Ice and Fire novel Chapter 951

In the afternoon, Lawrence left Wilson's house after they'd had lunch. Shortly afterwards, Violet and Greg also bid farewell to Jacob and Elsa before taking their leave.

To see them off, Cherry walked Violet and her husband to the gate. Before her daughter entered the car, she held her hand. "Give our kind regards to Greg's father once you get home. Tell him that we will treat him to a meal another day," she said.

"I will, Mom. I bet Fred will be glad," Violet responded. Greg's father had left a good impression on her.

"Ummm. Be careful on the road," Cherry urged.

After Greg's car had disappeared in the distance, Selina turned her eyes to Cherry who was standing beside her. "Now you don't need to worry about them, do you?" she asked.

"Oh, yeah," Cherry replied with a smile of relief.

"Let's get inside. Mom and Dad missed you so much and always talked about you. They'd be happy to spend more time with you," Selina proposed as she reached for Cherry's arm, and led back to the house.

In the car, Violet looked out through the window pensively. An unrelenting sense of apprehension about Greg's father gripped her heart, although she inwardly fought hard to downplay it. Finally, feeling exhausted, she yawned as she turned to steal a glance at husband in the driver's seat. With a concerned look on her face, she asked, "How is Fred doing, Greg?"

Intending not to keep his wife in the dark, Greg in detail explained, "At first, when my stepmother passed away, Dad was quite upset, and quietly grieved, rarely talking to anyone. For some time, I stayed with him, while Selina held the fort down for me at the hospital. It was not until three months later that Dad began to open up a little. Then he asked me to go back to work. Although he was still grieving Sharon's painful death, he said he'd be okay. But I was still worried about him. So I hired a nurse to attend to him at home while I was at work. But anytime I was through with work, I'd go home and relieve the nurse. Now, he is much better, but I don't think he'll ever be the same again after the gruesome death of Sharon."

"I'm glad that he has coped fairly well. Eventually, he'll get over it. Time heals," Violet said calmly, a shade passing over her pretty face.

"Yeah, you have a point," Greg replied. With one hand holding the steering wheel, he grabbed Violet's hand tightly. He took a glance at her before he continued, "I hope that we will live happily. Meantime, take good care of my Dad and your parents."

"We will. I'm so happy to have you by my side," Violet returned, smiling.

The radiating smile on her face reminded Greg of their school days. Violet's smile was still as sweet and enchanting as before.

At long last, Greg steered the car into the Xiao family's house. The moment Violet alighted from the car, she caught sight of Fred. He was sitting in the yard reading the newspaper.

Hesitating, she cast her husband a glance, to which Greg nodded, indicating that she could come closer to his father. She then sneaked up on Fred who still focused on his newspaper.

"Dad," Violet softly called as she stood beside Fred.

The familiar female voice left Fred confounded. 'Who is she?' he wondered. With a baffled expression, he turned his face to look at Violet.

Not believing his eyes, Fred exclaimed, "Violet?" 'Am I not in a dream? When did she come back?' he wondered, his surprise written all over his face.

"Oh, yes. It's me, Fred. I am back," Violet assured. Watching his gaunt, old face, her heart was moved. 'He is younger than Dad. But he looks much older. Oh, what a poor Fred, the loss of Sharon appears to have really had a toll on him!' she thought.

Slowly, Fred, now certain that he wasn't dreaming, rose and gently put his hand on Violet's shoulder.

"Dad, I am back," Violet gave Fred a tight hug. Down at heart, she mused, 'He is an elder. He brought up Greg whom I love the most. He is my relative.'

"I am glad to see you back home," Fred said, tears of joy forming in his eyes. Almost overwhelmed by mixed emotions, he had to restrain himself.

"Have you had lunch? How about I ask Kimmy to prepare a meal for you?" Fred asked courteously.

"No, thanks. We already had lunch at Uncle Wilson's house. Greg and I paid them a visit. My parents are staying with them," Violet replied. For a moment, she hesitated, apparently lost in other thoughts. But quickly, she picked up and she continued, "My parents just came back, so they will be busy for some time. But they asked me to send their regards to you. They'll plan to meet you."

"It''s okay. They can meet me any time. We are a family," Fred replied with a smile. After a pause, he asked gingerly, "Violet, do you plan to leave again?"

"Even if she wants to leave, I will not let her go," Greg butted in with an feigned domineering air, as he put his arm around Violet's shoulder.

When Violet turned to look up at Greg, they made eye contact, to which they smiled sweetly.

In a courteous, but firm tone, Fred advised, "Treat her gently, Greg." Then he cleared his voice before adding with a light touch, "If you ever think you can bully my daughter-in-law around, I'll gang up with her to make your life miserable."

"Oh, Daddy, no! I'm always the one being bullied. You can't do that to me!" Greg argued jokingly.

"Are you sure, honey?" Violet asked with fake displeasure in her voice, as she turned a sidelong glance at Greg.

"Easy, sweetheart, I retract that fib I threw in there. You never bullied me, to be honest," Greg said, now turning honest.

Seeing that the couple got on so well, Fred gave a satisfied smile.

"Let's get inside, Dad. I have a lot of things to tell you," Violet said to Fred.

"Oh, yeah," Fred agreed immediately.