No sooner had the words left his mouth than the two men outside, deep in conversation, entered the room.
Both men seemed calm enough.
Augus settled into an armchair and asked, "How''s Maja doing? I heard she had a rough time with morning sickness a while back?"
"She''s fine now, as you said, that was before."
Beck answered, his gaze shifting to the doctor.
He didn''t change his form of address, fearing it might be awkward for both, "Doctor, please, have a seat."
The conversation that followed revolved around their recent shared experiences, discussing Augus''s health andn''s recovery.
The three Sanders men avoided discussing the events of the past years, not wanting to exclude the doctor and possibly make him ufortable.
In that moment, there was an unspoken understanding among them all.
Over at Greenfield Gardens,n trailed behind Maja, watching her pore over the secret level Beck had sketched out on paper.
He couldn''t help himself and tugged at her sleeve.
"He''sing over soon, right? Do you think he''ll like the gift I picked out?"
How couldn not be nervous, his palms were sweaty.
When the gatekeeper announced the arrival of their guest,n immediately stood up and went to wait by the living room door.
A Maybach glided up to the house, with Beck still behind the wheel.
As the car stopped at the curb and Augus stepped out, his gaze fell on Maja and his eyes instantly reddened.
The usually stoic man opened and closed his mouth several times, struggling to find the right words.
In the end, it was Beck who pped him on the shoulder.
"Dad, let''s go inside."
Augus nodded, his expression turning stern as his eyes metn''s, even uttering a cold huff.
It seemed he wasn''t too pleased withn, particrly the matter of his second marriage, a thorn in everyone''s side.
As they all sat down to dinner,ndled soup for Maja first, then served the others in turn.
When it came to the doctor, he made a special mention.
"Doctor, this soup is great for beauty and vitality, made with wild ginseng to boost energy and blood."
The corners of the doctor''s mouth curved into a smile, "I must say,n seems more reliable than the other two boys."
The other two boys being Beck and Dn.
A hint of pride shed inn''s eyes as he poured a ss of wine for Augus.
"Mr. Sanders, please."
Seeing Augus''s grim expression,n
hesitated to call him ''dad'', not
の
wanting to embarrass himself if the
man didn''t respond, which would
make it awkward for everyone
present.
Augus''s face softened considerably, thinking the kid wasn''t as bad as Beck had made him out to be.
Over dinner,n ttered his inws by alternating between addressing Augus as Mr. Sanders and the doctor, leaving them both beaming.
Unable to resist the ambiance, Augus indulged in a few extra drinks and eventually pattedn on the shoulder.
"Take good care of Maja. You should cut back on the drinking."
"Dad, don''t worry. I never drink when I''m out, just so Maja won''t worry."
With a subtle shift,n moved from addressing him as Mr. Sanders to ''dad'' without Augus noticing, and continued to chat.
"Still, dad, I remember Beck''s string
of scandals. Hasn''t settled down yet,
has he? Maja''s baby is almost here and if he continues his reckless ways, it''s not setting a good example for the nephew or niece,
you know."
Augus''s expression darkened.
It was true; the eldest was busy
running thepany and hadn''t had
time for rtionships, now tasked
with caring for a young girl they had
brought back from a research.
facility. There was no rush to settle down.
But the middle son''s numerous escapades, often making headlines, would indeed set a poor example for Maja''s future child.Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g
Though unborn, it was wise to nip any issues in the bud.
Setting down his wine ss, Augus turned to look at Beck, who had just returned from the kitchen.
Beck had identally bitten into a whole peppercorn and had to douse the fire with several sses of water in the kitchen.
Yet, when he returned to the table, he found the conversation had taken an unexpected turn.