“Shall we go downstairs and have something to eat?”
“Okay. I want to eat with Sebby.”
Frieda was holding a plushie in her hand, and her eyes were still swollen.
She was unexpectedly docile that Sabrina couldn’t believe her eyes.
Both of them made their way downstairs to the dining room, and the maid had already laid the table with scrumptious breakfast. Not only did Frieda sit quietly at the table, but she was also willing to sit next to Rufus.
That’s rather odd.
“I think she likes you, Grandpa. See, she’s even sitting next to you. She used to sit next to Vivi.”
Matteo widened his eyes as he stared incredulously at the sight in front of him.
After hearing what her brother said, Vivian felt terribly upset and pouted.
Grandma doesn’t like me anymore!
Seeing the children’s reactions, Rufus had an exasperated look on his face.
“You guys, don’t be angry. She’s sitting next to me because I promised to take her out to have some fun in the afternoon.”
“Really?”
Upon hearing that, the children instantly jumped in excitement.
“I want to go too, Grandpa. You have to bring us along with you.”
“That’s right, Grandpa. How can you not bring your darling grandchildren with you?”
Vivian was the most direct of them all. As soon as she put down her fork, she climbed down the chair with the support of her chubby little arms and legs. Then, she went over to Rufus and clung onto him as she pouted.
Rufus was unable to resist the children.
At that moment, he decided to bring the three little ones, together with Frieda, out for a spin in the afternoon.
Sabrina, who was watching from the side, scoffed, “Are you sure you’ll be able to handle all of them by yourself, Rufus?”
Rufus evaded the question and said, “Why don’t you come with us too?”
Sabrina was rendered speechless.
Da*n!
Why am I dragged into this?
Finally, it was afternoon. Sabrina and Rufus gathered the three children and the deranged Frieda for a day out.
However, for safety reasons, they decided not to go far. Instead, they went to a park nearby.
“I wanna go on the slide.”
“I wanna play in the sandbox.”
“Alright, go ahead.”
Once they arrived at the park, the children dashed towards the playground. Ian, who wasn’t the playful kind, tagged along with his younger brother to the playground.
Sabrina went over to the playground to watch the children play as she wasn’t keen on keeping a watchful eye on Frieda.
Upon seeing that, Rufus decided to take Frieda to a fish pond not far away.
“Frieda, let’s take a walk over there.”
“Okay.”
At that time, Frieda was obedient and pliant. Without making a fuss, she clutched the plushie to her chest and followed Rufus to the fish pond.
There wasn’t much to see in the fish pond during winter. The lotus in the middle of the pond had already withered, and there was nothing left but a single withered lotus leaf. On the other hand, this made it easier to see the carps in the pond.
“Do you want to feed the fish?”
“Yes!”
Frieda, who was still lost in her own fortress of insanity, couldn’t hold back her excitement and beamed happily the second she heard that she could feed the fish.
Thus, Rufus went and bought two packets of fish food and handed them to her.
While they were feeding the fish, a man who was watching them a few feet away, saw Frieda exhibiting childish behaviors.
“Is she your family, mister?” the man asked curiously.
“Yes.”
Rufus answered as he glanced at the young man.
The man was stunned, and he had a look of deep respect and admiration for Rufus. “You’re so kind. Is she sick? I see that you’re treating her like a child.”
“It’s nothing. I just took her out for a walk.”
Rufus was a little embarrassed at the young man’s remark.
But it was all thanks to Frederick. Although Frieda had been kept in the basement for many years, it was said that the basement was luxuriously furnished and well-ventilated.
Moreover, other than her loss of sanity, Frieda was in good physical condition.
Therefore, it was evident that she was well taken care of by Frederick in the past two decades.
As a consequence, he was a little embarrassed when the young man thought that he was being humble. At that moment, he shifted his gaze away from the man to watch Frieda, who was still feeding the fish.
“From the looks of it, I can see why you treated her so well. I’m sure she was a beautiful woman when she was younger. Truth be told, she’s still attractive for her age.”
“Well…”
Rufus didn’t know what to say in response to that.
Frieda was indeed a beautiful woman in her younger days. Otherwise, Shin would not have fallen in love with her at first sight.
Moreover, not only did she not come across as vain and materialistic, but she was simple-minded as well.
Back then, in the Hayes family, her sister Margaret was so jealous of her after seeing that she was more beautiful than her. Hence, Margaret wanted to marry her off to someone from a wealthy family.
However, she did not fancy any one of them.
She believed that she was not an item to be traded off, and she did not need to marry someone in exchange for a lifetime of wealth.
It’s such a pity that her life was destroyed because of Shin.
Rufus thought to himself repugnantly.
Click.
