The next day, Hayden arrived at the Downey family’s villa with Stella and some health supplement products in her hand.
It was Camille whom had answered the door as she was informed ahead of time by Bentley Downey that Hayden was paying a visit today, and she had prepared a huge feast for the delightful occasion.
She beamed with joy as soon as she saw their presence, “Welcome home, Ms. Downey. Mr. Downey was still wondering whether to give you a call to ask for your whereabouts and here you are.” She greeted them cheerfully and her face lit up when her sight was set on Stella.
“This is Stella, right?”
“Stella, this is Camille, greet to her.”
“Hello, Camille.”
Stella was very lovable with her adorable features and honey-tongued personality, and she could always melt people’s heart with her sweet words. Camille grew fond of her right away as she shouted towards the house in an elevated pitch, “Mr. Downey, Hayden has come home with Stella.”
A streak of door opening sound came from the direction of the study on the second floor, and soon after heavy footsteps that were treading in a rapid manner could be heard clearly from above. Bentley’s gravelly voice that was filled with joy sounded from the staircase a few moments later, “Hayden.”
As soon as he paced down the stairs, the sight of Hayden holding Stella in her hand had made him gone stiff and put him in a constrained manner.
“Dad.” Hayden brought Stella forward while wearing a composed look as she said, “This is your grandfather, Stella.”
Stella looked him up and down intently, and her silver voice finally rang in the parlour after a while, “Grandpa is very different from what I have imagined.”
“How, how different do I look?” Bentley asked nervously.
Stella tilted her head and with an innocent look in her eyes, she explained, “I thought grandpa’s hair will be white, and he should look very old!”
Her innocent remarks had brought laughter to Camille and the other servants.
Bentley let out a sigh of relief and could not help but to smile at her whimsical remark. He stooped down and took Stella’s hand with a growing look of affection in his eyes, “Grandpa is indeed very old, but it’s not to the extent that I have grown a lot of white hair. They will grow soon in the future.”
“It’s better if you don’t have any.” Stella shook her head and said, “Mommy told me that those with white hair are way too old, and their body is often feeble and frail. Furthermore, they cannot eat a lot of delicious food.”
“What is your favourite kind of food, Stella?”
“I have a lot of preferences, but my most favourite food is dessert!”
“I will ask Camille to buy them for you.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“…”
Hayden spaced out all of a sudden as she listened to her father’s tone unknowingly imitating Stella’s childlike voice. She was five by the time she had arrived at the Downey family, hence she could remember most of the stuffs since then. In her memory, when she was around the same age as Stella, her father had always mimicked her tone when he spoke to her as well.
They had gotten along very well in the beginning, but she slowly became more and more taciturn and reticent due to Sofia and Chelsea. She was afraid to be overly affectionate with her father to protect herself, but ultimately, she was being labelled as stand-offish and distant from her own father.
“Have a seat. Let’s talk over dinner.”
Camille ushered them to the dinner table, and her eyes were glistened with tears when she looked at Stella.
Hayden asked hesitantly, “Is it going to be just us?”
Sofia and Chelsea were nowhere to be seen from the moment she had arrived till now which was unusual.
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