Journey to Happy Ending

Chapter 1798 Joyce’s Unrequited Love (Part Two)

"Mom! Geez!" Justin cried. Daisy caught him in a particularly naked moment. Justin quickly grabbed

the bath towel he had just dumped on the bed and wrapped it around his waist again to cover up his

sensitive parts.

"So what? I'm your mom. I've seen you naked hundreds of times," Daisy responded calmly, her face

passive. Her thoughts were anything but. 'What a coincidence! I never expected him to be just out of

the shower the minute I walked in. He was wearing briefs though, so why the over-the-top

embarrassment?'

"Could you please, please knock first next time? You're just like dad." 'Every frigging time, ' Justin

complained inwardly, rolling his eyes. He had already moved to the upstairs bedroom to stop her from

just barging in, but it didn't seem to be effective.

"Never," Daisy bluntly refused.

Justin gracefully walked in front of the mirror. "Well, you're up late. Why hasn't dad come and picked

you up?" Justin said with a sidelong glance at his mother as he just started drying his hair

"You know as well as I do how drunk he is. You saw him at the party downing shot after shot. How

about you and I have a little talk?" Daisy offered. If Edward hadn't been drunk. she wouldn't have

gotten this rare chance to talk with her son right now.

"Okay, what's up? Wait, just to be clear, not a word about getting married," Justin said abruptly while

styling his hair in front of the mirror.

"It's not about getting married. It's about Joyce," Daisy replied. She then studied his face for the

slightest reaction. She got nothing.

"Joyce? What about her? Does she have a boyfriend now?" Justin wondered out loud. He hadn't

noticed anything particularly different about her at the party just awhile ago.

"No. I just wanted to ask... what do you think about her?" The moment the words left her mouth, Daisy

winced and started to regret why she was the one having this talk with her son. She should have left it

to Edward, who was a smooth talker and had thick skin. He was perfect for this, he wouldn't even break

a swear.

"She's great. Elegant and beautiful," Justin answered almost automatically.

"So do you like her?" Could she be wrong? Was there a chance that Justin was into Joyce too?

"Of course! She's like my sister. How can I not like her?" Justin blurted out, chuckling as well. Suddenly,

his eyes narrowed. He realized something was off. Why in the hell was his mom in his room this late at

night, asking all these weird questions?

"Oh, so you only see her as a sister." Needless to say, Daisy was disappointed.

"And so? Mom, why are you in my room in the middle of the night? Asking all these questions? Is there

something I should know about?" Justin started walking towards Daisy and leaned forward. He drew

his face close to his mother's, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Nothing. I was just asking for your Aunt Annie. We were talking during the party and she thought

Joyce was too quiet and was worried that she might have a hard time finding a boyfriend. Since you

two grew up together and are close, maybe you'd know before us if she has a boyfriend." Daisy

diverted the subject so smoothly, Edward would have been proud of her. She promised Joyce to keep

her feelings a secret, so a secret it shall remain.

"If that's all, we already asked her this morning. She doesn't have a boyfriend. There, you got your

answer. You happy now?" Justin shook his head. Joyce was still at the peak of her youth and these

women were already worried about her marriage. When would this ever stop?

"Well, okay then. Have you ever considered you and her, getting together?" Daisy probed further.

"What are you talking about, Mom? Me and Joyce?" Justin dismissed the thought incredulously. "She's

my sister. That is too many questions for one night. Go check up on dad in case he throws up. It won't

be easy to clean up, you know that." He then turned around, took off the towel from his waist, flung it

aside, and slid under the covers. Considering he had to work earlier and party at night, he was

exhausted.

"Oh, right! I almost forgot about him. Alright, I'm going. Let's talk again some other time. Goodnight!"

Daisy took one last look at Justin who was already in bed with his eyes shut. She then hurried

downstairs, worried that Edward might throw up in bed. It had a small chance of happening though.

"Okeydokey. Shut the door when you leave, please." Justin sighed and then he heard the door slam

shut. Her mom might've been a little angry.

Justin opened his eyes. Silence filled the room now that his mother was gone. His eyes drifted towards

the nearby window. It offered a perfect view of the night sky and its full moon. He had long suspected

that Joyce had a thing for him. His mom's visit made the answer crystal clear. He was sure about it.

He gave another sigh, a deeper one. He wondered how he was supposed to go about the problem. It

was not that Joyce wasn't good enough for him, it was just that he had always treated her like a sister.

He never saw her in a romantic way. It just wouldn't happen between them. He then got too frustrated,

and let sleep take him. Soon, he was fast asleep, his face illuminated by the moon.

The next morning, getting out of bed turned out to be a hard challenge for Jasmine. She was so sleepy

that she brushed her teeth with her eyes closed.

"Jasmine, hurry up! Uncle Brian is waiting and he called to tell us to be quicker," Justin urged his lazy

sister. It was the weekend, so the kids and Brian decided to visit their grandpa.

"Tell Uncle Brian he's annoying. He should know girls significantly need more time than boys to get

ready," Jasmine complained. Waking up so early irritated her. She splashed some cold water on her

face to wake her up a little.

"Well, you tell him yourself. I won't be your messenger." Justin said resignedly. Every day it was like

this. Every day, she had to be so dramatic about getting up.

"Okay, maybe I will. Now get out. I have to get dressed." Jasmine pouted as she hurriedly opened the

wardrobe to find her outfit for the day.

"Five minutes, okay? I'll wait for you downstairs," Justin told her after he checked his watch. He then

left the room.

As he was descending the staircase, he spied Daisy looking up. She had been waiting for them to

come down.

"Is Jasmine not ready yet?" Daisy asked with a frown. That girl was always the last to get ready

whenever they had plans to leave the house.

"Yeah, she's changing her clothes already. Mom, can't you go with us?" It had been so many years

already, but Daisy still couldn't forgive her father. She was just too stubborn.

"No, I won't. I'll go check on your father." Daisy obviously made an excuse to avoid the touchy subject.

Was she still angry at Leo? She wasn't actually, for a long time now. She just knew it would be

extremely uncomfortable around him.

Justin winced at his mom's reaction. He knew it was painful for her to revisit what her father did. He still

didn't know what exactly that was, but he did find himself curious about what his grandfather did to

make his mom hold a grudge for so many years.

Daisy entered the bedroom she shared with her husband. "Have the kids left?" Edward asked, sitting

down across their coffee table. He noticed her face was drained of color. He knew she still hadn't

forgiven Leo; the past was still haunting her.

"Nope. Not yet. Jasmine is still getting ready upstairs." Daisy sat across him and took a sip of tea to

hide her emotions from Edward.

"How about we go with them?" Edward asked. Although she would never admit it, her reactions gave

away the fact that she wanted to see Leo too. He was still her father after all.

"You can go with them if you want to. I'll pass as always." She had already allowed the kids to visit him.

For her, she'd done enough. She didn't and wouldn't go see him herself.

"Is this really necessary? He's still your father. And, he's been having issues with his health recently.

How many years will he be around before you regret it?" He had been trying his hardest to get her to

reconcile with her father, but she never wavered.

"That's not my problem and it doesn't concern me at all," she retorted, her face betraying her concern.

The last time Leo fell and was hospitalized, she had been so nervous. Still, despite this, she was still

too stubborn to show her emotions. It must weigh heavily on her sometimes.

"Honey, sometimes we all need to learn to let go. If we don't, the things we have to let go will consume

us and control our lives eventually. You think your mother would have liked this? To see this never

ending grudge between you and your father?" Daisy's mother died because of Leo. It was his biggest

mistake. It haunted him all his life. His agony and pain drove everyone away and he ended up alone.

"If you want to talk about that thing, I'll have to leave. Stay here and talk to yourself." Daisy stood up,

pretending to leave.

"Fine. I'll stop bringing it up. It's your day off today. Let me take you out, okay?" He decided to yield on

that topic, for now.

"I really don't feel like going out today. I walk and march in the military base everyday. Today's my day

off, so there's no way I'm going out to walk again. I'll just have a nice rest here at home." She had

already visited all the worthwhile spots in the city. Nothing would interest her anymore. Besides, the

matter with Leo gave her more things to think over.