Chapter 965
Chapter 965
Upon hearing what Florence had said, Nora cried out in shyness, "Florence, you're not welcomed for dinner if you continue to make fun of us."
This sentence seemed to work on Florence as she hurriedly said, "Ah, I won't say it anymore then."
Witnessing the affection shared between Owen and Nora, Amelia could not help feeling envious. She began to wonder if her relationship with Patrick could like this too.
However, Amelia killed the thought of this as soon as it arose.
She had came this far, and this was not supposed to concern her anymore.
Amelia took a deep breath before she called out, "Owen."
Withdrawing his gaze from Nora, Owen turned around and looked in the direction of Amelia.
As of courtesy, he gave her a tiny nod before he said, "I heard that you were trapped by something urgent, that was why you couldn't make it yesterday. Is it handled now? Can I do anything to help?"
Upon hearing this, Amelia was moved by his concern as she replied, "It had been taken care of.
Thanks for your concern."
This was the biggest difference between the two brothers in the Hopper Family!
No matter how busy or tired she got, these would never matter to Patrick. After all, all he had in mind was whether she had an affair with other men or that she had cheated on him.
At the end of the day, it made sense that as the eldest sibling in the family, Owen was no doubt the best person to take care of this family.
It was true that Patrick was born as an elite.
However, it was also undeniable that the pride that he lived with had made him an arrogant person. In fact, he was not as mature as his brother after all.
"There's nothing. We are one family." Waving his hands in disapproval of Amelia's gratitude, Owen then said, "Since both of you are already here, you should stay for dinner tonight."
It was a statement instead of question asking for their opinion. Hence, it was obvious that he had welcomed them for dinner with open arms.
Amelia took a glance at Patrick.
"Hm." A sense of unwillingness was easy to tell from Patrick's voice.
Unwillingness?
Amelia was more inclined to believe that it was her
illusion!
Shrugging, Amelia did not bother to ravel herself with the change of emotions of Patrick.
Everybody had came to the hall after dinner.
Amelia felt that it was the right time to present the gift to Owen.
"Owen." As soon as Owen glanced in her direction, Amelia handed over the gift and said, "I have something for you."
"That's very kind of you!" With that said, Owen took over the gift and asked, "Can I open it now?"
"Of course!" Amelia agreed despite feeling nervous.
"Daddy, I want to see it, too!"
Ashley would be particularly enthusiastic whenever it came to something fun. As soon as she saw Owen was about to open the gift, she immediately jumped down from Patrick's thigh and ran towards Owen. Standing on the couch with her hands holding his shoulder in support, her gaze was glued at the gift that he was holding.
Not only Ashley, even Nora and Andrew began to look forward to the gift opening session.
Amelia could not help breaking out in a cold sweat.
She was worried that she was going to let everyone down once the gift was revealed. After all, it was not something impressive.
It did not take long for Owen to remove the wrapping paper from the box.
Seeing that the box was square in shape, Nora could not help wondering what was inside of it. It would not surprise her if it turned out that it was a necktie, belt, wallet or something similar of that kind that was lying underneath the box.
However, one must not overlook the fact that Owen was Patrick's brother. What was more, he was married too. As a sister-in-law to him, Amelia undoubtedly knew that it would be inappropriate for her to give any of such kind as a gift for him.
She had once been told that a wallet or clothes would be the best present for a man if she wished that she could be remembered always.
Therefore, there was no way possible that Amelia was going to buy any of these items as gifts that would only create misunderstanding.
As soon as Owen opened the box, everyone was enlightened to see the actual gift that Amelia had prepared.
"It's a gun!" Ashley broke the silence first.
"I see." Nora was the next one speaking with an understanding look.
That would seem wholly justifiable for Amelia to give a gun as a present for Owen.
Staring at the content of the box, Owen gave an affirmative answer, "This is not a gun."
"Daddy, are you sure that you don't have any eyesight problem? Don't try to bluff me. It's certain of the fact that this is a gun!"
Although Ashley had never seen a gun in her real life, she could still tell from the shape and pattern that it was a gun.
Before Owen could answer her doubt, Amelia spoke at this time, "He is right. This is not a gun."
Ashley stunned for awhile before she asked, "What is this then?"
Amelia stammered, "Um... This is actually a lighter that looks like a gun."
"Puff!"
Among the seven person altogether, only Owen and Patrick had not joined their laughter.
Even Andrew who had always been shy and wary was laughing heartily on the coach.
"What's so funny now?" Amelia's face was flushing red as she cried out in panting.
If she were to blame someone, then Florence was the one that was unforgivable. After all, she had already known about this gift that Amelia had bought for Owen earlier, yet she was also the one who could not contain her laughter!
Upon seeing that Amelia was pouting in anger, Nora hurriedly pinched her thigh in hope that the pain was going to distract her from laughter.
Coming back from his senses, Owen said, "Guys, don't laugh at Amelia. I find her idea for gift is creative."
Amelia nodded aggressively as if she had finally found someone who understood her. She explained, "Exactly! Although the lighter is not a real gun after all, it is highly practical in use. Not only can it be used to frighten people, it would be useful to light up cigarettes. It's cool, right?"
"Puff!"
In fact, after Owen's words, everyone's laughter had begun fading under the cold stare of Patrick. However, as soon as Amelia finished her explanation, everybody broke into laughter again.
Even Owen could be seen struggling to contain his laughter.
Amelia could not help feeling puzzled. She did not regard herself to have said anything funny which made herself a joke right in front of everyone. Hence, she struggled to understand the reason why everyone found her speech amusing.
It did not matter anyway. Amelia would demand an answer regardless. Sounding desperate, she asked, "Why are you guys laughing at me?"
"Aunt Amelia!" Ashley struggled to straighten herself as she had already been lying on Owen's sturdy shoulder while laughing. She then said, "Daddy is quitting smoking these days. You get what I mean?"
"Huh?
Why had Florence and Patrick not told me this?"
Feeling as if she just had a heart attack as she thought, Amelia immediately glanced in direction of Florence and Patrick.
Meanwhile, the persisting laughter from the crowd kept reminding her that she had made a joke right in front of everyone. Feeling embarrassed, she directed her frustration at the two culprits, "Why didn't you tell me that Owen quitted smoking?!"
With an innocent look, Florence pointed a finger at Patrick before she gestured a sign of shushing.
Amelia immediately understood that Patrick was the main culprit to be blamed on. She could not help glancing at him before she asked, "Why didn't you tell me this?"
Squinting at her, Patrick replied casually, "He is your brother, too. Why did everyone except you know that he quits smoking? You're the only one that doesn't
know!"