Chapter 30
“My God! Is that you, Anna?” he asked, surprised. “Why didn't I see you before? Did you just arrive or did you come with them?”
Anna didn't expect Carlos to recognize her after so many years, and Lilian almost spit out her tea when she heard her grandfather's words.
Théo smiled, looking at Anna, who now felt embarrassed, and got off his great-grandfather's lap.
“Grandpa, she's my nanny, that's why she came with us!” explained Théo, and Lilian frowned when she heard Théo call his grandfather “Grandpa.”
She remembered that she still heard Théo calling him Great-grandfather.
“Forgive this old man, Anna, my eyesight is failing!” Carlos smiled, apologizing sincerely to Anna. “Well, I was so excited to meet Théo, and I forgot everything else.”
“It's all right, sir, I'm glad you're still as healthy as you were last time, and I'm glad you remember me too!” said Anna, lowering her head to hide her laughter.
“Of course I'll remember you, I consider you family, just like Nicholas. And thank you so much for taking care of Lilian and Théo!” His sincere expression warmed Anna's heart.
That was one of the reasons she was so dedicated to working with Carlos and Lilian; they were very kind to her.
“I promised you I would take care of them, ma'am!” Anna replied, embarrassed. “Ma'am, I need Théo for a moment, so we'll continue talking later,” she said, holding Théo's hand firmly and winking at him to follow her out of the room.
Theo winked at Anna, and although Anna had suddenly asked him to leave the room with her, Theo followed her without asking any questions.
“Have fun, Theo...” Lilian said, waving her hand as his curious eyes looked at her.
After Lilian saw Anna and Théo leave the room, she placed her empty cake plate on the coffee table and looked at her grandfather.
“Grandpa, you're not serious, are you?” she asked curiously.
“About what, dear?”
“What do you mean, about what? About moving to the capital with us!”
“Oh, that? ” Carlos furrowed his thick eyebrows as he looked at her. “Of course I'm serious, didn't you hear me? I even asked Nicholas to ask the housekeeper to clean it!”
When Lilian heard those words, her shoulders slumped in disappointment.
“Why do you look unhappy when I said I was going to move to the capital!?”
“It's not that I'm unhappy, Grandpa, but I'm worried that if you move to the capital with us, my uncle and my father...” Lilian didn't continue her sentence when she saw her grandfather raise his hand, asking her to stop.
“Lilian, don't worry about them, they won't bother you if they know I'm with you.” Carlos smiled, trying to convince her.
“I doubt it, Grandpa. They'll come if they find out about Theo, so I want to live where they don't know.” She said softly.
Lilian plans to live in a secret place with high security so that her family can't come at any time and torment her again, because if they come, she won't stay silent this time.
She doesn't want her relationship with them to get worse.
“Don't worry, daughter, I guarantee they don't know about my house in New Europe. After all, even you didn't know, did you?”
Lilian nodded; she had never heard that her grandfather owned property there. In the past, when she was still in the capital, she had heard that New Europe was a luxury residential complex with high security, and only residents were allowed to enter that area.
“I promise you'll be safe there, Lilian, and besides, I'll punish them if they try to hurt you again!” He promised, but Lilian remained silent. “I'm doing this for Theo, don't you realize that he really needs a father figure in his life?”
Lilian slowly clenched her fists when she heard this, because she agreed with him.
“Can you see how quickly Theo became friends with me? We just looked at each other, and he immediately opened up to me. At first, I was impressed, but then I realized that he needed a male figure to talk to, to play with, and to learn from.” Carlos continued.
Lilian was a little surprised, as she knew this, since they lived in a remote house in northern France, and none of their neighbors were Théo's age, so he spent his time only with Anna and her.
Now Lilian understood why Théo showed his warm expression more often whenever Daniel visited them.
“So don't think about other people who aren't important in your life, but focus and think about Théo, your son!” said Carlos. “You understand what I mean, right?”
“Yes, Grandpa, I understand!”
“So, do you agree that I go with you to the capital?”
Without saying anything, Lilian nodded, holding back tears, and felt angry at herself for not being sensitive enough to let Théo meet more people his age and the rest of the family, because she was so afraid that the Legrands would find out about him, but she had been too selfish, thinking only of herself.
“It's okay, Lilian, I know raising a child isn't easy, and I have to admit, you've done something extraordinary for him so far.” Seeing Lilian's slightly red face and remaining silent, Carlos gave her a little encouragement.
“Thank you, Grandpa!” Lilian said softly as she took a deep breath.
“Now, go get some rest, I'll ask Nicholas or Anna to call you for lunch later.”
Théo walked behind Anna as they climbed to the second floor of the mansion and entered a long hallway that resembled a standard hotel corridor, with doors lined up on both sides.
At the end of the hallway, a large glass window overlooked a vast expanse of land, and he walked calmly, but his eyes narrowed as he looked at Anna's back.
“Why did you bring me here?” Before they reached the end of the hallway, he asked with an expressionless face.
“Theo, I want you to choose your room before I unpack.” Anna stopped suddenly, turned around, and saw Theo behind her, and with a warm smile framed her face before saying.
“No need to pretend, Aunt Anna, I know you lured me here for a reason!” Theo said calmly, still narrowing his eyes at her. “But why?”