplicable desire to keep Robert by her side to do all sorts of things with her.
She felt a nagging worry that Robert's body wasn't in the best condition, and wouldn't be suited to spending the winter somewhere cold.
"But how would I make a snowman then?"
Annie asked her mother. After all, only the heaping northern snow was good for making snowmen.
"We're not going on holiday right away, you know. We can go to the island for the holiday right after the festivities. Our family hasn't travelled much. Let's all go have fun on a big holiday."
Robert turned and smiled at Georgia, grabbing her hand.
"You're the boss. You can plan it all."
"Could you not flirt so openly?"
Ivan complained to the side.
"Consider that I'm still single, and Elsie's still single."
The group enthusiastically discussed what they were going to do for the holidays; where they wanted to go, what activities they wanted to partake in.
Excited, Elsie brought up hot air balloons, and scuba diving, and aquariums and all sorts of fantasies...
As for Ivan, he'd always gallivanted about the world and didn't have too much interest in this sort of thing. He did chime in once or twice over where he'd been and gave everybody suggestions as to which island would be best.
Georgia didn't speak much as she listened to Annie chatter about with Robert, her heart soothed and fearful at once.
These cozy days wouldn't last long, and would fade into the distance one day.
At nine or so in the evening, Wilson personally drove to the mansion, picked Elsie up, and took her home.
As Georgia saw her off, she stood at the doorway, where Elsie spoke to her."