Bun wasn’t shy in the slightest. Her chubby little hand grabbed Old Mrs. Grant’s finger as it rested on the stroller, shaking it back and forth, and back and forth, and back and forth. She grinned, revealing two brand-new teeth in her little mouth, her smile bright and cheerful.
It was as if she were saying, "I’m the cutest, I’m the cutest."
Seeing the sweet, rosy-cheeked little one smiling so beautifully at her, Old Mrs. Grant’s heart simply lted.
Cooing softly, she carefully scooped the baby up.
Bun nestled obediently in the elderly woman’s arms, her big, round eyes darting about as she took in the scenery.
The more Old Mrs. Grant looked at her, the more she adored her, wishing she could keep the baby at their house for good.
Eleanor Crawford and Auntie Sue were also extrely fond of Bun.
Especially Eleanor, who had held Bun once before.
She still rembered the baby’s soft, cuddly feel.
The group chatted and laughed as they walked back.
Although Old Master Grant held a high position, he had always been a cautious and low-key man. He had never held any kind of birthday banquet for himself in the past.
Now, in his seventies and considering retirent, he had finally made an exception.
Even so, he had only called a few of his children ho.
The Grants didn’t have the habit of sitting around while others did the work. Lena Grant and Clark Grant were helping in the kitchen, while Miles Grant and Shane Grant were out running errands and wouldn’t be ho for a while.
"Where’s Grandpa?"
Sophia Shaw looked around for a while but didn’t see Old Master Grant.
Old Mrs. Grant replied, still playing with Bun, "He’s still busy in the west wing."
The west wing was where Old Master Grant handled his official affairs when at ho.
"I’ll go see him." Carrying her gift bag, Sophia Shaw walked slowly toward the west wing.
The guards downstairs didn’t stop her, which suggested the day’s discussions weren’t particularly classified.
Sophia Shaw ascended the stairs.
When she reached the second floor, she could see from a distance, through an open doorway, Old Master Grant sitting at his desk, his expression stern and imposing.
Two people were standing opposite him.
A man and a woman—Vincent Grant and Joanna Sherman.
Vincent Grant’s voice drifted out from the room. "Grandpa, Joanna is steady and cautious. It would be safer for the military’s satellite to be placed with Zenith."
A thick stack of docunts lay in front of Old Master Grant, evidently brought by Vincent to persuade him.
Joanna Sherman stood ramrod straight before Old Master Grant. She had reined in her usual pride, adopting an attitude that was perfectly pitched—neither fawning nor defiant.
Sophia Shaw had thought Vincent brought Joanna Sherman here simply to make their relationship official and introduce her to the family.
’So that wasn’t it at all!’
’He’s still trying to snatch the satellite launch rights from to pave the way for his goddess!’
A chill crept through her heart, turning it to ice.
Rage compelled her to clench her fists.
Sophia Shaw wasn’t in the habit of eavesdropping. After standing there for a mont, she turned and headed back downstairs.
Not long after, Vincent Grant and Joanna Sherman ca downstairs, one after the other.
Vincent’s steps faltered for a mont when he saw Sophia.
Sophia didn’t et his gaze; she simply turned and went up the stairs.
At the door, she knocked twice. TAP TAP.
When Old Master Grant saw Sophia, his stern face softened visibly. "Faye, you’re here?" he said.
"Grandpa." Sophia walked over and placed the gift bag on his desk.
She kept her head down, her lips pressed together.
She wasn’t good at initiating conversation.
"Did you run into Vincent?" Old Master Grant asked, taking the initiative.
Sophia simply humd in agreent, not wanting to discuss him further.
Old Master Grant noticed and steered the conversation away from the topic. He asked about the satellite launch but didn’t question her about it.
They talked for a little over ten minutes before Sophia felt it was ti to go. She stood and took the gift out of the bag. "This is a special tea from my maternal uncle’s hotown. It’s not worth much, but it’s very fragrant. The tea cakes were handmade by my grandmother. I hope you like it."
Old Master Grant accepted the gift, weighing it in his palm before nodding in satisfaction. "A fine gift."
It wasn’t ostentatious, but it was thoughtful—a gift that went straight to his heart.
Old Master Grant couldn’t help but take a longer look at Sophia. Every ti he thought about how the family had lost such a granddaughter-in-law, he felt a pang of regret.
With the gift delivered, her task was complete. Sophia said, "Grandpa, I have to run, so I won’t be able to stay for dinner."
"You don’t want to eat with your grandpa because of Vincent, don’t you?" Old Master Grant’s eyes were sharp; of course, he would guess.
"Don’t worry. I already sent him away."
Sophia was speechless.
’He drove Vincent away just so I would stay for dinner?’
The Grant family’s kindness toward her... It was an imnse weight.
"You head down first. I’ll be right back after I make a call," Old Master Grant said.
After he’d gone to such lengths, leaving now would just be ungracious.
In truth, Sophia had brought Bun today precisely so the two elders could see the child.
The Grants had been generous enough to let her have full custody of Bun; she couldn’t be completely selfish.
「 」
Although Old Master Grant had ordered him not to stay for dinner, Vincent still went to the main house, planning to say goodbye to Old Mrs. Grant before he left.
From a distance, he saw a group of people happily playing with a child.
The tiny child was being passed from one person to the next, little arms and legs kicking and flailing, accompanied by happy babbles that sent the group into fits of laughter.
The only guests today were his siblings. The others either had no children or had grown children. Only Sophia had a child this young.
Vincent had only seen the child from a distance a few tis and didn’t have much of an impression of her.
Still, he was touched by the sound of her innocent laughter.
As Vincent drew near, he reached for her almost instinctively.
The mont he took her into his arms, Bun slapped a tiny palm right across his face. SMACK.
Vincent froze for a second, assuming she was just overexcited from playing and didn’t know her own strength.
But then, Bun used all her strength, with both her arms and legs, to frantically push herself away from him.
Everyone was speechless.
Before, Bun had been cheerful with everyone who held her. This was definitely not her usual reaction.
The atmosphere instantly beca awkward.
Old Mrs. Grant snatched the baby back and cradled her protectively. "You can’t even soothe a child! Get lost!"
Vincent was speechless.
Looking at Vincent’s expression and rembering Bun’s reaction, Old Mrs. Grant understood just how much he must have neglected his daughter.
Her heart ached for her great-granddaughter. Old Mrs. Grant gently patted the baby’s back, trying to calm her.
The little one snuggled into Old Mrs. Grant’s embrace, her big eyes wide and unblinking as she felt the gentle pats.
Whether it was her imagination or not, Old Mrs. Grant felt that Bun’s big, watery eyes were brimming with hurt.
Vincent didn’t leave right away. Instead, his gaze fell on the child in Old Mrs. Grant’s arms.
It was his first ti seeing Bun up close, and he was shocked to find she looked exactly like Cedric Grant did as a child!
His heart skipped a beat. He wanted to get a closer look to be sure.
But Bun had already buried her head deep into Old Mrs. Grant’s shoulder.
Old Mrs. Grant snapped, "What are you still standing here for? Can’t you see the child can’t stand you?"
Vincent averted his gaze.
’It must be my imagination,’ he thought. ’If Sophia had really given birth to my child, she would have told .’
She had never ntioned it.
Shane Grant deliberately patted Bun’s round head and said with a smirk, "See? Our little Bun really doesn’t care for ’Uncle Vincent’ here. You’re a real failure, Vincent."
Vincent frowned sullenly. He didn’t like being called "Uncle Vincent."
But he wasn’t going to start a fight with Shane over a single comnt. He just nodded to Old Mrs. Grant. "Grandma, I’ll be going now."
Not a single person asked him to stay.
Miles Grant, who had just returned, saw the scene unfold and sighed.
He watched Vincent walk out, then chased after him.
He caught up to him under the willow tree by the main gate. "Vincent, you knew Grandpa invited Sophia. Why would you bring Miss Sherman here? Weren’t you just trying to humiliate Sophia?"
He had gone upstairs when he got back and had seen the two of them.
Everyone knew that Joanna Sherman was the reason for Sophia’s divorce.
His other siblings might not say anything, but as the elder brother, he couldn’t just let it slide.
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