Meeting the In-Laws

A few weeks have past and Maddie was finally going to meet Elijah's parents. She was feeling nervous, she didn't even know how to act in front of elders. "Are you nervous sweetheart?" Elijah said while hugging Maddie from behind. "Yeah, what if they don't like me or I'm not good enough for you. I'm not from some prestigious or influential family like you." Maddie said disappointedly. "Don't worry about that, as long as they know I've found someone that makes me happy. They will approve of you. Now go get ready, I've prepared your dress, it's laid on the bed. I'll wait for you downstairs." Elijah gave her a passionate kiss before he left the room. Maddie stared at the dress. It was a very simple light blue short-sleeved dress with floral embroidery on the skirt. Maddie excitedly put on the dress. She always likes to dress up but never had the opportunity to wear something nice due to her job. She put on her heels and stood up, once she took a step she fell. Since she never wore heels before. So she just removed her heels and ran downstairs because she didn't want to keep Elijah waiting.

Maddie arrived downstairs in a flash and Elijah couldn't take his eyes off her, she looked so dazzling. "Sister-in-law you look gorgeous, but why are your feet bare?" Elijah snapped out of his daze and looked at Maddie's feet when he heard what Aiden said. "Why aren't you wearing the heels I gave you?" Elijah sat her down and helped her put on her heels. "Well umm... Eli, I can't walk in these heels." Maddie said timidly. Elijah smiled and gave a pat on her head. "It's fine sweetheart, would you like to practice for a bit? We are still early and I'll be here to assist you." "Thank you, Eli." Maddie stood up and gave the man a kiss on his cheek. She practiced while holding on to Elijah and was soon able to walk elegantly by her self.

They soon arrived at an old fashioned villa. There was a big gate at the entrance and a long path straight to the villa with tall trees lining the sides. Maddie was amazed by the size of the place. The place looked very peaceful and serene for two people who were retired. They drove up to the front of the house and were warmly greeted by the servants. They were escorted to the living room where Elijah's parents were waiting. "Hi dad, mom it nice to see you again." Elijah approached his mother and gave her a kiss on her cheek while giving a slight nod to his father. "Good evening Mister and Mrs. Guino. It's nice to finally meet you. My name is Maddie Li." Maddie said sweetly. "Oh, what a beautiful girl, Elijah sure knows how to charm women." "Hehe, actually auntie, it was I who charmed Elijah." "Is that so? Come child let's go outside. I want to hear everything about you." Mrs. Guinto dragged Maddie outside while Maddie gave a look of helplessness to Elijah. Elijah just gave her a reassuring smile, then looked at his father knowing that he would want to have a talk. "Hey did everyone forget about me, I'm right here. Am I invisible or something?" Aiden said feeling rejected by everyone. "Aiden, why don't you join us. It seems like your father and Elijah have something important to talk about." Mrs. Guinto said as she looked at her husband.

The three walked out to the garden and approached a beautiful white gazebo, where there was a table set up with tea already prepared. "Come, Maddie, have a seat. Tell me how you first met my handsome son." Mrs. Guinto said excitedly. "Well auntie, we met when we were kids. I was 5 while Elijah was around 12." "Oh, you two were just children back then. Why is it that Elijah never told us this story." Mrs. Guinto said. "Well I was a wild and curious child before and Elijah was probably embarrassed that a 5-year-old was smarter than him." "Yes, my son can be a very proud boy sometimes. Okay, then what happened?" Mrs. Guinto said curiously. "Well, I was wandering around the company and spotted your son answering advanced college math problems when he startled me, making me tumble down the stairs causing a few scrapes on my knees. He was very kind and helped me sit on the stairs. I didn't even notice I was bleeding when I told him his answers were wrong. He didn't believe that I could answer it. So I made a bet with him. It was a very childish and wishful thinking bet, but he agreed easily. I answered the problems while he treated my wounds. Eli was very gentle towards me like he was handling a porcelain doll afraid to break it."

"You can say that I made quite an impression on your son because the next day he wrote me a love letter saying that he had to leave and that no matter where I am in the future, he would find me and keep his promise. Since then we have both been through difficult times in the past and it seemed hard on Elijah when he thought he lost the love of his life. But I'm glad to know that no matter what will happen in the future, I know he will always find me." Mrs. Guinto felt so touched, she never knew there was this romantic side to her son. "No wonder Elijah was so cold towards other women, he already had a wonderful wife by his side. I'm just curious why he hid this from us after all these years. If I knew he was already in love. I wouldn't have pushed him so hard before." "Oh, we're not married yet auntie or even engaged. It's still too soon to think about that." Maddie said embarrassed. "Nonsense, you two are meant to be and I'm not getting any younger. I wish to see my beautiful grandchildren grow up since this one right here has no hope." Both women laughed as they gave a slight look towards Aiden. "Mother, why must you bully me in front of sister-in-law. And I'm capable of giving you grandchildren too." Aiden pouted. "Don't mind him, Maddie, he's just grumpy since he is incapable of finding love."