Chapter 484 Shane's Attempts to Make Amends with Patricia
The sound at the doorway drew everybody's attention. Charles glanced at Shane and the others without surprise, continuing to tap away at his laptop.
Fannie, on the other hand, reacted quite differently. Excited to see visitors in the house, she ran to the door and hugged Patricia's leg tightly. "Mommy, you're back! Are they your friends?" she asked.
Patricia gestured at Shane and his group, introducing them one by one. "This is your great-grandfather. This lady is your aunt, and this man is your uncle. Fannie, say hello."
Fannie, her mind spiraling from the tangled explanation of relatives, still managed a sweet, dimpled smile. "Nice to meet you, great-grandpa, auntie, uncle. I'm Fannie, Mommy and Daddy's daughter."
Jeremy rubbed his eyes and gestured around the room, stuttering in disbelief, "Wait, are all these kids yours?"
They were overwhelming, to say the least. Twin babies just yesterday, and now there was another little girl and an infant? That'd make four in total.
Patricia understood his bewilderment, her cheeks flushing a delicate pink. "I had triplets on my first birth."
Jeremy's eyes bulged. "Tri... triplets?" Stunned, he amplified his voice without realizing.
Seeing twins the day before was surprising enough, an extraordinary event on its own. But triplets? That was more extraordinary.
Fannie was bustling about. "Yep, triplets! Charles is the oldest, then Randy, and then me, Fannie."
Jeremy was smitten with this sweet and adorable little girl. He couldn't help but reach out and ruffle her soft hair.
"Oh my, Fannie, how can you be so darn cute..." he gushed and, unable to resist, he crouched down to gently pinch her soft, smooth cheeks, as soft as silk.
Compliments about her cuteness made Fannie's smile grow even wider. "Thanks, uncle. You're really cool too. I like you a lot!"
With that, she got on her tippy toes to plant a kiss on his cheek.
Charles rolled his eyes at her, muttered "Dork!" under his breath, then went back to furiously typing code. Fannie was used to it and acted as if she hadn't heard a thing.
Jeremy's heart melted completely, feeling thrilled. He turned to Ariel, proudly boasting, "Sis, she gave me a kiss."
Ariel couldn't help but silently call him a dork in her own mind.
Jeremy was so excited, he examined Fannie with the wonder of someone seeing an alien, flipping over every detail. "Can you believe how amazing Patricia is? She actually had triplets. Triplets, I tell you! Even twins are rare, let alone triplets. It's a miracle."
Even though Ariel always thought him a bit childish, she too found it miraculous.
Shane gazed at the little girl in front of him. Although she wasn't the spitting image of Patricia, he could still see traces of her in Fannie's eyes.
Wonderful. Just wonderful.
His eyes welled up with tears as he touched Fannie's soft hair, his heart filled with a mix of emotions. He had so much to say, but when the words reached his lips, he didn't know where to start.
Patricia, seeing Charles just sitting there, ignoring everything, couldn't help feeling a bit irritated. "Charles..."
However, Charles acted as if he hadn't heard a thing, his fingers still flying across the keyboard.
With a lowered voice, Patricia tried again, "Charles."
Charles pursed his lips, not even bothering to look up as he asked, "What's up?"
Patricia couldn't help but laugh in frustration and was about to scold him when Martin came up behind Charles, ruffling his hair playfully. "Hey, don't make your mommy mad, or I might have to rough you up."
Charles rolled his eyes at Martin. Though he knew his dad wouldn't actually lay a hand on him, he reluctantly muttered "Sorry!" out of respect for his parents.
Before anyone could react to his apology, Charles added, "I don't think I'm the one who's wrong here; you forced me into taking this stance. I'll never forget what you did to my mommy. Even if you're her family, that doesn't erase everything."
The implication was clear: forgiveness would depend on their future actions.
Confused silence followed from Shane, Jeremy, and Ariel. Patricia felt like smacking Charles, but after a few deep breaths, she managed to regain her composure and force a smile.
Trying to lighten the mood, Ariel chimed in, "Come on, Patricia, don't be angry. He's just stating the facts. We've got time; he'll come around."
While Jeremy was entertaining Fannie, he asked, "Where's the little rascal that looks just like Charles?"
"Randy's in the music room, practicing piano," Fannie quickly responded.
The sound of piano music drifted in, muffled and indistinct. The music room was soundproofed, normally insulating the piano's melodies unless one listened intently.
Similarly, the inside was as quiet as the outside, each side oblivious to the sounds from the other.
Patricia invited them to come inside and take a seat. Finding the outside chatter too noisy, Charles retired to his room with his laptop.
Fannie pulled Jeremy over to the cradle, saying, "Uncle, look, this is my baby sister. Her name's Maria."
Eager to avoid any confusion, Patricia hastened to explain, "This is our fourth child. She's not even a year old yet."
Patricia had Martin move the cradle closer to the couch, so Shane could lean in a bit to see the baby inside. Touching Maria's chubby cheeks, Shane's eyes welled up again; his heart swelled with emotion.
"Patricia, I owe you a sincere apology. When Grace and Martin got engaged, Maria had only recently been born. I can't believe I threatened you for her sake, saying such awful things. I feel so much regret."
The thought of his great-grandkids almost losing their mother filled him with immense guilt and remorse, particularly towards Patricia.
Patricia took his hand, reassuring him, "Grandpa, don't beat yourself up over it. I hold no grudges. Besides, it's all water under the bridge now, right? The truth is out."
Shane pulled out a handkerchief to dab his eyes, nodding. "Indeed. Now that everything is out in the open, I need to announce to the world that my granddaughter, Elise's daughter, is the rising star in jewelry design."
Although Patricia preferred to keep a low profile, she couldn't bear to dampen Shane's enthusiastic spirit, so she simply smiled.
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