385 Everyone's Christmas Morning - Part 9

Giselle, Lia, and Ethan bid farewell to Melanie, Eric, and Gigi.

It was a worthwhile trip that bought the family together. Eric and Melanie learned about Ethan and grew fond of his unconditional love for his daughter and their daughter. His best behavior earned him respect, and they even requested Ethan to visit anytime. Their approval delighted Ethan, growing his joy tenfold.

Nevertheless, as one would say that all good things must come to an end, it was time for the happy family to depart. Unlike the grown-ups, little Lia struggled to say goodbye to her grandparents. She approached each privately to say her farewell and even included her aunt, Gigi, with whom Lia played endlessly. It was hard to watch the child's jolly face fade on the course of saying her goodbyes. Giselle came to comfort Lia when tears began to trickle down her soft cheeks. Ethan quickly followed to rescue, lifting his little girl and carried her in his arms. Lia buried her face in her father's chest, hiding away her sad sobs and crying face.

Melanie's eyes grew moist from seeing her dear granddaughter in sorrow. Meanwhile, Eric urged Giselle to leave early to avoid traffic and get home safely. He wished for the child not to suffer any longer.

Ethan obeyed to signal at Giselle. She accepted, and the two said their farewell to Giselle's parents and Gigi. Melanie teared up to ask if Lia would be fine, to which Ethan reassured. He requested Melanie not to worry about Lia since they would be there for her.

Gigi also heard about the secret surprise from her sister. She stood by Melanie's side, comforting while signaling her sister and Ethan to leave. Eventually, after a hard struggle, Giselle and the two left the place with a heavy heart.

Eric recalled Ethan's surprise to console his wife, and so did Gigi. Melanie smiled weakly from watching them strive to cheer her up. She agreed with a gentle nod and went inside.

Lia fell asleep in Ethan's arms during the ride back home, and upon reaching, he had no choice but to wake her up. He didn't want to from watching the child exhausted and sleepy. However, he can't let her go to sleep crying. Ethan wanted to surprise his daughter and make sure to put a smile on her face before the day ends.

As soon as they reach Giselle's place, Ethan woke up Lia and brought her down. Little Lia had no clue that she arrived home already. It felt like ages, and she didn't believe falling asleep. Wearily, Lia entered the apartment first, followed by Ethan and then Giselle.

"Lia," Giselle called.

Lia's voice barely heard through the melancholy.

"Don't worry! We can always visit your grandparents anytime, but for now-" Giselle paused with suspense.

"You received Christmas presents from everyone, including me, right?" she asked.

Lia slowly turned around to look at her mother and lazily nodded.

Lia's gaze instantly shifted to her father.

Ethan flinched, feeling slightly guilty for dragging it until late.

"Your father still hasn't given your Christmas present!" Giselle quoted again, painfully to sting Ethan's guilt.

Lia's face lightly beamed as she eagerly began to shift her gaze from Giselle to Ethan, going back and forth from anticipation.

Ethan waited to have his daughter's attention, and when he did, he revealed.

"Your Christmas present is in your room!" he said to signal at Lia's room.

Lia slowly turned around again and began to walk hesitantly towards her room.

The child dared to find any energy left to dash to her room. She opened the door to find her room draped under dark ambiance. Amidst it, a scene startled Lia. Its presence swiftly crowded the entire room. Soon, Giselle and Ethan joined. Giselle was just as excited to see the present, so she hurried as well. When Ethan came last to join, he switched on the lights for both Lia and Giselle. The little girl and her mother found a princess tent set up in the middle of the room. Ethan played with the switches one more time, and the tent lit up with illuminating stars and their gleaming reflection. The pink-colored princess tent came with Lia's favorite stuffed dolls, already placed inside the fortress.

Lia's face glimmered full of joy as her eyes sparkled at sight, admiring her father's Christmas present. She then turned to find Ethan standing behind Giselle. Giselle held the same expression as Lia, reveled in joy from seeing the small tent. The addition added a new zest to Lia's room. Lia ran to thank her father and gave him a tight hug before requesting his permission to explore her new castle.

Ethan graciously allowed and Lia crouched to enter her princess tent. She explored its interior, radiating pink hue along with the starts hanging around the edges. Ethan saw his daughter merrily enjoy his present. Lia's face held no trace of sadness but full of life that returned from dull.

Ethan and Giselle watched her having great fun. Just as they relished in the child's rejoice, Giselle's mobile rang to interrupt the sweet moment. She took it out to notice it was Lillian Grey calling.

Ethan notices it as well from behind. He chuckled softly, whispering why he was anticipating this call since morning. He allowed Giselle to attend while he takes care of Lia.

Giselle blushed as she thanked him and stepped out of the room momentarily. She went to the kitchen to answer the call.

**

"Hi!"

Lillian's voice heartily greeted, while Giselle spoke surprisingly in a low whisper.

"Am I disturbing you? Are you still at your parent's place?" Lillian barged in with questions. The only reason she is calling at this moment is that her intuition decided so. She was aware of Giselle visiting her parents for the holidays, which made her painstakingly restrain until she thought of reaching out later at night.

"No- We just returned to my apartment," Giselle replied.

"Oh- okay! So, I'm not disturbing!" Lillian remarked to herself.

"Hmm..."

Lillian waited to get Giselle's attention, and when she finally did, the words seem to disappear on their own. She struggled to speak and remained tongue-tied for a few seconds. Giselle followed the pattern to stay still as well. As the two encouraged a shy, silent treatment, they could distinctly hear each other's low breaths through the stillness. It took them back down to the memory lane, where their running pants became a hindrance to their steamy kiss.

Lillian felt her cheeks burn, and she shook her head to escape out of the memory.

"So- how- were the holidays with your parents?" she asked.

Giselle felt relieved from hearing Lillian resume talking.

"Ni- Nice. Lia loved it. Mom and dad were a bit alarmed at first meeting Ethan, but it appears that they grew to like him!" Giselle replied, adding more unasked information to fill in the sensitive silence.

Lillian listened inattentively to ignore that Giselle just acknowledged her parents accepting Ethan.

"Of- course! He is such a gentleman, isn't he?" Lillian followed to realize late. She becomes irritated from hearing herself praising Ethan's personality. Though it is true, she wouldn't want to brag about him openly, especially to Giselle.

On the other hand, Giselle seems not to worry as well. She quickly returned the gestured to move on.

"How was your Christmas?" she asked.

"Me?" Lillian pondered.

"I- was alone, so I thought I'd visit my old man. Guess what?" He was throwing a party to his fellow friends from the fishing club and had a feast on Christmas Eve," Lillian's voice carried jealousy, yet she continued, spilling details on dining with Diego's parents after a long time. Lillian certainly snubbed the unexpected embarrassments she had to endure from Diego's parents and even Diego himself, which threw her in a worried loop, wondering what caused him to sprout such nonsense.

"Anyways, it's nice coming here to celebrate the holidays, unlike last time!" she added in the end.

Although devasted to hear about Diego's name and how Lillian had to spend her Christmas Eve with him, Giselle couldn't help but reminisce about her trip to meet Lillian Grey. The memories rush to both, flustering their vision with striking images. Paired with a lot of concerns, Giselle didn't bother to respond. Seeing her go mute, Lillian volunteered to switch the topic.

"Ah- how- how's Lia?" she inquired, driving Giselle from going silent.

"Ah- Oh- Yeah, she's doing fine. Ethan got her a princess tent for Christmas. Lia was sad when we left my parent's house, but she got better after finding out Ethan's present. She is now playing with Ethan in her room," Giselle answered excitedly.

The excitement did its best to distract both from getting recalled of old memories or unneeded worries, but it stirred new trouble for Lillian because she felt the need to challenge herself to keep up with Ethan. Princess tent is a fine choice for an 8-year-old-girl, but if Lillian plans to compete for her worth, she has to buy something more marvelous than a princess tent.

Lillian reminded herself to be wary from now onwards. However, these thoughts were all sealed tight to herself. She refused to share them with Giselle.

"So, did you eat?" Lillian switched the topic again, quivering her way away from subconsciously honoring Ethan repeatedly.

"I did!" Giselle successfully ate the bait and replied.

Giselle went on to ask Lillian about her father.

"He's doing fine!" Lillian answered, flat and unbothered.

The silence reappeared to weigh on the line as Lillian and Giselle struggled to find a new common topic to converse cordially.

Lillian happened to find one such subject and braced herself to challenge.

"So, when is Ethan leaving?" she asked, suddenly curious to learn.

Giselle naively replied, informing about Ethan's flight scheduled for tomorrow. She added her anxiety about consoling Lia when her father leaves. It would be a difficult challenge to overcome, especially after spending the holidays together.

"Don't worry! I hope the princess tent will be there to comfort her," Lillian replied to hear Giselle gone silent.

Giselle wondered if Lillian is honestly teasing or being genuine.

"I- hope so," she replied nonetheless.

"Maybe- should I come to give company!" Lillian proposed.

"No-"

Giselle's spontaneous response threw Lillian back in her seat with a startle.

"No, I mean, I can take care of Lia," she exclaimed to prove.

"Yes. Yes, I understand," Lillian submitted.

She then called for Giselle, requesting her attention again. When the moment appeared, Lillian addressed her intentions for calling more clearly.

"You do see why I'm behaving this way, right?" she said to appeal.

Giselle knew, yet she remained speechless.

"I'll take the silence as the answer that you know already. We both know about our feelings now, Giselle. There is no need to play hide and seek."

Lillian wanted to continue more, but she knew to stay alert and held back from frightening Giselle.

These days, Lillian is more uptight about Giselle disappearing without a word again. Hence, she makes sure to express her feelings little by little.

"I- hope that we get to spend the holidays together next year!" Lillian yearned sincerely.

When Giselle continued to maintain silence, Lillian had no choice but to end this call. She didn't want to drag the conversation and put both of them under an awkward circumstance.

"Alright! I won't take too much time. Lia will probably search for you, so - take care. I'll call you later," Lillian said.

"Okay."

"Merry Christmas, Giselle," she added in the end before actually ending the call.

"M- Merry Christmas, Lillian!" Giselle returned the wish.

"Good night!"

"Bye!"

The call ends, and Giselle sighed heavily. She, too, was aware of her feelings no longer locked up. It is alive and out and is growing wilder than before. All the innocent love she had in her high school days is no more and what is left now is a raw, genuine desire to take the second chance. Giselle knew she wished to spend the rest of her life with Lillian Grey. But whenever such a thought manifests, Diego's threat comes back to possess her. Giselle knew it had been several years, yet its impression continues to drive her sick.

Nevertheless, now that Lillian is more openly reaching out to her, Giselle's heart leaned towards such affection. If she yearns to take the second chance seriously, Giselle has no choice but to resist Diego head-on.

There is no disappearing cowardly for the second time.