My Dreamy Old Husband
Chapter 1424

Bailey stared at the three apricot kernels that adorned his bracelet; there was more to those kernelsthan met the eye. The bracelet was a valuable gift, and it meant a lot to Bailey, which explained whyhe wore it all the time.

Dana, on the other hand, reached out and ruffled Carmen's hair. What a delightful little girl, hethought affectionately. He couldn't help but think about what could have been if he and Lucy had achild of their own; the child might have even been older than Carmen was right now. But it's all toolate now, he lamented. Dana knew he couldn't turn back time.

When all this ended, he would be ready to start a family with Lucy, and seeing as they could have nochildren of their own, they would have to adopt. They'd made arrangements with Nicole'sorphanage, and once everything was set, they would head over to adopt a child. While gentlyrubbing Carmen's head, Dana turned to look around, and his gaze softened when he saw Lucyplaying mahjong with Sophia not too far away.

Just then, Michael emerged from the kitchen wearing an apron, and he sauntered over to themahjong table to check up on Sophia, who was engrossed in the game. Upon seeing Michael,Sophia shoved a handful of snacks into his mouth despite being busy with her mahjong tiles.Michael chewed happily and placed an appreciative kiss on Sophia's cheek, leaving crumbs on herface. Unfazed, Sophia merely wiped those away with a piece of tissue, and when she found a largercrumb, she popped it into her mouth.

At this, everyone cringed in disgust, rendered speechless by Sophia's gesture. She remainedoblivious to the apprehension of others; after all, how else was a married couple supposed tobehave?

Now that everyone had arrived, save for Cooper, who had escaped—or rather, strategicallyretreated—Michael began making a headcount. When he was done, he announced, “Everyoneplease stop what you're doing and get ready to take a group photo!”

Hearing this, the crowd made their way out, chattering along the way. It was bright, seeing as thelights had been switched on. Once everyone had gathered before the camera and a photo had beentaken, reunion dinner commenced.

The reunion dinner featured a homemade feast, which consisted of food that were either grown onthe farm or shipped over from the south. Even though it was the men in the family who had been incharge of the cooking, everyone enjoyed the dishes nonetheless. It was probably because no onehere had ever celebrated New Year's Day with a reunion dinner like this one.

When dinner was finished, everyone decided to head outdoors for fireworks, which had beenbrought over by Lucy. Jordan had commissioned tens of thousands of crates of them for hisproposal to Anna, but Jordaine had interfered along the way, and the fireworks had somehowended up as a surprise feature during Lucy's engagement party instead. They hadn't used up all thefireworks, however, and more than half of the supply had been leftover from the party.

Given Lucy's thriftiness, she had kept the remaining fireworks into storage and had them deliveredtoday to celebrate the new year. After she'd gotten engaged to her former pig-headed fiancé, she'dworked on a project with him, but she“d called off the engagement as soon as the project had fallenapart. After all, the project had been the only reason why she'd gotten engaged to that boorish manin the first place.

As of right now, Dana was all Lucy could think about. All along, the only person she had only evertruly loved was Dana. She would be with Dana when the time was right. Regardless of what othersmight say, and even if the whole world was against them, Lucy was determined that they would betogether.

Presently, the fireworks were set off, brightening up the countryside. The fireworks seemed to dwarfthose that were being set off in the nearby city. Everyone watched with awe as the fireworks lit upthe night sky with festive, brilliant colors. The look on everyone's face was that of pure andunadulterated joy. It was a new year, and all grievances were meant to be cast aside in these coupleof days as everyone happily celebrated new beginnings.

Dana and Lucy were standing hand-in-hand, looking effortlessly compatible, where one was darkand charismatic, the other was sharp and capable. They couldn’t be more different, but as theystood together, they looked as if they were made for each other. They watched as the childrenscampered about, remarking on each of the little ones.

"We could adopt a kid that's as cute as Carmen, or a kid that's as sour-faced as Hope.”

"And maybe we could get a dog, too!”

The both of them discussed fervently, picturing their future together. Like fireworks, all that hadhappened in the past would dissipate into thin air and leave nothing behind. There was no point inreminiscing on the fireworks that had already been set off when one could look forward to the nextround. After all, life was all about moving forward.

Meanwhile, Harry held Sarah close to him. They'd never had to go through any hardship together asa couple, and because of this, Harry cherished her even more. As he watched Dana and Lucy, thepair of star-crossed lovers who seemed to have the world against them, Harry knew he had to counthis blessings. He had to stand guard over the happiness he had with Sarah, for there seemed littleelse in the world that could come close to the perfection that was their relationship.

Sean glanced over at Stanley. They weren't a couple, but at least they were staying together, and itwas more than enough for him to be able to see the latter every day.

The perpetually-single Linus remained indifferent despite being surrounded by couples. Theeventuality of marriage, or the non-existence thereof, was a card that could only be dealt by fateand fate alone—Linus knew full well that there was nothing he could do about it.

Sophia, on the other hand, was staring up at the night sky, her eyes lighting up as the fireworksblossomed over the countryscape. The beauty of the fireworks was short-lived, but breathtaking allthe same.

While everyone was admiring the fireworks, Michael kept his eyes on Sophia. He thought of all thehardship they'd been through to get to where they were. He thought of all the times he'd beendetermined to leave her—to pack up all the love he had for her so that he could spare her theagony of being with him—in order for Sophia and Carmen to live their lives in peace. But by the endof it all, he realized that he couldn't do it. It was as though there was a layer of industrial gluebetween Sophia and himself, making it impossible for them to be detached from one another.Michael stared at her, as if he was memorizing everything about her face, from the way her lipstipped up in the smallest of smiles, to the way her eyes sparkled in wonder. He thought there wasnothing in this world that could be more beautiful than Sophia. He could spend his whole lifestaring at her like this and never tire of it. He felt as though he was the happiest man on Earth.When the time would come for him to leave this world, Michael knew that his heart and soul wouldforever stay with her.

Everyone stayed on the farm for a week after New Year's Day, and on the last day, everyone stuffedthemselves before leaving for home. The festivities had meant that the chefs, chauffeurs, andassistants would not return to work until the next morning. Nonetheless, Sophia and the others onlyleft the farm after dinner on the last day, determined that they would not dine with Tiffany upontheir return.

When they arrived home, Tiffany greeted them with a sour expression, leaving no room for even theslightest niceties. She was infuriated because they had left her all alone for a whole week! It was badenough that they weren't home on Christmas night, and now, they'd practically abandoned herduring the new year festivities!

They were obviously trying to make her feel like an outcast so that she'd leave on her own accord.The joke was on them, though, because Tiffany had only grown more resolute on staying—shewould not budge under pressure!

Sophia and Michael had come home empty-handed. Usually, a trip to the farm would warrant bagsof souvenirs—most of which would comprise local produce—but this time, they hadn't even madethe effort to bring back a single morsel of food.

Carmen, on the other hand, remained her generous self. She had picked strawberries from the farmand had carefully packed them into a box, along with a couple of eggs she'd taken from the chickencoup. She tied a ribbon over the box and had tucked it into her suitcase, hoping to give Tiffany aNew Year's Day present in light of their partnership.

Receiving the gift from Carmen appeased Tiffany, who returned the favor by giving Carmen a redenvelope that contained no small amount of money. Carmen was overjoyed, but alas, she was alsothe one who devoured all the strawberries and eggs. However, it was clear now that Tiffany'spatience had run thin.

The Adams and the Michels had expected Cooper to come home for the new year, and had, overthe course of the week, dropped by everyday with the hope of seeing him. Unfortunately, Cooperhadn't been home at all. In Cethos, it was considered groundbreaking for anyone to not be home tocelebrate the new year.

Michel Group resumed business on the eighth day following the week-long festivities; they mightbe a foreign conglomerate, but all their employees, whether Cethosian or not, were entitled to abreak over the new year.

On this same day, however, Tiffany showed up at Michel Group without prior notice, and she'dbrought her son along as well.