26. Return

After a while Lara came out and said," I'll make dinner tonight. It will be my thanks to all of you for being there with me through this and because it will be my last night here. I want to make it memorable". The others smiled." I'll help you Lara", Sara said.

" Sure", she replied with a smile. Both the women went into the kitchen to make dinner.

The men returned to do some work. Liam, Mike and Tom had to make some calls. Mark went to his room and sat quietly. He was sad. He was also like Lara, hid his feelings and grieved alone.

After sometime the ladies called them for dinner. Liam was waiting to eat the tasty meal prepared by Lara.

The others weren't aware of her cooking skills so they didn't have any particular excitement though they felt a bit interested to test her culinary skills.

While sitting on the table, Sara said," I think the food might be extremely tasty. Lara didn't even allow me to get a taste of it." The others chuckled.

" Aunt Sara, surprises are best kept for the last.", she said with a smile.

The table was full. There were all kinds of food. From spring rolls to fish fingers, spaghetti to fried rice and there was caramel tart and fruit pudding for dessert.

They started tasting the dishes." Mmmmm…..", they unconsciously hummed. They couldn't believe that she had made it all alone. The rich flavour melting in their much. The unique after taste each dish had.

" You are amazing cook sis. You are hereby given the award of the best chef", Tom said while taking a bite of the fish finger.

" Now I understand why you didn't let me taste it. I can have this regularly.", Sara said.

" Actions speak louder than words" , Mike said while dumping a lot of food into his plate.

Lara had a satisfied smile on her face. The dinner was very lively. She felt she found a new family.

That night she slept peacefully.

The next morning Mark booked tickets for everybody as they also decided to return with her.

Later they went to her parent's grave.

The others left the grandfather and granddaughter stay there for a while alone. They were sitting there quietly.

Though they had solemn faces, the others could easily guess that both of them were crying inside. It was indeed a great loss for both of them. After a while they returned back.

That evening they boarded the flight to country A.

At the country A airport, there was almost not a soul there. Very few people were there and most of them seemed to be sleeping.

The brothers had tightened the security and made sure that there were no paparazzi present. They didn't want to expose the identity of their princess yet.

While walking Lara heard someone call her." Lara dear". It was Emily.

She was followed by Miles, Lina and Peter. They were told that Liam was returning today with Lara and decided to pick them up.

" Hello ma'am", she replied. Emily pulled her into a hug and said," I am so sorry dear". After a few seconds she let go of her and then Luna also gave her a quick hug. This is when they noticed the Banks family behind her. They were flabbergasted.

Mark, Mike, Tom and Sara were surprised seeing how close she was to Liam's family. But then they remembered with her character it was natural for people to make friends with her.

Emily was seeing one of her idols in front of her she didn't know how to react.

When Lara saw shocked gaze she understood what it was and said," They are my mother's family".

" What??", all four of them said in unison. She was related to Mark Banks? " I can understand this reaction. I was in a similar state when I found out.", she replied.

She then briefed them about how they met. They were shocked to find out that she was the legendary Mark Banks's granddaughter.

They said their hellos. All of them decided to leave.

Lara decided to stay at her place. The brothers were a bit unsure and scared to let her stay alone as they did not want her to take any extreme step due to her current emotional battle. They had worry all over their faces.

Having sensed what was going on in their heads, Lara said," Taking an extreme step will be a complete injustice to my parents. So you will not have to worry about it brother Tom and brother Mike."

After contemplating for sometime the brothers agreed on the condition that she answer their calls regularly.

Next day when she arrived at the office the others came forward to offer their condolences. Miles had told them that her parents had passed away but didn't tell that Liam had gone to see her.

They gave her support and offered time if she wanted to speak to them.

She just smiled and thanked them.