Shattered Bonds: Secrets and Lies

Chapter 8: The meal

Sitting down, Daven's mouth watered upon seeing the food. He was thinking of a perfect way to get the food into his stomach quickly without eating like a hungry wolf that hadn't eaten for days.

He didn't have time to pay attention to what was on his plate. He quickly grabbed a fork and started eating like he hadn't eaten for days.

Of course, he hadn't eaten for days, or maybe months. Who knew? At least, that's what he thought.

Seeing how he was eating, both Brittney and Granny Tae began to giggle softly.

"Looks like you were really hungry... Here, have some of this."

Granny Tae put some lasagna on his plate.

Daven didn't reject it, and it went straight into his mouth the second it was put down.

Brittney, who was sitting opposite him, smiled sweetly, but a second later, it was replaced with a sad smile.

Will he divorce her because he doesn't remember her?

She looked down at her plate, took a bite of a piece of meat, and slowly chewed.

Daven kept eating quickly, forgetting everything that had happened. His main focus was to feed his annoying stomach.

Granny Tae kept shoving food onto his plate with a warm smile on her face, just like a mother caring for her only child. What she really didn't understand was how Daven had ended up losing some of his memory.

A moment later, she could feel that something was wrong. She looked over at Brittney, then at Daven, who was eating happily, before sighing.

Ever since she arrived, she hadn't seen them talking like they normally did.

Did something happen?

Granny Tae wanted to voice out her thoughts but didn't want to ruin the meal, so she had to wait until everyone was done eating.

The atmosphere was getting awkward as no one spoke. Daven, who noticed this, slowly slowed down and looked up at everyone.

Upon meeting Granny Tae's warm eyes, which showed affection, he couldn't help but shiver slightly.

Who's this old lady?

"How's the food?"

She picked up a drumstick and placed it on his plate.

"...Here, have some of this."

Again, Daven didn't reject it. This time, not because he was still hungry, but because he was afraid of rejecting it and feeling guilty.

Immediately, he realised something was wrong with him. Why would he be afraid of rejecting something so simple? He had rejected so many things in his life, including girls, multiple times.

And now?

Maybe it's because she's kind to me.

He tried to push his thoughts away, thinking of something to say.

"Thanks."

Granny Tae smiled warmly at him.

"It's okay, my dear boy."

One thing Daven hated was when someone treated him like a child. He secretly complained without showing it.

He thought for a moment before deciding to ask.

"Is she your daughter?"

His tone was a bit formal.

Upon hearing the question, both Brittney and Granny Tae had different reactions. While Brittney choked on her own saliva, Granny Tae simply placed a warm smile on her face and caressed Brittney's face as they sat next to each other.

"It would be a big blessing to me if she was my own," she simply said, confusing Daven.

Seeing how lost Daven was, she explained, "Well, sadly she's not. But I still consider her as my own, though. And it's funny how people confuse us as being related. You're not the only one."

Speaking of being related to one another, they did look a bit alike. The colour of their eyes, the shape of their faces, and their noses, although Granny Tae was old, still showed some resemblance. It was funny that he had only noticed that now.

Granny Tae laughed a little before saying, "You know, she somehow looks a bit similar to my late daughter."

Although her voice was as sweet as before, the sadness could still be noticed as her face changed slightly.

Brittney finally spoke.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know."

She gently patted her back in a comforting way.

Oh great, now she's gonna cry in front of me.

Although he wasn't a person who liked to speak much, he quickly changed the topic. He couldn't bear seeing someone crying in front of him, as he would have to comfort that person, which he didn't like doing.

"So... where do you live?"

"Just next door. If you need anything, you can just go there, and you'll find me."

She quickly drove away her sad expression, replacing it with a happy one.

"Oh, so you are just a neighbour."

Daven found nothing wrong with his words, but Brittney did.

She secretly kicked his leg under the table.

"Dave! She takes care of us."

"So you think by kicking me it will change the fact that she's a neighbour?"

Annoyance could be heard in his tone. He started to play with his food a little before asking, "So... Granny Tae, right?"

Granny Tae giggled again and said, "You used to call me Grandma, but that's fine too."

Brittney watched him attentively, wanting to know what he was going to say. We could say she was nervous about hearing what he was going to say.

Will he tell Granny Tae that since he doesn't remember her, then their marriage doesn't have to continue?

Brittney's mind was messy as she watched Daven's mouth open.

"How long have you been her neighbour?"

A sigh of relief could be heard coming from Brittney.

"Her?"

Granny Tae was puzzled. She didn't really understand why he said "her" and not "them."

"Yeah. Her."

Daven folded his arms and waited for her reply.

Granny Tae stayed silent for a minute before realising why he had said that.

"...I think for about six years... I'm not sure if I'm correct. As you can see, I'm slightly old, so I kinda forget sometimes."

Daven wanted to know this old lady's background and everything about her, so he asked the following questions with a curious look.

"May I know who you are? Including your background and how you met Brittney?"

Brittney got a bit angry at Daven's unnecessary questions.

"Have some respect, Dave. She is older than you..."

She wanted to say more, but Granny Tae stopped her.

"No, it's fine, Brittney. He just wants to know."

She revealed that warm smile she always had on her face.