Love Starts From Gratitude

Chapter 9 Church Day with the Bells!

Mr. Wilson glanced at Emily and tried his best to calm down. He feigned a smile and said, "Oh, it's nothing much. Emily and I were just passing by when we remembered that it'd been a while since we visited you, Grandpa Bell. So we thought of paying the Bells a visit."

Grandpa Bell guffawed in response. "What a coincidence, we just came back from church too! Had we arrived a minute later, we probably wouldn't run into you, Mr. Wilson," he said cheerily.

A young girl who stood at the side and was playing a game on her phone suddenly looked up. "Grandpa, did no one inform sister-in-law that this was a big church day for the Bells? Or has she forgotten?" she piped up nonchalantly.

The girl didn't say it in a vicious way, but Emily could sense the malice behind her words.

Emily froze in her tracks. She was right though. No one had informed her that it was a big church day for the Bells.

She turned her attention to Ronald, who had been silent the whole time. He looked intimidating with a dark suit on, and with one hand shoved into his pant pocket. He was indifferent as usual. It looked like he had no intention of being a part of the conversation.

"What do you mean "big day"? It's the same every year! Your sister-in-law had to go to work today. She's not as free as you are, you know?" Grandpa Bell scolded and gave the girl the evil eye.

18-year-old Leah Bell, who was Ronald's half-sister looked innocent on the outside, but in reality, she hated Emily's guts and would mess with her at every chance she got.

Leah was not happy after receiving a scolding. She pouted and strolled up to the old man. "Working? By working do you mean stirring up baseless rumours? Both of them have been the talk of the town for quite some time now. The comments were pretty brutal especially towards the 'small-time actor-wants-to-make-it-big' schtick. This has never happened before within the history of the Bells. Frankly, it's all quite fascinating to watch," she sneered. Her snide remark was loaded with sarcasm.

Emily twitched and started subconsciously biting her lip.

Ronald's stepmother, Victoria Moore, pulled Leah aside and chided her, "Don't butt into adult matters. Your half brother and sister-in-law are husband and wife, so how is this a rumour?"

Leah tried acting all innocent again. "Oh, It's not a rumour? Many of my friends came to me to ask but frankly I don't know what to tell them," she replied sweetly.

Grandpa Bell looked dead serious. He turned to look at Ronald and said in a stern voice, "What's going on? Emily is your wife and the daughter-in-law of the Bells. How can you stand to see her being slandered like this? Go arrange for a press conference right now and officially announce your marriage. This can't wait any longer,"

The man, who had been silent the whole time, glanced at the frail woman in front of him. He lowered his dark eyes and replied formally, "Understood. I'll personally see to it,"

Grandpa Bell looked like he wanted to say more, but a middle-aged man standing beside him interrupted with a smile and said, "Father, rest assured, Ronald will take care of everything. Let's move indoors first, shall we? It'd be rude of us to keep Mr. Wilson waiting outside for so long."

Grandpa Bell's expression softened a little as he returned his gaze to Emily's father. "My sincerest apologies, Mr. Wilson. Ronald will get back to you on this soon on this matter. I definitely wouldn't want Emily to continue to suffer like this," he said, with some guilt in his voice.

Her father gave a slight nod of approval and glanced over at Ronald. "I don't need him to report back to me or anything. I just want my daughter to be happy," he replied.

Her father's words moved her. She grabbed onto one of his arms and gushed, "Dad, I'm doing just fine,"

"What do you mean you're 'doing just fine'? You literally fled from the hospital an hour ago, and tomorrow you'll have to go to work while sick. You really need to learn how to take better care of yourself," her father chided.

"Emily is unwell? I'll say, her face really does look kind of pale now that I noticed! Hurry, someone phone the doctor, please!" Grandpa Bell frantically ordered the bodyguards standing at the side with a frown on his face.

"There's really no need, Grandpa Bell. Don't listen to my dad. I'm fine now," Emily's arms flailed in an attempt to turn down his kindness.

"I don't think sister-in-law looks sick either. Let's head inside first, Grandpa." Leah said and scorned at her. She took Grandpa Bell's arm and walked him towards the entrance of the mansion.