Chapter Thirty: An Unexpected Christmas Wish

Tia's POV

I felt my heartbeat hasten as the words had started to sink in. Did he just- No, I couldn't have heard that right. The hopeful look he had on his face however proved me wrong.

"So what do you say?" He asked nervously.

After realizing he had been sitting there awkwardly without an answer for the past couple of minutes, I answered, "Yes. Yes, I will marry you." He then closed the gap between us with a kiss. After a few moments, I pulled away, taking his hand in mine and leading him out of the kitchen.

"Where are we going?" He asked curiously.

"Somewhere where we won't be disturbed." I answered, leading him down the hall and to my room. Once we entered my room, I closed the door behind us, locking it, and kissed him again. He snaked his arms around my waist as he deepened the kiss. My arms slipped around his neck as I felt myself being pushed against the door.

"Away from the door." I told him as he started to kiss down my neck. He murmured an 'okay' against my neck before lifting me up and carrying me to the bed.

Preston B. Whitmore's POV

The morning had been quiet for the most part. The only people who had been up were Tia, Vinny, and Packard. Although judging by the way Vinny and Tia looked when they had passed by my study, they would not be around others for a while.

"Grandfather, have you seen my mother?" Olivia asked as she came into my study.

"She's discussing business with your father, he may have some interest in going back to Ember Hollow with you both." I told her, it was easier and slightly more appropriate than telling her what they were mostly likely doing. "How about we get something to eat?"

"Okay." She agreed. I stood from my chair and we walked down to the kitchen. As we made our way down the hall she asked, "Why would my father want to come back with us to Ember Hollow?"

I looked down at her, telling her the truth, "Because he loves your mother and wants to be around you both."

"Then why wasn't he?" She asked as we made our way into the kitchen. By the looks of it, breakfast had already been prepared and it was still warm.

"Sit down, eat." I told her as I poured her a cup of tea, "I'm going to tell you a story."

"About what?"

"About your parents." I responded. Her eyes widened, I knew she had been told bits and pieces of this story. She knew about her father, but not really how everything came to be. I proceeded to tell her the entire story from the pieces could gather from what I knew and from what I had been told by Vinny and Tia.

She spoke up after I had finished the story, "Why didn't he take the money?"

"He didn't feel right about taking the extra payment." I answered, "He had fallen in love with your mother and wanted to marry her; the money didn't matter to him anymore."

"Then why didn't he go after her?" She asked, taking another bite of the bread with the menemen spread, "Why didn't he marry her?"

"He felt guilty for what happened." I answered, "He thought it would be best if he gave her some time, we all did."

"Do you think he would have found us sooner if he knew I had existed?"

"I do." I nodded. I had regretted not telling him when I found out, but it hadn't been my place to tell him. I then changed the subject, "Have you given any thought to what you want for Christmas?"

"A family." She answered.

"You have a family." I told her.

"No, I want a normal family." She corrected, "I want to have two parents and a sister or brother."

That did not as I had hoped.

"What about a pet or a doll or a book?" I asked her what I could actually feasibly get her that would be plausible this Christmas.

"A pet would be nice too." She responded, "A lot of families I read about have pets."

"You done?" I asked, referring to the food. She nodded, I then placed the plates in the sink. "How about we go look at some of the artifacts in the great hall?"

"Okay." She agreed. As I led her down to the great hall, I made a note to myself to have a discussion with Tia about what her daughter had been hoping to receive this Christmas.