Chapter 132

On Friday night, after work, Freya returned to Matteo’s villa. She was surprised to find him at home; it was quite rare for him to be there at this hour. Matteo was on the phone. When he heard her footsteps, he glanced at her, then turned back to continue his call.

The housekeeper knew Freya was going to take Isabella to the Miller family house, so he had already prepared food, intending for them to eat before leaving. But since Freya planned to eat at the Miller family house, she politely declined. “No need,” she said.

The housekeeper hesitated, then looked to Matteo for guidance. Matteo, who hadn’t finished his call yet but was likely listening to their conversation, moved the phone away from his mouth and said, “Listen to Madam.” After that, he returned to his call.

Freya nodded and turned to Isabella. “Let’s go, Isabella.”

“Okay,” Isabella waved to Matteo. “Dad, we’re leaving now. Bye!”

Matteo waved back with a slight nod. “Goodbye.” Freya didn’t speak to Matteo at all and simply took Isabella and left. Matteo didn’t seem to notice anything unusual. After saying goodbye to Isabella, he continued his call while watching them leave.

The birthday party for her grandmother was a grand affair. After they returned to the Miller family house and had dinner, Freya helped with the preparations. By the time she finished helping, it was already past eleven at night.

The next morning, she woke up early. Before breakfast, she joined the rest of the family, gathered around her grandmother to offer their birthday congratulations, and presented the gifts they had prepared.

When it came time for the gift-giving, Isabella paused, then tugged at Freya’s sleeve. Freya bent down and put her ear closer. “What’s wrong?”

Isabella, looking embarrassed, whispered, “Mom, I didn’t prepare a gift…” She only realized this at that moment. Unable to resist, she scolded, “Mom, why didn’t you remind me?”

Freya replied, “I’ve prepared gifts for your dad and Grandma, but you’re still a child, so it’s fine if you didn’t prepare one. But next time, when Grandma’s birthday comes around, make sure you’re ready with something.” Though Freya said this, her tone was somewhat cold. She hadn’t reminded Isabella to prepare a gift, true. But if she had been thoughtful, upon learning that today was her grandmother’s birthday, she should have remembered to get a gift for her. The gift didn’t need to be expensive or require too much effort. She could have simply drawn a picture or even asked her to buy something when she picked her up yesterday. It would have been fine. But she hadn’t thought of it at all. Yet, she wasn’t like this with Raven. She not only remembered the date but also eagerly counted down the days, anticipating it. It was because she could see that Isabella didn’t care enough that she didn’t bother reminding her.

Isabella didn’t notice the coldness in Freya’s expression. Upon hearing what Freya said, she felt relieved.

After Jason presented his gift to the elderly matriarch, Freya also handed hers over. The first gift she offered was the embroidered picture: “This embroidery was prepared by Grandma for you with Matteo’s help.” The matriarch took it and unwrapped it, admiring it for a moment. The gift hit the mark perfectly, and she was very pleased. “She’s thoughtful.”

Freya then presented the set of emerald jewelry: “This is from Frank.” The emerald set was of excellent quality. The matriarch clearly liked it. But because it was from Matteo, she only glanced at it briefly before closing the box and setting it aside, casually saying, “Very beautiful. Thank him on my behalf.” As for whether Matteo would come to her birthday celebration that day, she didn’t ask a word. She couldn’t be bothered to.

Treya knew that the matriarch didn’t like Matteo. If this had been before, she would have spoken up for him. But now, she didn’t say a word. Instead, she took out the gift she had prepared and handed it to the matriarch.

Just as Freya expected, of all the gifts, the matriarch’s favorite was indeed the set of four treasures of the study that she had brought. The matriarch held them in her hands, almost reluctant to put them down. She immediately went to her study and began writing a calligraphy piece.

After the gifts were exchanged, the family gathered together to have breakfast. The meal was lively and full of warmth. The matriarch wore a bright smile, clearly happy. However, there was still a hint of melancholy that occasionally showed in her eyes. Freya and Jason both knew that today was also a family reunion for them. But such an important day was missing one person. Thinking of this, Freya turned her face away, her eyes reddening slightly. But, in order not to ruin the atmosphere, everyone tacitly avoided mentioning Sally.

By about 9 o’clock, the next group of guests, those with closer ties to the Miller family, began arriving. That evening, they would dine at a hotel they had reserved. The birthday banquet would officially begin at that time.

As Freya helped greet the guests, Jason’s son, Hugo Miller, noticed that Isabella was sitting quietly and seemed distracted. He kindly patted her beautiful face and asked, “Isabella, what’s wrong? You seem a little absent-minded?”