Cancel the marriage

'More than a family, I just met only one person from my biological family side. Then what about my other family members? Are they as friendly as this grandmother or… If I ask about them, will this grandma think that I am interested in going with her?' Dina wondered while clenching her fist.

As the silence was too much to take in, Millie broke the stillness. The awkwardness had surrounded the room and she coughed before saying,

"Let us all have some cake for dessert," Millie suggested.

"Sure! Sure! Yes, yes," Kara said and rushed towards the kitchen to get the cake.

She ran like she was escaping from a ferocious animal that was chasing her. Dina followed behind her and went inside the kitchen.

"Mom..." She stood behind Kara and looked at her shaky hands.

"I will get the plates and spoons. Can you get the cake?" Dina put the cake on her mother's hand turned around.

She brought the cutlery along with the serving plates. Kara and Dina avoided looking into each other's eyes as they both were afraid that the current situation would get worse if they spoke anything.

Once Kara placed the cake on the coffee table, Dina kneeled on the floor next to the table and cut the cake into small slices. She then placed it on four plates and handed one to Millie.

"We are only three here, who did you get the fourth plate for?" Millie asked.

Dina did not have the mind to tell her that it was for the shadowy figure, who was standing next to her. Instead, she said,

"It's for Mike. Once he comes back, I will give it to him."

They all ate in silence and did not continue to speak anymore. Millie found it difficult to swallow the cake as it got stuck in her throat. She sighed and stood up.

"I am leaving and will come back tomorrow to discuss a few important matters," Millie said and bid good-bye to Kara and Dina.

"Grandma, your phone," Dina rushed behind her and handed the phone to Millie.

"Thank you, dear," Millie said and rubbed her head.

Before leaving she hugged Dina tightly and kissed her forehead.

"I am sorry. I came so late to meet you, dear. We all love you and it was a small misunderstanding that separated us," Millie said with a heavy heart and embraced her again.

Even though she very well knew that it was not any small misunderstanding. But she couldn't bring herself to disclose the truth and hurt Dina. She knew it would break this innocent child's heart.

Dina smiled awkwardly but did not push Millie away from embracing. Kara felt suffocated and turned her head away from them. She understood that this might be the only night she had got with Dina. 

At one point, she couldn't take it anymore and walk near them. She held Dina's arm firmly and pulled her away. 

Millie noticed that and let go of Dina immediately. She patted Dina's shoulders and walked outside the gate. She then waved her hands at the mother and daughter pair before getting into the car that was parked in front of their home. 

Dina and Kara stood in the entrance holding each other's hands until the car disappeared from their eyes.

Once Millie got into the car, she took her phone and dialed Mason's phone number. He picked up that call before it could even ring once. It seemed like he was holding his phone all the time and waiting for her call very badly.

"Mom, what happened? Did you meet my daughter?" Mason asked hurriedly.

"Calm down. Yes, I did. But…" Millie hesitated.

"Did she say she would not agree to our request?" Mason asked.

"No," Millie replied.

"Yes, I knew it. I already knew this was not a good idea. We should have not used this to try to bring her back home. It's my mistake mom, I am sorry..." He started to lament until Millie stopped him.

"Mason, listen. I did not even speak to her about that yet. I couldn't find a good opportunity to start the topic at all. I am going back to the hotel now. I will leave early in the morning and try to convince her to come with me. 

After I bring Dina there, we will think and then decide if we want to talk her into this marriage or not. The situation right now is completely out of our control. I am not sure if she would even agree to come with me or not in the first place," Millie explained.

"Ok, Mom. Over here Grace is asking about Tina, like, every two seconds. It's getting difficult to manage her, every passing minute. I don't know what to do!" Mason told her.

"Try to manage that Devil for one more day. I will be back as soon as I can," Millie said.

"Ok, Mom. But the marriage…" Mason didn't know what to say or how to say it.

"Mason, Relax. I think if you ask me, we should not proceed with this marriage plan. We cannot let it happen. Try to convince your wife to stop this marriage from happening. Meanwhile, I will try to bring my granddaughter home. 

But if she is unwilling to come, then I can't do anything about it. I will let her stay here with her adopted mother. She is not a minor whom we can force to come with us. Even for that, there will be a lot of formalities. Let us just hope for the best," Millie explained to him.

"Fine, Mom. Please do as you find it appropriate. I will try to talk to Grace and convince her to cancel this marriage," Mason said and disconnected the call.

Millie looked outside the car and held her head. 

'Dina is pregnant and she definitely cannot marry Adrian now. We have to inform him about what happened to Tina and beg for his forgiveness. This marriage cannot happen at any cost,' Millie made a firm decision.

But whether the marriage could be cancelled or not was in their hands.

...

"Mike, where do you think you are going? Don't you always hate dark alleys the most?" Benjamin asked and ran behind Mike.

When Mike and Benjamin reached the nightclub, Mike remembered that he found the hat near the exit of this dark alley. So, he started to move towards that place. Benjamin was hurt when he noticed his son walk away before he even entered the night club.

"Dad, do you know any way to find if there is a shadow near this place?" Mike asked while trying to find any evidence in the area which might help him find the man, Dina spent that night with.

"Are you saying Dina met a shadow here and the shadow might be the cause of her pregnancy?" Benjamin asked while gripping Mike's arm.

If that was the case then his wife Aran would definitely show him what hell is! 

"No! I am just asking because I want to know if those shadows saw anything last month. If we want to know what happened to Dina that night, then we have to find out all the details somehow," Mike said.