416 The Brunch Date - Part 3

"No!" Lillian spoke to break their silence.

Melanie noticed. Glimpsing that she finally had her attention, Lillian firmly replied,

"No, I won't agree to it."

"I don't care, but Giselle is my daughter," Melanie refuted.

"But I am in love with her. Not a chance. I don't care if you approve of our relationship or not, but I am not going to give her away to anyone anymore!" Lillian rigidly vented.

Now, Melanie steamed from Lillian's rude demeanor. She thought she would back out or go speechless, and that would eventually last long to get rid of her. However, her plan backfired with Lillian not keeping calm and protesting outright.

Lillian and Melanie went back and forth, bickering about Giselle when the mentioned person sat back in a trance.

Giselle was just as speechless as Lillian when she heard the unexpected disapproval from her mother. But seeing Lillian fight back, Giselle's worried heart grew a little relieved. Had Lillian remained quiet, her fears could have only worsened.

Having already witnessed the unpredicted had affected Giselle to stay vigilant of her mother's arguments. Unfortunately, Giselle was afraid of her mother bringing about the past Lillian never knew of, which could put Giselle in a tight spot.

***

While Giselle worried to herself, Lillian and Melanie had been afoot with their protest up against each other.

Lillian was never planning to let go of Giselle, not even after knowing what had happened behind her trust. Meanwhile, Melanie was desperate in condemning Lillian Grey for the same reason. Melanie couldn't trust that Lillian would protect her daughter, especially when she didn't even know what had happened to Giselle. Melanie was stubborn not to let Lillian and Giselle be together. Afraid of Giselle getting hurt again, Melanie remained persistent.

Tired of sitting and arguing, Lillian has had enough. Instead of protesting again, she pleaded with Melanie to give a reason behind her hasty decision. Melanie was just as exhausted as Lillian, and she let herself slip away submissively.

Melanie let Lillian clearly know that Giselle leaving back then was the reason she didn't want these two to get back together.

"You said you fell in love with her, but did you know why she had to leave?" Melanie asked.

The dreadful topic returned to haunt both Giselle and Lillian in their own way. While Lillian had a tough time answering, Giselle grew nervous.

"I don't know," Lillian replied, forcing herself to lie.

"Did you ask her?"

"I tried."

"Did she tell you?"

"No."

"Why?"

"I didn't want to force her,"

"I know, I tried-"

"Clearly, you didn't try enough," Melanie remarked.

Hurt by her words, Lillian remained voiceless. On the other hand, catching the worst nightmare before it befell, Giselle stopped her mother from speaking out anymore.

Catching the worst nightmare before it befell, Giselle stopped her mother from speaking out anymore.

Lillian could see through how Giselle was striving to stop from letting her secrets out. It put Lillian in a bad mood.

'How have things had turned out for them?'

It was evident that Melanie was using this against Lillian to break her relationship with Giselle. Now that it had come to this, Lillian was forced to make a decision. She could continue to lie and lose Giselle, or she could surprise both by admitting to knowing the truth already.

Lillian got cold sweats. The food in front of her no longer appealed as a great way to escape. But the pressure of her circumstance heated her thoughts to make up her mind quickly.

"That was the past! I don't know why she left without even telling me a word, but I am not going to let her do that again. Not to me, at least!" Lillian confirmed with a heavy heart.

Protecting the truth that Giselle was dreadfully trying to hide from her was heartbreaking to bear. Lillian chose to run away because she couldn't face a situation like this. However, to her wonder, she handled it better than anticipated. She wasn't as feisty as she appeared before, bickering with Giselle's mother for her cold objection. Yet, Lillian now looked reserved. There wasn't a trace of fire in her eyes except for the sorrowful struggle. Melanie wasn't backing down either. She had to break away from Giselle to confront Lillian Grey, pinning her down with the troubled past.

Lillian held up her act quite well until Melanie's relentless attacks slowly destroyed her shield.

"You liked her back then, but she left- without even telling you. That tells me a lot about your relationship. If Giselle wanted to be with you, she wouldn't have left, right? And now it's just going to repeat!"

"No, it won't," Lillian vowed.

"What makes a difference now?"

"We both confessed our feelings, and we agreed-"

"She liked you back then as well, and she left you, Lillian," Melanie said bitterly, hitting Lillian right in her face. She meant it to hurt, and it did the job. Lillian looked disappointed.

The look on her face let Melanie know that she had crossed the line of their conversation. Their food had gone cold from never touching it, and the gloomy atmosphere returned.

"Your silence tells me your conviction. And I can't let my daughter suffer because of it. So, please try to understand that she deserves to be happy with someone else. I am not forcing her to like someone else, but I won't accept you when you're not even aware of the reason she left you,"

Just as Melanie spoke in length to console Lillian whilst trying to leave her daughter, Lillian's shield now completely shattered, and the face she desperately tried to hold on even failed. It was obvious to both Giselle and Melanie that Lillian wasn't looking herself. Melanie only spoke, but Lillian's attention appeared to be elsewhere.

Giselle grew apprehensive when the vengeful name left Lilian's mouth.

"Diego!"

Just a name was enough to shut both the mother and daughter.

Lillian's gaze met Melanie's, unhappily.

"I know Giselle left because of my- because of Diego."

Not just Giselle, but Melanie was even shocked to hear it. The fact that Lillian never tried to know why Giselle left was a burden to Melanie. She held that spear and pointed it out to test Lillian Grey until now. She wasn't ready to approve of her daughter's relationship easily. As a mother, Melanie didn't want to see Giselle break down. She didn't want her to leave her family again. Melanie couldn't let that happen, and that pushed her to attack Lillian insistently. Seeing how it backfired in the end bewildered them both.

"You know?" Giselle asked in disbelief.

But Lillian never looked at Giselle. She knew how Giselle would react just from imagining her emotions. That's why she jumped in to explain herself with fewer details.

"I came to learn about it, and-

I'm sorry that someone who acted as my friend for years had done that to your daughter behind my back. I wasn't aware, and I couldn't change it back. But I promise that I know.

I know what had happened to Giselle, and my feelings are still the same, except I don't want to hurt her again, never-

I want to stay by her side forever.

I want to protect her.

I want to give her a happy life.

I will make her laugh and cry happy tears.

I will protect Lia and raise her like my daughter.

I will do everything for Giselle and Lia.

Please, let me be with her, Melanie!"

Lillian's words shed a ray of hope, for Melanie looked in awe. She knew from interacting with Lillian. She was aware of her true feelings and hearing these promises broke her motherly fears. Melanie just wished someone to take care of her daughter and love her dearly. And she could feel that Lillian would do justice to that role.

Tears swamped her eyes, and she wiped them away.

"You knew?" Melanie asked more gently.

"I-" Lillian hesitated. She still hadn't looked at Giselle, but she knew that she had to tell the truth.

Lillian admitted accidentally learning that truth during the New Year's party. She overheard Giselle talking about it with a reliable friend.

While Melanie's worries slowly descended, Giselle's presence appeared to have shut down.

Melanie saw her daughter in shock. She could recognize that Lillian had learned the secret without Giselle's knowledge. Without any more wavering, Melanie stood up to inform her leaving. She wanted to give privacy to her daughter and Lillian. However, before leaving the table, Melanie addressed Lillian one last time.

She gave her blessing and admitted holding on to the past as her tramp card to test Lillian's feelings. Melanie did confirm that she wouldn't give her consent easily if Lillian didn't admit to knowing the truth.

"It was hard for us to sit back and let her go through all these things without our knowledge. I didn't want to give my blessing at first, but I came to learn that you love my daughter very much. You were really concerned for her. And that's why it bothered me that such a caring person did not know what happened behind her back. If it were back then, I could have understood. Years passed, and you two are old enough to discuss the past. Next time, ask her until she tells you everything, and don't let her keep a secret because she is good at keeping one. She's so stubborn like me. But I will give you two my blessings. As her mother and a family member, I will say this- if you trust us and speak out, we can be the help you need in desperate times. Good day, dear."

Melanie turned to meet her daughter, who appeared to have frozen all along. She patted on her shoulders softly.

"It's alright, dear. I'll let you two discuss. And don't worry anymore. We're all here for you. Besides, there shouldn't be secrets between lovers. So, discuss with Lillian and come back home soon. I'll be waiting for you."

Melanie left the table, leaving her food and a conversation unfinished.