Chapter 217 Visiting Nicholas (Part One)

"Carla, what's wrong? Are you feeling okay?" Terence asked anxiously. Carla was sitting beside him, sweating with nervousness.

As soon as they were about to get off the car, Carla started to feel uneasy. This was the first time she was going to visit Nicholas officially and the way she acted amused Terence. Terence knew how important this meeting was for Carla, so he put his arms around her waist and gave her a quick, comforting and reassuring hug. "Calm down," he whispered to her ears.

Carla took a deep breath and nodded, too nervous to speak. She frowned and looked at the rear-view mirror with concentration even though there was nothing to look at. Her palms sweated and she started fidgeting around. "Terence, I am suddenly not feeling well. I need to get out of here. I can't breathe." Carla looked even more flustered after she removed herself from his comforting embrace, "I want to create a good first impression. I've never met Nicholas like this before. What if he doesn't like me at all? What if I don't know what to say or worse, what if I say something wrong! What if he'd instantly hate me for everything?"

Terence lovingly patted her on the back. "Hey, hey, sweetheart, look at me. You need to stop worrying about these things. It will be all right! I promise you that. My grandfather is the kindest person in the world. You met him before and you knew it, right? And what do I always tell you? Don't cross the bridge until you get there," Terence said patiently. He held her delicate hands in his firm ones to calm her down. She was frantic with worry, and this was not a good sign. Carla might chicken out again. He was not going to let that happen. He was holding her and this seemed to calm her down for now. He could feel her ice-cold hands grew warm again. Carla stopped moving and let Terence help her remove the creases in her dress. "Carla, my sweetheart. Listen to me. You are the most beautiful and wonderful woman I have ever seen. And you will also be the most beautiful, elegant and extraordinary woman for my family. They will surely love you. Grandpa will love you. You have nothing to worry about. Trust me on this. Do you understand?" After saying those comforting words, Terence looked her in the eyes with a mischievous and teasing smile, "But... maybe you do lack something important."On hearing that, Carla panicked, "What? I knew it! I knew I had forgotten something! You have to tell me what it was!" Terence couldn't hold back his laughter and p

ke that so he patted on his grandson's back as if reassuring him of something. "Good! Good! I am good and you are good. That's the best news in the world," he said.

Though he was old and retired, Nicholas was still clear-headed and even sharp-minded. He paid a lot of attention to what had happened these past few days. So basically the old man knew everything that mattered. He was not as useless as he appeared to be. It was more of a camouflage, an act. Nicholas felt sorry that his acting broke his grandson's heart.

But Terence knew what Nicholas was up to. So he didn't let the mood influence him much. "Grandfather. I wanted to apologize to you. I said I would come home but I didn't. I am sorry. I owe you an apology. Now I am returned with Carla, your future granddaughter-in-law. Can you please forgive me?" Nicholas sighed. He shook his head in disapproval. Terence didn't expect that so all of a sudden, and he didn't know what to do. Was it a gesture of accepting his apology or not? Terence had no choice but to apologize again, this time more seriously. "It is my fault. I'm sorry I did not come home earlier. I'm sorry if I have let you down. I won't do it again." Nicholas resumed his serenity and quietness. Terence knew that it was the sign that grandpa was really mad at him. Nicholas used to look at him without saying a word for hours. But at that time Nicholas was still in the prime of his time and Terence, who was still a little boy, was really afraid of him. But now, grandpa's face was wrinkly and his eyes were not as sharp as before. Nicholas An became an old man. Terence felt sad that he didn't fear his grandfather anymore.