Chapter 5 Home

There was a brief pause from the other side after the phone call was connected before Albert's voice came through the phone. With gritted teeth, he roared her name, "Alana Wilson!"

Alana had tried to grab her phone back with no avail because Jayden was holding it up so high.

"Are you really playing trick on me?" Albert snarled in anger.

Alana pretended to look at other things, suddenly finding the white floor so interesting. Meanwhile, Albert continued to speak a lot of things with an enraged voice.

"Are you still listening to me?" This time, he yelled at her after receiving no response for a long time. Jayden's face darkened, yet, he just held the phone like that and didn't speak.

"Shut up. How come you still have the time to talk to me on your wedding night?" Alana scowled at the phone when she saw her brother's increasingly sullen expression.

"Maybe he can't lift it up." Jayden said nonchalantly, and Lorenzo burst out laughing.

There was utter silence from the other side. Until a voice sounded again, cautiously. "Mr Wilson?"

"Yes, it's me." Jayden spat out coldly.

"I had a slight misunderstanding with Alana earlier, Mr Wilson and we got into a fight... so I was being emotional earlier." Albert explained and after a pause, he continued, "Alana, I will talk to you later. Sorry, I guess I am not in the right emotional state after a lot of things that happened today."

"Excuse me, I have to go now." With that, he hung up the phone. Alana breathed a sigh of relief, until she saw her brother's gaze.

He handed the phone to her and said, "Let's go back home."

Alana took her phone back and looked up. He wasn't going to ridicule her over her stupidity again this time?

"Lorenzo, it seems that we have to arrange another time to catch up to things." Jayden gripped Alana's hand and gave Lorenzo an apologetic look.

"It's fine." Lorenzo didn't mind much, only sending Alana a silent glance. The two separated in the opposite direction after that.

"Just come home." Jayden with more emphasis this time. He was holding Alana's hand, who was limping as she walk and refused to be carried. "You have me. I won't let anything happen to you."

Alana stayed silent after that and let herself be dragged away by him. After they arrived at where their car was parked, the two got in. They didn't talk much during the ride that Alana also lost in her own thoughts as she gazed at the night view of the streets illuminated by the lamps.

Home hasn't felt like one ever since what her father did some years ago. At first, everything went well, but after the treatment she received for a long time, everything just fell apart.

The Wilson family, even she rarely associated herself with her family's power. After she dated Albert, she lived in her own apartment. The decision not to rely on her family's power had embroiled her in a very tricky situation right now, yet she still insisted on handling it herself. Perhaps, Albert's courage was also because of this. He had used this as leverage to do a lot of things without the Wilson's family getting back at him.

The ride wasn't long until they arrived at a luxurious house. The place was very wide, standing tall and more opulent compared to the house in its left and right. Alana gazed at the house in a daze.

"We have arrived." Jayden said and he got out of the car. He opened the door for Alana after that. "Grandpa is inside, waiting for you."

Alana nodded and finally willing to come out. She gazed at the house that was so different from a lot of her memories, the familiarity was fading away. However, it was none of her business now.

In the dining room, there were three figures: her grandfather, father, and stepmother. They hadn't started the dinner yet, seemingly waiting for the two of them.

"What happened to your foot?" It was her grandfather who asked first.

"I didn't see where I was going and fell down." She said while squeezing her brother's hand.

"Alana, Are you hurt? " Olivia Smith, her stepmother asked with a concerned tone as she stood up from her seat and walked to her. The woman guided her to a chair right beside her. "I was delighted when I heard from Jayden that you are coming back, but you are hurt like this."

"I am fine. It will heal soon. A doctor already handled it." Alana replied back.

"Oh, then you should eat so that you will get better soon. I have ordered the kitchen to cook your favorite food. You should try them." Olivia continued.

Alana didn't react much when Olivia approached her like this, but her father seemed to be happy seeing her so obedient. In contrast to the grandfather who immediately berated them. "That's enough. Don't talk too much during dinner."

"Oh, I am sorry, father. I am too excited that Alana is visiting us again." Olivia's smile went stiff for a moment before her attention was back to Alana again. She wasn't as loud as before but this time she was putting some food on Alana's plate in a caring manner.

Jayden already took a seat beside Alana, not saying a word since they entered.

"Your mother is happy if you are home. You should visit more often, Alana." Her father, Adam Wilson suddenly spoke.

"Alana is busy, she needs to adjust her schedule first." Jayden suddenly spoke before Alana could answer to her father. The father and Jayden stared at each other, but they didn't utter any further words.

After that, they ate dinner in silence. Occasionally, Alana would wince at the taste of food that was too salty or spicy. Both tastes weren't bad, but they were so strong that she felt it was the only taste in her tongue. She would actually prefer food with a lighter taste. However, hanging out with Lilah for a period of time also gave her some acting skills.

"Eat this, that one is too spicy." Jayden took the plate from Alana's table and switched it with his.

Alana blinked, then obediently continued to eat her dinner.

"Don't force yourself to eat anything you don't want. We have a lot of food here." Her grandfather saw what was happening and advised her.

Alana nodded, suddenly had the urge to cry. She suppressed her emotions. After what she had gone through today, having some family members who cared for her felt good. "It's okay, Grandpa."

Olivia stiffened, then forced a smile. "Has your tastes changed a lot lately? It is me who is inconsiderate. Alana can send me the list of food you like later and I will take a note of it."

Her father nodded in approval at Olivia's words. Alana stayed silent.

After half an hour, they finally finished with dinner. The night wasn't that late and her grandfather called her to his study. She apologized to him for smearing the Wilson family's name. Originally, she thought that her grandfather would berate her, but the usually strict grandfather consoled her instead.

"Don't cry, don't cry. What if your brother sees you like this and accuse me of bullying you." He was shaking his head as he handed a box of tissue to her.

She took the tissues and wiped her face. She hiccuped. "B-but it's my fault still..."

"I know you have your own reason. You always do. No need to feel burdened by anything. You are a Wilson and will always be a Wilson." He shoved another box to her, this time it was full of chocolate and candy. The sweet things he'd sometimes smuggled to her when she was little. He had saved those for her.

Tears poured down harder like waterfall. She understand what her grandfather was trying to say. She could be as carefree and willful just like when she was little, no need to restrain herself because she is a Wilson.

It was an hour later that she exited the study. Her brother already waited outside the door. He pushes his glasses up when he saw Alana's face, her eyes swollen and fair skin turned red.

"Crybaby." He commented and she glared at him in response.

"Excuse me? Can you repeat what you say?" The familiar voice coming from the phone. Her brother was in the phone with Albert.