Lock You In My Heart

Chapter 613

It had been almost an hour since Doctor Maniac was teaching Star. That kid learned well, and like a robot, he spoke every word he learned to Gabrielle and Westley.

Hearing Star’s efficient voice, Gabrielle was not trying to hide her proud excitement.

“You’re amazing, Star!” Star’s intelligence left her speechless, so these were the only words that escaped Gabrielle’s lips.

She was as overwhelmed and proud as if she was called to deliver a speech for her son, who had won first place. But the hardest thing for her was to speak under the spell of exhilaration.

“So, he learned and just spoke everything that you taught him, right, Doctor Maniac?” Gabrielle asked, still on the edge of her seat.

“Exactly! And believe me, it only took an hour for him to learn it all so well. I won’t be joking if I conclude that Star has a talent in learning language, and I’d love to teach him more of it.” Sincerity was evident in Doctor Maniac’s voice.

Of course, like attracts like. Doctor Maniac was an intellectual person himself, so it was natural that he’d love to teach a smart kid.

“Wow!” In her amazement, Gabrielle nudged Westley. “Isn’t Star a genius?” Gabrielle asked excitedly.

“There’s no doubt about that for sure.”

From the moment Star opened his eyes, Westley knew that that kid wasn’t some ordinary child. Now, his guess was being proven by Star’s excellent progress. Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

Thoughtful enough to let the young genius rest, the three of them accompanied Star for a while before letting him fall into dreaminess.

Rose made pies, but when she came in to ask them to eat, she met an already asleep Star. So, she helped Doctor Maniac up and got ready to take him down the way she brought him upstairs.

That was when Doctor Maniac suddenly interrupted her, “Don’t get bothered, Rose. I can walk down by myself.” Apart from the effort she was putting in, Rose’s hands seemed so muscular that Doctor Maniac thought she’d break his hands if she held them too tightly.

“Don’t try to be more stupid than you already are. You can’t go down without me, but I won’t mind if you wish to roll down without me either. It will be a worthy sight.” Rose had a witty manner of arguing with Doctor Maniac.

Watching himself always fail in every argument with Rose, Doctor Maniac chose to shut up because he knew he couldn’t convince her otherwise. If not rolling down the stairway, she’d obviously love to throw him down herself. question kept raking Gabrielle’s mind effortlessly as she stepped down the stairs with Westley. It confused and absorbed her the more she focused on it.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Gabrielle was so lost in thought that Westley asked. Her anxiety was evident from the slight frown on her face. “Uhh, nothing just…” Gabrielle took a deep breath before continuing, “I was wondering who Star’s parents were or who he was. Why was he dressed in a girl’s clothes? What was the whole reason for his mother’s hiding his gender?” The anxious rown never left Gabrielle’s face as she continued with her questions, “And also, he’s here with us now. Do we still have to raise him as a girl in Antawood?” Gabrielle looked genuinely concerned. In his response, Westley simply shook his head. “Listen. Don’t get disturbed about it. Star’s life in Thailand with his mother is a part of the past now, Gabrielle. In that gunshot, those previous identities died. Now, he’s our son, and he can be anything you want him to be, or he wants himself to be. The past isn’t welcome to be repeated

“

“Well, you’re right.” Like always, Westley brought Gabrielle back on track from overthinking. ‘Yes. Since he’s away from Thailand, he has nothing to do with it in Antawood anymore.’ “I will assure that Star will live a decent life,” Westley said, putting a hand on Gabrielle’s shoulder, assuring her.

“Yes. His life should be full of satisfaction. I am such an over thinker.” Asking her brain to rest for a bit, Gabrielle laced her ingers with Westley’s hand and reached the table downstairs to eat pies. Sophie’s pies were effortlessly delicious, but Rose’s were asking for a low rating, for which Gabrielle stayed silent. They were in a lot of shapes, though. “They’re ready!” Ro se was excited about their comments. “Now guess which ones did I make?” “Who needs to guess? We’re not blind, you know. Of course, we can guess that the misshaped and ugly pies have been through your hard hands,” Doctor Maniac arrogantly said, teasing Rose.

Suddenly, the smile on Rose’s lips dropped as she felt dejected.

“How dare you?! My pies are ugly, right? Don’t dare to even touch them. I’ll poke you with my chopsticks if you tried to eat them.” If glares could fire bullets, Doctor Maniac would have been dead under Rose’s glare by now.

Nevertheless, ignoring her to the fullest, Doctor Maniac picked a pie and stuffed his mouth with it, clearly avoiding the misshaped and ugly ones.

“Rose, Doctor Maniac, you are celebrating the festival for the first time in Antawood. You’re part of this family now. So, welcome to our home and this family.” Grabbing a glass of juice, Gabrielle presented a toast to them.

“We can’t be more thankful to you for bringing us here, Gabrielle. As you said, we’re a family now, so trust us with this; if you need us, we’ll always be here for you.” Responding to Gabrielle’s toast, Rose consumed the whole glass in one gulp.

Rose lost her family. She was too alone to call herself a home. In the forest, where she spent her life, hatred and contempt were the easily available feelings. No one made friends there, nor did they like to be friendly at all.

It was an unpredictable place where death could come before another blink of the eye.

So, naturally, the residents there stayed away from people they didn’t know, staying uninterested in others as much as they could.

Their lack of trust was a tool that kept them separate and away from being friendly.

And coming to Gabrielle and her family, who were amazingly different from the people of the forest, making Rose love her more and treat her better.

“Slow down, Rose. It’s a juice you’re drinking, not wine.” At last, Gabrielle didn’t stop herself from blurting out.

Rose was quite courageous for coming out to take the blame. And her bravery was also indicated when she almost died in the mouth of the wolves.

“Eat more pies.” Gabrielle smiled, pushing the plate of pies forward for others to eat. Silently and happily, just as they were eating, an incoming call on Gabrielle’s phone distracted them all, surprising her as she looked at the caller id.

It was a call from her father, Tobias. The surprising thing was that he wasn’t a man who talked a lot with Gabrielle. In general, he wasn’t a man who liked conversing much for he didn’t have a father-son communication with Bryce either.

So, like only some times, if she received a call from him, it hinted at an emergency. That was the reason why Gabrielle was startled, but she hoped it was something good too. “Uhh, excuse me.”

Dismissing herself from the pie feast, Gabrielle picked up the call, sitting on the sofa at the side. “Happy holiday, Dad.” Gabrielle greeted first with a smile. “Happy holiday, Gabrielle.” Her father paused, a gentle trace of underlying sadness in his voice. “It’s the first time in twenty years that you’re going to spend the annual family reunion somewhere else than our family.” “Thank you, dad, and thank mom too for putting so much effort into raising me for twenty years.” “Don’t say that, Gabrielle.” Tobias paused before asking further,

“Tell me, how is it going? Are you enjoying celebrating the estival with the Morris family?” “Yes, dad. Of course! They are nice, and I am relishing myself,” Gabrielle satisfied her father with a cheerful answer. “It feels good to hear that, Gabrielle. Let me know if you’ll visit us tomorrow, okay?” Tobias might be missing Gabrielle quite a lot for he didn’t hesitate in suddenly posing this question. A nd his purpose for a call was revealed upon Gabrielle. He only wanted to know if she’d go to the Jones family with Westley the next day or not. “I can’t be sure, dad. I’ll let you know, because if I got the time, I’ll come, and if I won’t, then I won’t come.” Suddenly, her tone became a bit bitter. Tobias went silent, comprehending Gabrielle’s indifferent attitude. He spoke after a while. “Gabrielle, your mother…”