Chapter 494 - CURRY FAVOR FROM HER
Chapter 494 – CURRY FAVOR FROM HER
On their way to the villa, Stefan stopped by Align Company, a subsidiary company that was owned by the Dumrique Group. It's where Dominic was assigned to work. It's near his university and he can go there directly right after class.
"Hello Sis Yen." Dominic greeted her happily and when he came to meet them at the lobby. Many people were looking at them and some were taking pictures not so secretly but Cayenne only smiled without saying anything. "Did Luiz sign on them?"
"Yup. He signed them last night." Cayenne handed the bag to him which contained all the magazines. "I just drop by to give these to you. If you need anything, just give Stefan a call."
"Hn. Thank you, sis. You take care." Dominic waved his hand at her and Cayenne did the same. She got inside the car as soon as possible with the bodyguards following closely behind her.
They drove out of the company's premise and left to meet Stefan's family. Around 10:30 in the morning, they finally arrived at the villa and the guards immediately opened the gate the moment he saw Stefan's car and the tailing cars behind them. Ferdinand was already the at the porch, waiting for their arrival and he couldn't seem to hide the smile on his face.
"Yen. My dear granddaughter-in-law. How have you been?" Ferdinand asked even though Cayenne was still several meters away from him. "I heard that you picked up where you left off and study once again."
"Yes, grandpa." Cayenne answered and gave him a hug. "I'm doing good so far and I'm enjoying my life. How about you? Have you been taking care of your health?"
"Of course. I need to live longer to see my great grandchildren in the future."
"That's right."
"So, is there any good news?"
Cayenne blushed as she lowered her head to hide her face. "Grandpa, we still have a long way to go for that. We're both busy now but maybe in two years or three."
"That's fine, too." Ferdinand led them inside the house, mostly paying attention to Cayenne and ignoring his grandson. Apparently, he wanted to talk to Stefan but he was hesitating because most of the time, Stefan would snap at them or get angry over some little things. He didn't want them to get into argument again. "Come inside."
"Where's Dad?" Cayenne asked when she couldn't see Magnus in the living room.
"He's in the kitchen. He's supervising the preparation for lunch."
"Oh." Cayenne sat down and Stefan also took a seat next to hers. Ever since they arrived, he didn't say a single word to his grandfather. "By the way grandpa, something happened at home and if worse comes to worst, we will have to move out from our house. Can we stay here for the meant time if that happens?"
"Sure. Sure. That's not a problem at all." Ferdinand welcome Cayenne's idea openly which made Stefan raise his eyebrow to his wife. He couldn't understand why she's doing it when she knew that he couldn't stay long with his family. "Let me tell the servants to check the rooms. I better do it now before I forget it. Give me a sec. I'll tell Magnus to come and get you something to drink."
"Thanks grandpa." Cayenne smiled sweetly like a virtuous wife but as soon as the old man disappeared, Stefan lightly pinched her waist. "What? Are you angry?"
"I'm not."
"Really?"
"Well, just a little. Uhh…not really angry but upset."
"Why?"
"Because I don't understand why you're doing all this. Look, you're warming up to my family but you couldn't do the same to your grandparents. If I force you to become close to them, wouldn't you be upset?"
"Of course, I would." Cayenne said almost instantly. "But we're different" She added. "Our families are different."
"What's the difference?"
Cayenne shifted her position and faced him directly. "Your father didn't really want to leave your mother. He was forced under several circumstances. Even after what happened, he still loves her and protected you even if that means going against his lawfully-wedded wife. Your grandfather, even if it will tarnish his name, he acknowledged you as his grandchild. Isn't the will and testament proof to that? It was finalized way before you left home. But my so-called grandparents were different. My father's parents forced him to break up with my mom and marry Ingrid. They even used my mom's life as a bargaining chip even though they knew that she's already pregnant with his child. I am nothing to them. My mother's parents forced her to leave home. They didn't see her as a human but a heart container. Can you see the difference?"
She looked nonchalant when she spoke but Stefan could sense her raging anger from the tremble of her voice. Even if he won't admit to it, he knew that she was right. They may have suffered so much in life but his suffering can't amount to what Cayenne has been through.
"I'm sorry." Stefan pulled her close and hugged her. "I won't say it again."
"You don't have to apologize for it. It's not your fault."
"But I upset you."
"Well, I upset you, too. We're even." Stefan chuckled and kissed her temple.
Behind the partition where the two of them couldn't see, Magnus was hiding with a tray of refreshments. He heard what Cayenne said and he was silently thanking her for that. It felt a little upsetting when such topic was brought up again but he was glad that Cayenne pointed the positive things of what he had done in the past.
Now, Magnus knew that the road to fixing his relationship with Stefan was through Cayenne. Thankfully, she wasn't prejudiced against them.
After calming himself down, he came out to greet them and gave them the refreshment. Stefan only looked at his father for few seconds before turning away to avoid his gaze.
Cayenne talked to Magnus while keeping her fingers locked with Stefan's. They talked about her study, about his pastime, and about Stefan's projects; although Stefan didn't really respond to him and it was only Cayenne who conversed with his father.
During lunch, Stefan was very attentive to Cayenne. He would talk to her in gentle manner and he would always listen to whatever she says. If it's his grandfather or his father who talks, he would become mute and directly ignored them.
Even though he was treating them coldly, the fact that he didn't leave already made his family happy. The lunch was still lively with Cayenne conversing with his family. It was as if they have known each other and there was no barrier between them but Cayenne still remained respectful all throughout the conversation.
After lunch, they all got inside their respective cars and went to the golf club that Stefan's family would often visit with their friends. When they arrived at the place, many people greeted them and many curious gazes were thrown to Cayenne.
"Good afternoon, sir. Is it the same booth?" The receptionist batted her eyelids flirtingly when she looked towards Stefan.
"Booth? What booth?" Cayenne asked Stefan with a frown. "Wait. That's not the point. Have you gone here without letting me know?"
"Oh. That's before we met." Stefan stated. He actually forgot this thing because he thought it won't matter anymore. "Anyway, I played with Travis and my other colleagues here before."
"Okay." Cayenne didn't ask any questions anymore. She only looked at the lady in front of her and raised her eyebrow without saying anything. Something was telling her that there was something off with how the receptionist look at Stefan.
"Yen, come here for a sec. I'll introduce you to some of my friends."
Hearing Ferdinand's call, Cayenne pulled Stefan along with her and come to his grandfather's side. The friends he was talking to wasn't able to meet her during the turnover ceremony of the Dumrique group. It was their first time seeing the next lady boss.
"You look so young, Mrs. Dumrique. It's my bad to be of several decades ahead of you." An old man, who seemed to be of the same age as Ferdinand, commented before taking Cayenne's hand and kissed the back of it. "Young Stefan is really lucky to have found you first."
"You flatter me." Cayenne responded with a shy smile. "Just call me Yen."
"Then, call me grandpa Zhang."
"Okay, grandpa Zhang."
One after another, they introduced themselves to Cayenne and made sure to greet Stefan in passing as well. They have found something worth noting. If you want to curry favor, do it with Cayenne because whatever she says, Stefan wouldn't say no to her. Between the two of them, she's the boss.
Cayenne looked happy while talking to them but she didn't forget Stefan at all. From time to time, she'd look at him and tell the people how amazing he was. It wasn't intentional but in the eyes of other people, she was flaunting the intense love between her and Stefan.
"Why don't we continue this conversation in the course?" Grandpa Zhang suggested.
"Sound fine to me." Magnus replied enthusiastically.
And with that, they got on the cart one after another. Of course, Cayenne and Stefan was still sticking closely. When they left, the receptionist had a sweet smile on her lips.. Her eyelashes fluttered beautifully which made the other male guests looked at her with bashful expressions.