Mafia Lord's Mute Sweetheart

Chapter 6: Chapter 6 Staying with Grandpa James

"Grandpa misses you so much," Cedric spoke, his voice smooth and warm and caring, the perfect grandson voice. He placed his hand on Daisy’s shoulder with gentle affection, his blue eyes looking tenderly at his grandfather. "Why don’t you stay with him here for one or two days?"

Grandpa’s eyes lit up like Christmas morning.

James asked, his weak voice filled with hope, "Really? You would stay with this old man? For two whole days?"

Daisy’s heart stopped.

She looked at Cedric, then at Grandpa’s hopeful wrinkled face, then back at Cedric. And she panicked. Because every single time Cedric left her somewhere, he went on dates with Jessica. Dinner dates. Shopping dates. Nights at fancy hotels while Daisy sat alone in a guest room or a hospital chair, counting hours, waiting for him to remember she existed. If she stayed here for two days,

Cedric would have two full days with Jessica, and she would be forgotten. She didn’t want that. She couldn’t bear that. Not again. Not when she had finally started to feel a tiny spark of hope after the handkerchief moment.

Cedric asked, "What do you think, Daisy?"

His eyes met hers. There was no warmth in them now, only a warning, a command hidden inside a question. Say yes or else...

Daisy looked at Grandpa. The old man’s face was so hopeful. His blue eyes, the same blue as Cedric’s but kinder, softer, shone with joy at the thought of having company. He was dying. He was lonely. He spent his days in this beautiful hospital room with only Margaret and the nurses and his memories. He believed Daisy and Cedric were happy. He believed his grandson was a good husband. And Daisy could not break his heart.

She nodded. She smiled. She wrote in her small notebook: I would love to stay with you, Grandpa.

James clapped his weak hands together. "Wonderful! Wonderful! Margaret, did you hear? Daisy is staying!"

Margaret smiled from the kitchen. "I heard. I’ll prepare the extra bed."

Cedric patted Daisy’s head like she was a dog who had performed a trick correctly. "Good girl," he said quietly, only she could hear. Then he turned to his grandfather. "See, Grandfather? She loves spending time with you. She talks about you all the time at home."

James beamed. "She’s a good girl. The best thing that ever happened to this family." He pointed a thin, trembling finger at Cedric. "Only good thing you ever did, you little brat, marrying her." His voice was teasing, but his eyes were serious. "Now. Send my granddaughter-in-law some savings. She needs to buy herself nice things. Look at her, she’s wearing simple clothes. No jewelry. No designer bags. What kind of rich woman dresses like a schoolgirl?"

Daisy’s cheeks flushed. She looked down at her white dress. It was simple, clean, modest. But Grandpa was right. She never wore jewelry, never carried designer bags, never wore the expensive clothes that other rich women wore to brunch and charity galas and garden parties. Not because she didn’t want to, but because Cedric never bought them for her and she had no money of her own. Her family had died with nothing but debts. The Evermonts controlled every penny she touched.

James insisted, his thin voice growing stronger, "Cedric, send her money right now. Enough for shopping, I said. Don’t look at me like that. I may be old and sick, but my ears still work and my eyes still see. She’s wearing the same white dress she wore last month and the month before that. A woman needs nice things. A wife needs to feel pretty. So take out your phone and send it. I want to see the confirmation. Right now. Hurry up."

Cedric’s jaw tightened, but he smiled. "Of course, Grandfather. I’ll send her some savings right now. She deserves it." He pulled out his phone and typed quickly.

A moment later, Daisy’s phone buzzed in her small bag. She didn’t check it in front of Grandpa, but she felt it. It must be some good amount, and she felt happy. It was nothing to him, pocket change, what he spent on Jessica’s dinner alone some nights, but to Daisy, it was a fortune.

Her eyes lit up. She couldn’t help it. Twenty-five thousand meant new underwear, new bras, new pads. New clothes that weren’t hand-me-downs from Cedric’s cousin or clearance rack finds she had hidden from Jenna’s judgmental eyes.

Cedric saw her eyes light up and felt disdain. She was so pathetic. It disgusted him. But he smiled. "I’ll send her some savings, Grandfather. Don’t worry about her. I take care of my wife." He kissed Daisy’s forehead, coldly, performatively. "I’ll come back in two days to pick you up. Be good."

Then he left. The door closed behind him, and Daisy was alone with Grandpa.

James watched the door for a moment, then turned to Daisy, his expression softening. "You can go and do some shopping," he said gently. "I know you don’t like shopping. But you have to do it. A woman needs nice things."

Daisy tilted her head. How did he know she didn’t like shopping?

James chuckled. He understood what she was trying to say. Her eyes were so expressive, anyone could understand what she tried to say. "Cedric told me. He said you never ask for anything, never buy anything. You just wear simple clothes and stay in your room." His old eyes looked sad. "My grandson may be many things, Daisy, but he is not a liar about that."

Daisy looked down at her lap. She didn’t like shopping. That was true. But not for the reason Cedric thought. She didn’t like shopping because every time she went, she had to ask for money. Every time she asked for money, Cedric looked at her like she was a beggar.

Every time she bought something small, a scarf, a book, a new notebook, Jessica would find it and make some cruel comment. New dress? Trying to impress someone? Pretty earrings? Did you steal them? Oh, you bought pads? How embarrassing. Don’t you know servants are supposed to buy those for you?

Daisy had stopped shopping months ago. She had stopped asking for money. She had stopped wanting things.

But now, with Grandpa watching her with hopeful eyes, she couldn’t say no.

James said softly, "Don’t look at me like that. Go. Enjoy yourself. Buy something pretty. Something pink, your mother’s favorite color, yes? I remember."

Daisy’s eyes burned.

"Go," James said again. "I’ll be here. Margaret will keep me company. You have two days. Make the most of them."

Daisy stood up, kissed his wrinkled cheek, then grabbed her small bag and walked out of the ward room.