Skipped At The Altar, Taken By His Uncle novel Chapter 247

Chapter 247

Oliver brought Joanne back to her city.

As soon as she walked in, Joanne rushed straight into her grandpa’s arms.

Grandpa Falls looked puzzled. “What’s wrong, Joanne? Did someone give you a hard time out there?”

They didn’t know a thing about what Joanne had gone through.

Joanne was back home, so the whole family gathered together.

Joanne snuggled up close to her grandpa.

Suddenly, she noticed how much her grandpa had aged. He was at that stage in life where every moment with him felt precious.

After that brush with life and death, Joanne cherished her family more than ever.

Mindy was still sulking. She thought, Joanne just had to make a big deal out of everything the moment she got back.

But then, Joanne picked up a chicken wing and put it on Mindy’s plate.

Mindy stared at the chicken wing on her plate, and then looked up into Joanne’s bright eyes. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. “You…”

“Aunt Mindy, eat up. You’ve lost weight lately,” Joanne said.

Mindy’s face flushed with embarrassment.

Mindy picked up a shrimp and dropped it onto Joanne’s plate. “You should eat more too. How did you come back from your trip looking so skinny?”

The awkwardness from before just faded away without anyone even noticing.

Grandpa Falls couldn’t help but smile. ‘Now that’s the family I know,’ he thought.

Jason was the one who knew Joanne best. After dinner, he headed to her room to check in on her.

“Got a minute to talk with me?” he asked.

Joanne patted the spot beside her on the couch. “Sure, come sit!”

He sat down, leaving the door half open, always careful to respect her privacy, even as her brother.

“Joanne, did something happen on your trip?” he asked.

Joanne lowered her eyes and started to tell him everything, her voice soft and steady.

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Chapter 247

Chapter 247

Oliver brought Joanne back to her city.

As soon as she walked in, Joanne rushed straight into her grandpa’s arms.

Grandpa Falls looked puzzled. “What’s wrong, Joanne? Did someone give you a hard time out there?”

They didn’t know a thing about what Joanne had gone through.

Joanne was back home, so the whole family gathered together.

Joanne snuggled up close to her grandpa.

ong

Suddenly, she noticed how much her grandpa had aged. He was at that stage in life where every moment with him felt precious.

After that brush with life and death, Joanne cherished her family more than ever.

Mindy was still sulking. She thought, Joanne just had to make a big deal out of everything the moment she got back.

But then, Joanne picked up a chicken wing and put it on Mindy’s plate.

Mindy stared at the chicken wing on her plate, and then looked up into Joanne’s bright eyes. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. “You…”

“Aunt Mindy, eat up. You’ve lost weight lately,” Joanne said.

Mindy’s face flushed with embarrassment.

Mindy picked up a shrimp and dropped it onto Joanne’s plate. “You should eat more too. How did you come back from your trip looking so skinny?”

The awkwardness from before just faded away without anyone even noticing.

Grandpa Falls couldn’t help but smile. ‘Now that’s the family I know, he thought.

Jason was the one who knew Joanne best. After dinner, he headed to her room to check in on her.

“Got a minute to talk with me?” he asked.

Joanne patted the spot beside her on the couch. “Sure, come sit!”

He sat down, leaving the door half open, always careful to respect her privacy, even as her brother.

“Joanne, did something happen on your trip?” he asked.

Joanne lowered her eyes and started to tell him everything, her voice soft and steady.

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Jason’s expression shifted, a flicker of relief and comfort in his eyes. It was like Joanne had suddenly grown up overnight.

“It’s all good now. You’re home, and that’s what matters. Don’t worry about us. We’re all doing fine,” he said,

Joanne smiled. “Yeah, I know.”

“By the way, who’s that friend who helped you get the liver?” he asked.

He immediately picked up on the most important detail.

Joanne froze for a second. “It’s just a friend, really.”

Seeing her avoid the question, he got the message and let it go.

Joanne let out a long sigh of relief. “That was close, she thought.

Her phone kept buzzing with messages.

[Hey baby, have you had dinner yet? Look, this is what I’m eating tonight.]

Ever since she got back, Oliver had been blowing up her phone without a hint of shame.

[Oliver, I told you to stop calling me baby.] Joanne replied.

It was just a one-night slip-up, and she’d never said they were back together.

But Oliver couldn’t care less about all that. He was on a full-on charm offensive, bombarding her with flirty texts and sweet talk, determined to sweep her off her feet no matter what.

*****

With Joanne back home, Grandpa Falls knew Oliver had returned to town too.

He hadn’t played chess in weeks, and he couldn’t wait to get back to it.

It wasn’t that he didn’t have other people to play with. He just thought it was way more fun going up against

Oliver.

It was rare for Jason to have a day off and actually stay home.

“Grandpa, where are you headed? Let me drive you,” he said.

Grandpa Falls looked away, a little flustered. “No need. You’re not my driver!”

“We’ve got plenty of drivers at home. Come on, you hardly ever get a day off. Just relax. Don’t worry about

mel” he said.

Jason caught a hint of something off in Grandpa Falls’s evasive expression.

He watched Grandpa Falls’ car disappear down the road, and then flagged down the butler, Has Grandpa

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been heading out a lot lately?”

“Yeah, he’s gotten really into chess these days,” the butler replied.

‘Chess?’ he wondered, a bit taken aback.

“Does he go out to play chess?” he asked.

“Yeah!” the butler replied.

He knew Grandpa Falls had some old friends from the community, but chess wasn’t really their thing.

And with him heading out so often lately, it seemed like he’d found someone new to play with.

Something just felt off to him, so he hopped in his car and quietly tailed Grandpa Falls without telling

anyone.

He watched from across the street as Grandpa Falls walked into a traditional coffee house with an old-world charm.

His expression turned unreadable.

“Oliver, you’re finally back!” Grandpa Falls called out.

These days, the person Oliver looked up to most was his future wife’s grandpa.

If Grandpa Falls hadn’t played wingman, there was no way Oliver and Joanne would’ve had this breakthrough.

“Grandpa, are we playing chess again today?” Oliver said with a playful grin.

When Oliver started calling him “Grandpa,” Grandpa Falls caught on right away.

‘Looks like this kid really pulled it off, he thought.

He snorted, feigning annoyance. “Who says I’m your grandpa?”

Oliver just grinned and led him upstairs.

The chessboard hadn’t been touched since their last match. It was still set up with the same pieces from that day.

“Where did we leave off last time?” Grandpa Falls asked.

Oliver chuckled. “Grandpa, it’s your move.”

Even though Grandpa Falls tried to give him a hard time, Oliver just kept on calling him ‘Grandpa’ anyway.

Once he’d started, there was no turning back.

Grandpa Falls had been waiting for Oliver to say something about Joanne, but Oliver never breathed a word about where things stood between them.

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“Hey, Oliver, you and Joanne back together yet?” Grandpa Falls finally asked.

Oliver shook his head. “Not yet. But hey, at least she’s replying to my texts now.”

Grandpa Falls just stared at him, lost for words.

‘Seriously? That’s all he’s proud of?’ he thought.

He’d honestly thought those two would be way further along by now.

“After all this time, that’s all you’ve managed?” Grandpa Falls couldn’t help but rib him.

“Grandpa, I’m taking it slow. I want Joanne to truly accept me,” Oliver said.

Grandpa Falls snorted, but unexpectedly found himself growing a little fonder of this kid.