Family Is Family


    Apparently, Zak found out that Annie had a talk with me and that didn’tnd well with Zak. Shortly


    afterwards, Zak relocated to South Africa, where he alternated between his stay there and other


    fashion capital cities in Europe where he continued working on his movies, arts, and fashion. Not


    surprisingly, I never heard from Annie again and if we had any interactions, it was only because it was


    absolutely necessary.


    “What did she tell you?” Zak asked through the phone. His tone was quite emotionless, but I could tell


    immediately that he was angry.


    It had been less than two days since I had that talk with Annie over afternoon tea. Of course, I never


    told Zak about it so he must have found out from Annie. I didn’t want to even imagine how he got her to


    ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org .


    confess.


    “We talked about a couple of things…” I said vaguely. What’s the point of asking? I was sure that Zak


    knew the most of it already.


    “I’m truly sorry that you had to go through that, Natalia…” Zak apologized, sounding very serious.


    “Oh no…it’s cool. She asked me some questions and I just answered her. It’s not a big deal…I may


    have said somethings that I shouldn’t have too…” I said, truthfully as I tried tough it all away.


    “She won’t go anywhere near you again. There’s nothing for you to worry about, ok?” Zak said


    confidently.


    Annie definitely got an earful from Zak. I sighed softly to myself thinking that their rtionship probably


    went from bad to worse. Poor Annie…


    “Is…everything ok with Annie?” I asked with my fingers crossed.


    “Sure. There’s nothing to worry about. Just let me know at once if she ever approaches you again…”


    Zak said, his tone solemn.


    “Ok…” I hesitantly agreed.


    “Oh…I’ve decided to relocate to South Africa. I mean, I’ll be there and flying around here and there,


    especially in Europe too…” Zak said, and I could sense his excitement a little.


    “I see. Sounds amazing. I hope you have fun!” I said, happily. Perhaps Zak was finding his own calling


    even if it was far away from me.


    “You sound so happy that I’m moving away…” Zak grumbled.


    “You know it’s not like that…I just think it’s wonderful that you’re devoting yourself to your dreams,” I


    said honestly.


    “Will you be there to send me off?” Zak asked, half-jokingly.


    “I definitely will,” I replied,pletely serious.


    …


    I was busy clearing up some work along with some team members early in the evening when Edward


    called. I had hoped that we wouldn’t have to stay overtime but the client had brought the timeline of the


    project forward and everything was very hectic as a result of that.


    “Natalia, where are you?” Edward asked, through the phone.


    “I’m still at work. What’s the matter?” I asked, catching on to the slight dissatisfaction in his voice.


    “Lucien is here. He decided to drop by for dinner,” Edward said with a depressed sigh. He never liked it


    when Lucien came over.


    “Lucien?” I said in surprise. He didn’t tell me that he would be dropping by.


    “Yeah. He’s obviously here to see you and the kids and not me. So, when do you think you’ll be back?”


    Edward asked, sounding very irritated.


    “I can leave in less than ten minutes. We’re almost done,” I replied.


    “Great. I’ll wait for you…” Edward saidzily.


    “Ok…” I said and hung up.


    Lucien…decided to stop by for dinner? Since I gave birth to Ryder, Lucien has been around a lot more


    than before and even more so after I gave birth to the twins. When I married Edward, things got very


    guilty to face him. However, I never imagined that having the children would bring Lucien and I back


    together.


    “This baby looks nothing like you, Edward…” Lucien said as he held baby Ryder in his arms and looked


    down at his cute little face adoringly.


    Lucienughed so hard at Edward that the baby looked confused. Edward just red back at his older


    brother. Those two just didn’t seem to get along. Lucien visited us often to see me and the baby after


    he had gotten over his initial shock of seeing that baby Ryder didn’t resemble Edward at all. Now, it


    was just a big joke to Lucien.


    I was sure that Lucien knew who Ryder’s biological father was. He would have to be pretty blind not to


    see the resemnce, after all. We never spoke about it but there was a sense of mutual


    understanding.


    “Shut up. Ryder is my son…” Edward muttered in annoyance.


    “It’s best that he’s your son. Even I have to agree to that…” Lucien said as he looked down at smiled at


    Ryder.


    By the time that I arrived home, the children have eaten, and it was almost time for them to prepare for


    bed. I met Edward, Lucien and the kids in the living room where they were rxing on the sofa.


    “Sorry, I’mte. I didn’t know that you were going toe over,” I said to Lucien as I sat down.


    “It wouldn’t be a surprise visit if you knew in advance, right?” Lucien teased.


    “Have you guys been good to Uncle Lucien?” I asked as I smiled at the children.


    Yes, Lucien had opted for the title of uncle rather than the title of grandfather. Edward and I readily


    agreed with his proposal because we didn’t want the burden of exining to the children that Lucien is


    my stepfather. That would be a story that we would save for a much further date down the road.


    Not surprisingly, Lucien loves the children, and they love him as well. While Edward and I are trying to


    raise them up to be sensible people, Lucien can’t stop himself from spoiling them rotten. Even I don’t


    remember him spoiling me this much when I was younger.


    Ang never came over with Lucien although technically they were still married. Apparently, the


    business deal with Ang’s father went too well that the man was able to convince Lucien to stay


    married to his daughter, at least on paper. He helped the Rosenhallpany a lot during the turmoil


    from the exposure of Madame Francesca’s crimes.


    I haven’t seen Ang in years, and I bet Lucien hasn’t seen much of her either. Ang moved out of


    Lucien’s mansion a few months after I married Edward and they have been estranged since then. I


    heard that she went back to live with one of her lovers, but I wasn’t sure if that was true, or if it was just


    one of those rumors. Lucien never talked about it, and I didn’t dare to ask.


    --To be continued…