Love Contract
Chapter 176 The Grandparents (Part One)

Although the little boy's head was covered with thick gauze, the frown on his face was exactly the same as that on William's face. The old couple stared at Alick intently, clearly dumbfounded.

"Is he... William's son?" Amy covered her mouth in disbelief. It wasn't long until her eyes were already brimming with tears.

Timothy, who was still staring at Alick in confusion, said nothing.

"Alick!" As soon as she turned around, Elissa saw her brother and jumped back to the wheelchair.

"Elissa! Come back!" Mary rushed over to follow them, visibly upset with Elissa. "We are at a hospital! What if you ran into a fragile patient? Elissa, I swear to God, if you don't behave yourself—" "Mary? Is that you?"

Someone suddenly said, interrupting Mary's planned disciplinary litany for Elissa. Mary's eyes widened in shock and confusion. Immediately, she followed the source of the voice and found out that it was an old couple not far away from where they were.

"Father... Father? Aunt... Aunt Amy?"

"Mary! It's really you!" Amy rushed to Mary at once, tears already in her eyes. When she was in front of her, she immediately cupped Mary's delicate face in her hands and said, "Where have you been all these years? Mary, we've looked for you everywhere!"

"Aunt Amy..." Mary choked with sobs.

"Silly girl! Not even a letter!" The two wrapped their arms around each other tightly as they cried their eyes out.

Timothy then came forward, his eyes also full of tears. "Mary," he addressed her. While the moment was definitely heart-warming, he needed to know and clarify some things.

"Father..."

"Are they..." Timothy pointed at the two kids beside Mary. "Are they your children?"

Mary wiped her tears and frowned slightly. After taking a deep breath, she admitted, "Yes, they are my children."

"Is William their father?" Amy held Mary's hand tightly as she stared into her eyes, her face full of expectation and surprise. "I mean, the little guy looks exactly like him..."

"No, they are not!" Mary immediately denied. "They are not his children. Not his!"

"But..."

"Mary," Timothy said in a low voice. "You can be honest with us. Are they really not? If they are not his, who is their father?"

"I... I have already divorced him." Mary signed deeply. "If you really want to know, their father is... Someone else!"

Mary expected some kind of a negative reaction from the old man, so when he didn't say anything, she was shocked. Just as she was about to let out a sigh of relief, Timothy let out a pained scream. "Timothy! What's happening to you, love?" Amy quickly went to Timothy's side to assist and see if anything was wrong with him. Mary could see the color draining out of her face fast.

"Father!" Mary shouted, as she, too, came to the aid of the old man. Adrenalin was already coursing through her veins as her initial shock wore off.

The hospital staff also surrounded Timothy. "Mr. Lan, please calm down!" "Let's get Mr. Lan to the emergency room!"

"No... This is... nothing..." Timothy waved his hand, raised his eyes to meet Mary's, and said, "Mary, I just want to know if these children's father is that bastard William..." It was clear that he was struggling to talk. "You see, your Aunt Amy and I are getting old. We just want to have a grandson or a granddaughter and enjoy having a peaceful family life for the remaining days of our lives.

You just called me Father, didn't you? Please- just stop lying to me, or else my blood pressure will rise again..."

Mary couldn't believe what she just heard. Worse, she didn't know how to respond or what to do.

"Umph!" Timothy groaned again, now clutching his chest.

"Okay, okay! Yes!" Mary was so scared to lose the father whom she had just seen again that she was left with no other choice but to confess. "Their father is William. These kids are his." Alick looked at them quietly and rolled his eyes. 'William ...'

"Really? These are William's kids?" Amy once again looked lively as a huge smile donned her lips. "Both, right?" she asked as she lovingly stared at the two kids. "Are they twins? They look the same age." "Yes, they are," Mary nodded.

"My dear grandchildren!" Timothy suddenly sprang up to his feet as if nothing had happened. He shimmied quickly to the side of the two kids, tears filling his eyes. "I'm your grandpa!"

"Grandpa?" Elissa asked, tilting her head on one side. Her eyes were full of questions. She then looked at Mary in search for answers.

"He is your grandpa. This is your grandma."

"What? We have grandparents?" Alick asked.

"Yes, of course!" Timothy answered, pretending to be serious. "Come on, call me Grandpa!"

"Grandpa!" Elissa greeted him with the sweetest smile. "Hi, Grandpa!"

"Oh! What a good girl!" Timothy said as he cupped Elissa's little angelic face with his somewhat rough hands.

"And I am Grandma!" Amy, too, looked very stoked.

"Hello, Grandma! How are you?"

"I'm good, baby! You are so pretty!" Pure bliss was now coloring her mature face. "And a very smart girl! Can you tell me your name?"

"My name is Elissa Lu. This is my brother, Alick Lu!"

"We are more than glad to meet you two angels! " Amy replied.

Timothy's expression, however, became dark. "Why aren't they named Lan?" he asked in a quiet yet sharp tone. This sudden change caught Mary off-guard.

"Weren't you listening to her, Timothy? She said that she had divorced William! That would clear your confusion," Amy replied, sounding annoyed.

Timothy couldn't do anything but curse William in his head. Anger was taking hold of him, but he decidedly shook his head to get that man out of his head. There were more pressing things to think about right now. "What's wrong with Alick's head?" he suddenly inquired.

"How about we go upstairs and continue the conversation, Mr. Lan? I don't think it's ideal your family stay here and talk about such things," the head of the hospital said in an effort to clear the hallway they were in.

"I'm sorry. You're right," Timothy answered. They then gathered their things and made their way upstairs.

"You cunning old man," whispered Amy to Timothy. "Your acting was superb! I didn't know you can do that!"

"I had some training, ha ha..." Timothy responded, obviously pleased with himself.

When they arrived, Timothy stated that he didn't want to do his examinations anymore.

Instead, he insisted on staying and playing with the two kids. He couldn't get enough of them calling him Grandpa!

After a while, they went to Alick's ward.

"Mary, tell me what happened to you. Four years is a long time, you must have gone through so many things," Amy encouraged. Mary looked at her two kids and sighed.

She told her elders everything about the kids. As she went on with her story, Amy and Timothy couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

"Why didn't you just come back to us, then?" Amy wiped the tears streaming down her cheeks. "You could have asked for help. You poor girl."

"I'm so sorry, Aunt Amy..." Mary was beginning to sob as well.

"Don't be sorry. That's all in the past now," assured Amy lovingly as she caressed Mary's back. "You've suffered a lot but look at you - you've survived all of them. I'm very proud of you."

"Thank you so much, Aunt Amy," Mary replied, looking at her two kids. "I'm very happy."

Alick was sitting on the bed, carefully assessing the jigsaw puzzle Elissa passed her.

"Alick," Timothy said, a wide smile on his lips. "That kid is exactly like that brat when he was a child! He was incredibly smart even at a young age, but he hated talking to other people. His serious demeanor also made him look a lot older than he was. But Elissa is so different! She's so sweet and playful!"

Timothy waved to Elissa, asking her to come over. "Elissa, come here sweetie! I want to hear you call me Grandpa again."

"Grandpa," called Elissa, walking with a rolling gait. With a Barbie doll in her hand, she pouted. "I've called you Grandpa one hundred times already. I'm so tired! Can you ask my brother to call you next time?" "Ha ha..." Timothy burst into laughter.

"Idiot!" As if forcefully pulled out of his own little world, Alick gave his sister a cold stare.

Amy smiled kindly, "Your father hasn't laughed like this for a long time. You know, we also haven't had much contact with William over the past few years either. You know, these two men are annoyingly stubborn. Neither of them wants to take the first step and call the other."

"I see." Mary nodded silently.

"What does the future hold for you, Mary? Do you see yourself being with William again?" Amy asked.

"No, I don't!" Mary shook her head vigorously. "He..." She paused, and then sighed. "Aunt Amy, you know William. He could never be with a woman for a long time. And besides, I have a boyfriend now." "Oh, I see." The expression on Amy's face quickly soured.

"Mr. Lan!" a doctor from the hospital cheerily greeted as he entered the room. "All equipment for your examination has been prepared. It's time for your physical examination."

"I'm sorry, but I just met my lovely grandchildren. I've never felt more okay in my entire life! I'm not going anywhere!" Timothy waved his hand signaling his refusal to be examined. "Well..." the doctor contemplated, chuckling a bit in the process.

"You old man," said Amy, smiling. "Stop with all that. You need to have that examination and to be seen by doctors. It's a necessary step for you so that you'll get to see these children grow up." "That's right, Father." Mary also persuaded him. "Alick and Elissa will be here waiting for you, so don't worry. Besides, I doubt that it would take long."

Timothy thought for a while. Ultimately, he said, "Okay, fine. I'll do it."

"Alick and Elissa, say bye to Grandpa for now."