The Bigshot Married Himself to the Heiress-Chapter 551 - 552: Remembering the Bitter, Appreciating the Sweet
"Let’s go, Uncle is taking you to see the fireflies," Bryant Robertson lifted Curly, allowing her to ride on his shoulders.
Bryant Robertson was tall and sturdy. Having lived in the mountains for so many years, his body had grown robust. He was strong and powerful, a far cry from the weak scholar he once was.
Curly climbed onto Bryant Robertson’s shoulders, held his head, and shouted, "Uncle, run faster!"
Samara also looked envious. "Sister, aren’t fireflies only visible at night? Can you see them during the day too?"
"There is an underground cave here. The light inside is dim, like nighttime, and that’s where they see the fireflies. Samara, do you want to go see?"
"Can I?"
"Go ahead, catch some and bring them back. I want to put them in my room," Curly declared.
Samara happily ran out. If Samara had shown such eagerness before, Pauline Briggs would have scolded her. But Pauline had changed a lot; as long as the children were happy, she let them be.
Sienna Johnson looked at the Snow Lotus in her hand and sighed. "With her fickle nature, who knows how many boys’ hearts she’ll break in the future?"
"I don’t care how many boys’ hearts she breaks, as long as she doesn’t break Curly’s heart," said the selfish father.
"Curly is spoiled because of you."
Sienna remembered her daughter used to be a sensible and obedient little girl. But since Adrian Desmond arrived, Curly had become increasingly arrogant.
The root of all the trouble is Adrian Desmond.
"Try to understand my feelings as a father. You took her away before she was even born. I didn’t get to see her roll over. I didn’t hear her first words. I wasn’t there when she learned to walk or run. I wasn’t involved in her growth at all. How can I not spoil her?"
"But you shouldn’t overindulge her. What if she becomes a spoiled Miss?"
"You gave birth to her, don’t you understand her? She has many small flaws, but she fundamentally knows right from wrong. Don’t worry, she has a good foundation; she won’t grow up crooked," Adrian dismissed nonchalantly.
"So, your daughter does have a few small flaws. I thought in Sixth Master’s eyes, your daughter was perfect, without a single fault."
Rose Collins and Pauline Briggs chimed in, "Curly is still young. Don’t be too strict with her. It’s better for girls to be a bit spoiled; they won’t be bullied when they grow up."
Sienna wisely chose to stay silent.
「...」
According to Blackwood’s custom, the bride and groom could not meet before the wedding.
Since the wedding was the next day and there was still much to do, Sienna Johnson didn’t visit her sister-in-law’s home, planning to meet her at the wedding.
"She’s a nice person. Of course, she isn’t as beautiful as our Sienna, but she’s quite pretty and a good match for our Marvin. She’s also filial. Her family’s financial situation is a bit lacking, but I believe that if a girl is filial, her character can’t be bad," Rose Collins said, speaking of her future daughter-in-law with overall satisfaction.
"Mom, what’s there to fear about poverty? No matter how poor they are, were they poorer than I was as a child? Back then, my brother and I were quite happy," Sienna said optimistically.
Bryant Robertson interjected, "Yes, back then, Baby was so thin. I would catch sparrows and roast them for her. But she was timid and refused to eat the blackened sparrows."
Sienna defended herself, "It wasn’t that I was timid; you roasted the sparrow until it was charcoal! At that time, our family was so poor. If I had eaten it and gotten sick, Mom would have worried herself to death."
Bryant laughed. "Luckily you didn’t eat it. I did, and sure enough, I got diarrhea."
"I told you eating it would give you diarrhea, but you didn’t believe me."
"My barbecuing skills have improved tremendously. Tomorrow, Brother will make you some barbecue."
"Alright."
The family sat together, reminiscing about past memories tinged with hardship. Now that the bitterness had passed and sweetness arrived, those memories seemed beautified, sweet to recall.
Rose Collins slapped her son’s arm and scolded, "You naughty boy! How could you take your sister to eat roasted sparrows? What if she had gotten sick?"
"I just saw she was skinny and wanted to give her some extra nourishment, alright?"
Rose Collins’s eyes reddened. "It’s because Mom was useless!"
Pauline Briggs sipped a local, low-alcohol sweet wine, remaining silent.
Her daughter had actually gone hungry before. She never knew that in this day and age, people could still experience hunger, and that person was her own daughter. When her husband was alive, he doted more on Sienna. He always said they were unfair to their daughter. At that time, Pauline had been deceived by Sabrina Johnson and, influenced by her, grew to dislike Sienna. Sienna’s proud and sullen nature made it difficult for Pauline to know how to get along with her. Their mother-daughter relationship had grown increasingly strained. So, her precious girl had endured such a hard life.
Rose Collins, slightly tipsy from the wine, became more talkative. She held Pauline Briggs’s hand and said, "Sienna was sensible since she was little, good-looking, and did well in school. Back then, I was working outside. To save electricity at home, she would go to the supermarket downstairs and do her homework using its lights. It was so cold in winter; her hands and feet were frozen and chapped..."
As Rose Collins spoke, everyone present fell silent. The atmosphere grew heavy. Pauline Briggs and Samara burst into tears.
"What are you all doing? Dwelling on past hardships? Tomorrow is my brother’s wedding day! Can you please not look so mournful? It’s very inauspicious," Sienna Johnson said, unsure whether to laugh or cry.
"Please stop crying. If outsiders hear you, they’ll think my brother is being forced into this marriage and doesn’t want the bride."
Rose Collins sniffled. "I don’t ask for much in this life. I just hope you two, brother and sister, live well."
Sienna Johnson laughed. "Mom, how can you not have any requests? You should at least expect Brother to give you a grandson to hold and play with next year."
Bryant Robertson’s face turned red. "I want to have a daughter, as pretty as Baby."
Rose Collins shot him down. "Given your looks and your wife’s, that’ll be difficult. Better to have a son. If you have a daughter who looks like you, she’ll have a hard time getting married."
"Mom, are you really my mother?"
"If I told you I picked you from a trash can, would you believe me?"
"I would!"
"Then don’t call me Mom anymore."
"HAHA..." The whole family laughed.
Sienna turned her head to look at Adrian Desmond, who was drinking sullenly. He didn’t look too well. Sienna, with her hand under the table, tugged at his sleeve and whispered, "Drink less."
"Hmm."
The night before the wedding, people usually stayed up all night. But Sienna, being pregnant, was forcefully ordered by everyone to go rest.
In the room, the fireflies in the gauze bag blinked. Sienna was too excited to sleep, so she just stared at the blinking fireflies, lost in thought.
