Chapter 237 - Are You Blackmailing Me?

Neil walked down the stairs the next morning and was relieved to find that his girlfriend was back to her cheery self. After speaking with her grandfather for more than ten minutes last night, her mood improved greatly and she was able to sleep soundly.

His gaze darkened as Neil recalled the short conversation he had with his father's driver last night.

Edith was worried when she did not hear from her grandfather. Even though Auntie Li had told her that her grandfather had arrived a few hours earlier and had fallen asleep because he had a little drink, Edith was unable to sit still.

It was then that Neil had offered to send his father's driver to check on her grandfather.

Who would have known that once the driver arrived to find Mike, Auntie Li had accidentally slipped that Mike was not at the B&B?

Once the driver revealed his identity, both Auntie Li and her husband were shocked. They tried to reason with the driver and persuaded him not to let Edith the truth.

Fortunately, Mike had arrived at the B&B in time to dissolve the matter.

Neil was surprised to learn that Mike had let others tell a lie to Edith. He did not know what Mike was trying to hide from his granddaughter, but he did not like it when Edith was affected greatly as she was worried about her grandfather.

It looked like he will need to speak to Mike about this matter.

Neil snapped out of his thought and forced a smile when he saw Edith looked up at him.

"You're awake." Edith slid a few toasts on the plate and watched as Neil walked over to her.

"Hmm. Good morning." Neil planted a kiss on her cheek and looked at the food on the table. He looked up and asked, "Where's Hazel?"

"Changing. She accidentally spilled some juice on her dress earlier."

It was the weekend and the housekeeper, Auntie Emma, did not come to prepare breakfast for them. Neil leaned on the wall as he watched Edith walked around the kitchen, seemingly busy as she was preparing breakfast for them.

"You're in a really good mood?"

Edith chuckled. "Knowing that my Grandpa is well in Z Town, of course, I would be in a good mood." A thought came to her mind and Edith put down the plate on the kitchen counter. Then she turned around and stared at Neil. "Do you think I was overreacting? Auntie Li had told me that Grandpa was at the B&B and I was doubting her words. I even let you send someone and let him wake Grandpa so that I can listen to his voice."

"You're not overreacting," Neil tucked a few strands of her hair behind her ears. "You just worried about your grandpa too much."

Edith let out a long sigh at his words. "I don't know. But recently, I had a bad feeling whenever Grandpa told me that he was going on another fishing trip. I had this feeling that Grandpa was not going on a fishing trip and instead, he was doing something else and was not telling me about it."

Neil pulled her into his embrace and had a deep thought of her words. "Don't think too much about it. Your Grandpa is fine now, isn't he?"

Edith pursed at her lips and stayed in Neil's embrace for a while. The two finally parted when Hazel came down to join them on their breakfast. 

"I'm heading over to the company for a while after breakfast," Neil announced. He met Edith's gaze and immediately looked away to his coffee. 

Edith looked at him with worry. "Something came up?"

"There's an important document that I need to look at and sign," Neil said. "When I come back, let's go out and play around somewhere."

"Alright," Edith immediately agreed. She turned to Hazel and smiled. "Your uncle is taking us out to play. Where do you want to go?"

The little girl pondered over the question before she looked at her uncle. "I overheard the kids at the kindergarten mentioned about a new movie. Uncle, can we go and watch a movie?"

Neil paused as he thought of his niece's suggestion. He seemed to remember that when his brother was alive, he would often take Hazel and Claire to watch movies. It seemed that after Adam and Claire passed away, no one had taken the little girl to the cinema.

"Alright," Neil agreed. "Just tell me the title. I go and book our tickets."

A bright smile bloomed on Hazel's face. She then looked at her bowl of porridge and ate happily.

"That reminds me," Neil spoke again. "You and Hazel had frequently visited the He's family. But we have never invited them to come over to our place. If you're free next weekend, how about we invited them over for a meal? I am planning to invite Henry and Jamie to come along as well."

Edith looked at Neil in puzzled. "Why did you suddenly suggest this?"

Neil chuckled. "I just thought about this last night. The Lily and her husband had often looked after you and Hazel. It's not wrong if I wanted to invite them to come over, right? Of course, I am not asking you to cook anything. I will ask Auntie Emma to come over and cook."

Edith narrowed her eyes and wondered if Neil was planning something. But after giving the matter a thought, Edith agreed. Lily is her best friend. Since Neil wanted to invite her and the other for a little gathering between friends, she was not going to say no.

…

Neil walked into his office and sat down behind his desk. After a while, his phone rang and Neil picked it up unhurriedly. As soon as the phone was connected, a familiar voice was heard from the other line.

"Grandpa."

"How's Edith?" Mike asked.

"She's fine. After your phone call last night, her mood had improved," Neil said. 

There was a brief silence on his part before Mike spoke again. "What did Edith tell you?"

"She thought that you were up to something. She thought that you were keeping a secret from her. Grandpa, what were you hiding from Edith?"

"Nothing."

"Then, why did you make Uncle James lied to her? You let them tell Edith that you were sleeping in the guest room when you were not there. Grandpa, what are you up to? Grandpa, Edith seemed to think that you were not going fishing, and instead, you were up to something else."

Mike clenched his teeth upon hearing Neil's probing. "That was none of your concern."

"You can choose not to tell me anything, but I will tell Edith what really happened last night."

"Are you blackmailing me?"

"You can think of it that way. I just did not want Edith to worry." Neil heaved a sigh. "You weren't there. You did not see the look on her face when Edith could not reach you.. Grandpa, if you wanted me to help you keep your secret, you have to let me know what you are up to."

Read novel fast updates at novelhall.com or NovelTeam.Net