Chapter 195 - Home Is Where The Heart Is

Instead of talking to Edward's father, Claire and Orita talked to his mother who was currently residing in Paris. The woman was easy-going and very understanding. In fact, she was thrilled that Edward finally made a move and the relationship was rosy. The ditzy lady also expressed her eagerness to meet Scarlet in person as well when her son and Mrs Wilde's daughter were ready to take the next step of their relationship.

"If Edward treats Scarlet poorly, please do not hesitate to let me know. My son left me from a young age to be with his busy father so I did not teach him a lot. I will take full responsibility of punishing him if he makes her unhappy or acts inappropriately," Mrs Bayon promised and Orita laughed.

"No, Mrs Bayon. Your son is a wonderful young man. I just hope that it wouldn't be too much trouble to accommodate Scarlet for a while. If we had another alternative, we would have arranged for Scarlet to be elsewhere but seeing as things happened too quickly, we can only ask for help from Edward. I promise to compensate accordingly and if the money for the rent and living expenses are not enough, please let us know. My husband and I are more than willing to increase the amount because we know Scarlet has been brought up a little more pampered than others."

Edward raised a brow at that when he heard it. Scarlet didn't make a comment but Edward doubted that Scarlet was a material girl who depended on luxury items. In fact, Alex seemed more like that kind of girl. Scarlet was very humble and down-to-earth, his mother had nothing to fear.

The talk concluded swiftly and Mrs Bayon sent her son and his girlfriend kisses over the phone. Scarlet blushed and Edward looked slightly embarrassed by his mother's display of affection. Mrs Wilde thought that it was endearing. If Edward's mother was such a lovely lady, she didn't have too much to worry about. Scarlet would be in good hands and Claire can focus more on catching the pests skulking around her girls.

Now that negotiations were settled, Claire turned to Edward and started to ask when they could start moving Scarlet's things to his place. Edward looked around the apartment and was a little hesitant. Although it was an apartment that he could live comfortably in, it wasn't anything as luxurious as the one the Wildes had in Brooklyn Heights. Most of whatever that was here wouldn't fit.

Scarlet noticed Edward's troubled expression and frowned. "Don't trouble him too much, I don't need to bring a lot of things. We won't even need a mover, I'll just bring a suitcase of clothes, a laptop and some books that I need for classes. I won't impose for too long."

The head maid sighed. "It's not up to you," she told Scarlet. "It is dependent on our jobs. If I cannot come back within a month, you might have to stay with Edward for a little longer. I can't let you and Alex stay alone together, it's not safe. Neither of you has culinary skills and you'll fight too much. Thank goodness you have reliable boyfriends so I'll be counting on them to keep an eye on the both of you for me."

Edward raised a brow. Fighting? That didn't sound like Scarlet at all. The Scarlet he knew was meek after all with an occasional bold streak. If anything, he thought that Alex would be the more likely one to start a fight with his girlfriend but he didn't know for certain with Scarlet glaring at Claire in protest. Still, it was rather interesting to him.

Claire and Edward made plans and talked about arrangements for Scarlet's moving into his apartment.

"My apartment isn't very big," he admitted. "It's enough for one person and it could squeeze one more person in but that's about it. This place is huge in comparison and I'm afraid none of the furniture can be over in. I don't even have a bookshelf in the guest room, just a bed and a flimsy wardrobe. There isn't even a table in the room, the table is outside and I use the dining table to do my school reports."

Claire nodded. "Maybe we can do some adjustments and bring over something so that Scarlet can work on her things. Do you have a rough idea on the space dimensions and floor plan of your apartment? We'll try to fit the necessities and not go overboard."

While Edward drew out the rough dimension of his apartment for Claire to brainstorm and negotiate what could be brought over and what she be left behind, Scarlet looked at Orita and Alex. The mother and daughter were discussing the things Alex needed.

"But I want to bring this dressing table over. It has all my make-up. Also, what am I going to do without my gym clothes? I can't be just seen wearing the same old jeans and dresses to school all week long. I need to change it up! Also, there are parties I have to attend, one suitcase wouldn't fit everything!"

Orita sighed at her biological daughter's meltdown. They were already having problems fitting all of Alex's paint bottles and canvases. Jasper didn't live in a very huge apartment either and the heiress wondered if she had been raising her daughters wrongly. On one hand, Scarlet refused to bring anything. On the other hand, Alex wanted to bring everything including the bathtub when she heard that there was only a shower stall at Jasper's apartment.

"How will I use the bath bombs without a bathtub?" Alex asked in horror when Orita told the model about the new arrangement. Claire rolled her eyes and ignored the model, leaving Orita to sort things out with Alex in another room. Scarlet didn't know what to do, feeling a little left out so Jenna accompanied the writer in silence.

"How are you feeling?" the lady butler asked and Scarlet bit her bottom lip.

"Nervous," she admitted. "I don't know what to do. I think I've become too spoilt by the constant company of family that moving away even for a short while feels lonely."

The butler gave Scarlet a side hug. "Darling, don't say that. Think of it this way, home is where the heart is. No matter how far apart we are, we will always be with you in feelings. It would be worse in the past without the wonders of technology but now, we can have video conference calls. Look at the madam and her husband. I think it has been six years since they last saw each other in person. Yet, their marriage is still going strong. Family isn't something broken that easily just because of a little distance. I don't think feelings are fragile things. Do you?"

Scarlet shook her head. Jenna was right. "The Wildes will always be my family. Even if I marry someone else, I still want to keep this name. It was the name that changed my life forever, I am very grateful."

Hearing Scarlet's innermost feelings moved Jenna. Scarlet had never spoken about the matter of being adopted before but hearing it now made the butler feel that Orita made the right decision back then even though it had been on a whim and one that was rashly made with ulterior motives. Initially, the two sisters had to battle their inner demons and the feelings of belonging to the Wilde family. Alex dealt with jealousy and Scarlet dealt with an inferiority complex. Eventually, they came to terms with it and were even comfortable enough to fight.

There was nothing more heartwarming than watching the shy flower called Scarlet bloom with them over the years. While Jenna might not have been there personally to witness Scarlet's transformation but the people around Scarlet have been giving them feedback. The media has captured Scarlet's moments and the results were breathtakingly beautiful. If Alex was like a daisy - simple, innocent and pure, then Scarlet was like a lotus - coming out pure and unscathed by the muddy waters of her past. Nobody could be prouder of her than the people who watched her come this far.

Scarlet and Jenna listened to both sides of the conversations. Claire and Edward were looking around the house to see what would fit in the room and what wouldn't. Edward was being very accommodating and encouraged Claire to inform him about what Scarlet needed so that he could rearrange his interiors a little to make space. According to him, a lady shouldn't have these little belongings and he didn't mind if Scarlet came in with three suitcases because he knew that one of them would be a suitcase for shoes and one would be for books.

On the other hand, Alex and Orita were yelling at each other. Scarlet listened with concern when the ladies escalated something small into a huge matter.

"You don't have to bring so many pairs of shoes," the heiress reasoned. "You're just going to school, why do you need three pairs of the same heels in different colours? Just get the black one for presentations!"

Alex couldn't be talked out of it and refused to put down the yellow kitten heels. "I can't! This pair goes with this romper and the other pair matches the hat. I wear them often so I need both."

Orita made an unladylike sound of frustration and grabbed the shoes from Alex who snatched it back. Jenna jumped up to interfere before it could turn into an ugly catfight and Edward was momentarily shocked at how the ladies screeched at each other. Scarlet didn't care about her image and interfered. pulling her sister back as Jenna restrained Orita.

"You old hag!"

"How did I raise a daughter like you with only powder in her head? No wonder people have bad impressions of blondes!"

Scarlet tried hard not to laugh but failed. Her grip on Alex became loose and the model lunged at her mother. Thankfully, Claire was around and turned the situation around, locking Alex in a painful armlock.

"You left yourself open," the head maid said as Alex struggled and tapped out. Orita regained her composure and Scarlet shot Edward a sorry smile.

"Sorry, you had to see all that. We're not always very sane or composed behind closed doors. Welcome to my family."

Jasper nodded humbly. "It's a lovely eye-opener. Remind me never to make your sisters angry."

Scarlet laughed and Claire smirked. The boy would be in for a surprise if he ever made Scarlet mad. The writer may be small but she was Claire's best student who could win against some of the trained bodyguards in a one-on-one match.

This was going to be fun.