Chapter 292
"Leo took her to the old Chapman family estate on Tuesday.
Cassie handed him the gift she had prepared, saying, ""I saw this at the mall the other day with a friend and thought it looked nice, so I got it for you. The fabric seems comfortable.""
""My daughter has good taste; it looks great. I'll wear it tomorrow,"" Leo said, beaming from ear to ear.
""I also picked up a couple of things for Grandpa and Grandma; I wasn't sure if they...""
""It's all right; they don't need gifts. It's the thought that counts."" Leo smiled.
The Chapman family estate was also near the Snowford Evergreen community.
The drive there was quiet until they were almost at the estate when a helicopter's thunderous roar passed overhead. Cassie rolled down the window to take a glance, and finally, Leo found a topic to discuss with his daughter. ""Many of New York's elite have their own private aircraft. That one just now probably belongs to the Jude family.""
""Michael?"" Cassie blurted out, her distaste for the man evident. Joseph being friends with such people did prove birds of a feather flock together.
""Do you know Michael?"" Leo laughed. ""He and Joseph are close friends. They even bought the same brand of helicopters, just in different colors. It’s just that Joseph is more reserved and seldom flies. However, the other day, there were rumors about him taking an unexpected flight at midnight; everyone guessed it must have been some urgent issue with the Hernandez family.""
Cassie was stunned; she suddenly remembered being dizzy and drunk aboard a yacht and vaguely recalled getting onto a helicopter. She had thought it was just a dream at that time.
""Dad, which day was that?""
""I'm not sure. It was probably Tuesday or Wednesday,"" Leo said, puzzled. ""Why do you ask?""
""Just curious,"" Cassie responded absently. Wednesday was the very night of her incident.
Could it be that he had rushed to her on a helicopter? But why? Was it to gloat over her? Or was he really worried?
The thought startled her for a moment.
Impossible. How could he be so kind? He probably relished the idea of humiliating her even more than Michael did.
Twenty minutes later, she approached the Chapman family estate.
Over a dozen people sat in the hall, including Vera and her daughter, chatting and laughing. When they saw her enter, their eyes turned towards her.
Cassie quickly scanned the crowd's expressions; they were all tinged with schadenfreude and derision. It seemed they weren't particularly fond of her.
Her gaze finally settled on two elderly figures at the center. They were probably her grandparents. Grandma looked relatively gentle, while Grandpa appeared more indifferent.
""Dad, Mom, I told you about Cassie last time. She's the daughter Isabella gave birth to."" Leo introduced her.
Margaret nodded with a smile. ""Quite a pretty girl. Have a seat. I heard about you from Spencer and had a jewelry set custom-made for you as a welcoming gift.""
A servant brought over a large box. With Chapman's nod, Cassie hesitantly accepted it and peeked inside. It was filled with jewelry and gemstones, a bit old-fashioned in style but seemingly expensive nonetheless.
""Thank you, Grandma. I love it,"" Cassie said, genuinely pleased. ""I'll treasure it forever.""
""As long as you're happy,"" Margaret said, content. Although she didn't have much affection for this granddaughter, Cassie was still her son's child, and she had long criticized Vera for not having more children.
Then Luna came over to peek and cooed, ""Grandma, I want one too.""
One of the Chapman family aunts teased, ""Luna, you're Joseph's girlfriend now. Why should you be yearning for Grandma's trinkets? The Hernandez family even owns a jewelry brand. Surely, you can take your pick from there.""
Embarrassed, Luna recalled having had dinner with Joseph once. She hadn’t gone out with him since then. But as everyone was aware of her relationship with Joseph, she had to fight for her honor. ""Joseph did say I could choose whatever I liked, but we're not married yet; it wouldn't feel quite right.""
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