Chapter 3: Her grandfather
"Mister, earlier you mentioned the Willow Household. Are you referring to the family that owned the W&J corporation?" Ava's curiosity showed as her eyebrows also quirked up.
"Yes, Young Miss," Butler Bong nodded, affirming the little girl's prediction. He didn't suspect anything, knowing that the name Willow Household and the W&J Corporation were well-known and highly regarded by the entire nation.
"And I'm the Young Miss of the household? Me?" Ava's sarcastic question made Butler Bong's nerves weakened for he already knows the direction of their conversation.
"Young Miss, your name is Ava Willow. You are one of the family members in the Willow Household," he tried to convince her.
Ava unconsciously nodded giving Butler Bong a momentary joy. But, she actually was thinking hard, forcing her mind to recall the information she wanted. Soon, her eyes flickered in perplexity.
"Mister, are you sure the Willow Household you talking about has anything to do with me? I have been taught to receive no candies from a stranger. Willow is a common name that can be used by everyone. I'm just a nobody with the Willow as my surname. To butter me up using the most prominent family will work no wonders. I have no interest," The words left Ava's tiny lips like the stream of the river, unstoppable. Butler Bong almost wanted to smack his own face after listening to her justification.
After all the explanation he made, he was blatantly rejected. And to say that Willow was a common name made him almost puke out of shock. No one in the whole nation was brave enough to casually talked about the Willows except this little girl.
'Grandmaster, this task you give me has just been rated five difficulties,' he sighed. Then, remembering something, he took the file left by Mdm Jin on the table, flipped pages until he saw the information he needed.
"Young Miss, here is a DNA report of yours and your parents as well as the percentage of DNA similarities with the Grandmaster. This here shows, oh well Young Miss please have a look," Butler Bong pushed the DNA report towards Ava after seeing her already stretched neck, curious at the piece of information in his hand.
'Wait, maybe I expect too highly of her. What if she couldn't comprehend this report?' Doubts encircled the old butler's mind.
"I can read and I understand what I read," Ava sudden comment sent chills to the butler's spine. He coughed trying to calm himself down.
'Is the Young Miss a mind reader as well?' he shuddered as the thought surfaced on his mind. Then, he decided to think nothing afraid that the constant bickering inside his mind would lay clear to be readable by the little girl's ability to mind-reading. Butler Bong almost went crazy by this thought of his.
Ava studied the DNA report on the table. In her mind, the information was arranged, analyzed and finally come to a conclusion.
The verdict was made, to her surprise, she was actually related to the Willow Household. The doubt of being cheated had gone from her mind but the fear of being cheated on for something bigger grew inside her consciousness.
"Mister, am I being taken out of orphanage because I am to be made a pawn for some evil family members' plot or something?" Ava's unexpected hypothesis left Butler Bong dumbfounded. He was not able to respond for a long time. Then, all of a sudden, he clasped his mouth with teary eyes.
Ava watched the old man who was laughing his heart out. 'Am I that hilarious?' was floating inside Ava's mind. She wanted to know and thought that if she struck the iron while it's hot, the old man's unguarded self would reveal the sinister plot behind. Yet, here he was, bursting into a funny laugh that almost tickled Ava's funny bone. She refrained from falling into the same behavior.
"Young Miss, please don't overthink. Grandmaster had been searching for you for many years and upon knowing that you are here, he cried for hours and immediately instructed me to bring you home. He always loves you," Butler Bong emphasized on the word 'love'. His eyes soften as they meet Ava's eyes.
The vision of the once upon a time energized and high-spirited Grandmaster who over years consumed by age, due to his constant worries on his daughter and granddaughter, flashed in his mind.
"How is the Grandmaster you talking about?" Ava was concerned. The look on Butler Bong's face somehow ignited the familial bond in her. Moreover, based on recent discoveries the Grandmaster he was talking about was also her grandfather.
"Grandmaster is fine as we speak, but, he had aged a lot these past years," Butler Bong spoke while also reminiscing all the ordeals he had gone through with Willow Sr., the Grandmaster of Willow Household.
"And how about my father?" Ava's eyes sparkled at the thought of having a father. She noticed that Butler Bong hadn't mentioned a word about her father from the beginning.
Now, that proven fact had confirmed her as one of the Willows, the thought of meeting her parent had risen to the top of her priorities. She somehow felt sadness at the knowledge of her mother missing and that left only her father and of course, the man who had been searching for her, her grandfather.
Ava for once had stopped longing for parents' love, but now, that she actually belongs to a family, she couldn't help but have an expectation. That was when it hit her, why wasn't her father the one who was looking for her?
"My father... is my father still alive?" the unexpected question actually startled Butler Bong. He rubbed his left thumbprint, an unconscious act when he was nervous.
"Your father is still alive, you'll meet her in the future," that was the safest answer Butler Bong could manage.
Ava noticed every detail of hesitation and refusal to answer from the way he was acting. She stared at the old man to see whether he dared to meet her gaze. If he avoided, then, it was probably something he decided to hide from her. Not a second longer and Butler Bong directed his eyes somewhere else. Ava remained silent, her lips curved upward to form a smile that full of understanding yet a disappointment at the same time.
"Mister, thank you for coming. I'm sorry for making it difficult," Ava perfected her smile and let it displayed on her face for a while.
She decided to drop her self-protection wall a little. She thought that everything happened for a reason and finding that reason was the mission she needs to uncover. Hence, she iron-willed her gut to agree to return to the Willow Household.
Besides, the orphanage had given all the guardian rights to her real family. Therefore, fighting to stay with her puny little strength was futile. Moreover, what held her to stay at the orphanage? The alienation? She was more than happy to free her wing and befriend someone that saw her for who she was.
Butler Bong was puzzled, the unexpected ending of their debate rendered him speechless. He had gone through the turmoil of emotions simply from their conversation and now she surrendered herself without much struggle?
He observed the little girl who was still smiling while looking at him, she was too adorable yet ferocious. 'This one will turn the household upside down,' the old butler chuckled at the thought.
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Doyuku
Doyuku Thanks for reading <3
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