On the screen was Darcy but he was dressed very differently to the Darcy they had just met. The one onscreen was fully dressed up in skiing gear; from his appearance and voice, it didn’t look like he had just changed. It looked more like he had been skiing for a while and just stopped to pick up the phone. His googles were anchored on his helmet and his eyes filled with worry. “Chris, everything okay at home?” Grace looked at the man onscreen in shock. It could be seen from the background that it looked like he was somewhere in the mountains; more importantly, there were no mountains fit for skiing close to the airport café, where he would be able to reach in 1 hour and start skiing. Darcy didn’t even give second glance at the woman behind Chris who was staring at him without blinking. He was getting anxious about the mess at home considering Chris called him at this time when he should have been showing off the last few weeks of his handiworks to Emile considering they had just ret

“About what?” Elizabeth asked, even more anxiously than before. “Cough…. Cough….” Adam cleared his throat and continued with a sheepish smile “Remember what I previously told you when we got the news of Darcy meeting with an accident?” “Yes….” Elizabeth nodded and mumbled “Things might not be what we think it is and not to be sad???” “Um” Adam twisted his lips as he muttered “what I was telling was…” “Mom, what dad wanted to tell you was second brother didn’t really have an accident and he didn’t want you to be sad for no reason.” Chris couldn’t bear to watch his father squirm; his father was his idol. The other reason Chris was brave was because Emile knew everything…. But for now, let’s give him credit! “What are you talking about?” Veronica was the first blurt out “We all saw how he came back.” “Right….” Chris nodded as he paused before asking “And we all send him off on his trip to Hawaii, right?” Veronica didn’t respond; she just rolled her eyes, while Nola and Angel nodded

Everyone respectfully gave space for the lovers and gathered around in a large circle to chat and play games. Couples along with their kids formed a team. They played dumb charades for an hour before switching to card games. Even after playing for 2-3 hours, Darcy and Grace had no intention of coming over. “Can you let go of your birthday present for a minute so that I can give my friend a hug?” Veronica teased helplessly seeing that Darcy had no intention of letting go of Grace even after 2 hours. Darcy hadn’t let go of Grace ever since he hugged her. He stuck to her like a sticky tape. “No” Darcy hugged Grace tightly and looked at Veronica was though she the enemy who came to snatch Grace from him. Everyone laughed but didn’t tease him any further; they all understood his mental state. Grace didn’t have any objection either. One could say that her mental state was more or less the same. “Don’t speak about this … even to mom and dad.” Chris warned his adults. “Why?” Angel asked

“And…” There was pin drop silence in the room as everyone looked at him anxiously as they waited for his next words. But Chris had no intention of speaking; he was savouring the sight of his unflinching siblings squirm anxiously when he got slapped at the back of his head. “Is it fun to watch your brothers squirm?” Adam narrowed his eyes reprimanding his little prankster who had grown up to be fine young man and yet had moments like this despite his age and persona he created for himself in front of the world. Although he was reprimanding, there wasn’t even the slightest hint of reproach in his eyes other than a playful glint. “Yes...” Chris admitted with a resentful pout as he rubbed his head and turned to look at the culprit who had the nerve to imitate his father. “Dad…. Why are you here?” Chris’s eyes widened in surprise before smiling flatteringly at Adam; he didn’t forget to glare at Night Wing for not warning him. Poor Night Wing could only mouth ‘Sorry’ with a helpless expr

“Is it a friend or foe?” “What do we do?” Darcy frowned as he asked in frustration; He didn’t want to go on like this, but he didn’t want to jeopardize Chris’s meticulous planning. Since it was Chris that drove these investigations, everyone turned to look at him. “I think we can proceed as planned, considering both times assistance was rendered in a timely manner. If I were a gambling man, I would put my money on friend.” Chris spoke slowly as he weighed each word “Big brother what do you think?” “Umm” Mark nodded in agreement although his expression didn’t loosen. With Mark’s nod of approval, all the brothers turned their gazes towards Adam. “I agree to go ahead without fussing about Harper Holdings but….” Adam paused and then added “But we should hold taking action before finding where and what Hugo is up to.” “Dad, I disagree.” Chris was first to retort “Hugo would have surfaced if he had more fire power in his arsenal rather than hide behind Senior Mrs Walter.” “Dad, I agre