The moment Axel stepped into the living room, Stella excitedly gasped and waved at him as if he had just seen a celebrity.
"Brother-in-law... you finally came."
A small, warm smile spread across Axel’s lips. "Stella," he said, amused by her exaggerated relief.
He continued walking into the room, his gaze landing on Alicia and two elders he had never met before.
They sat close together, looking both warm and slightly tense, and he immediately recognized them as Evelyn’s grandparents.
He stopped right in front of them, with his voice respectful, he greeted them, "I am sorry, sir, ma’am. I had an important call I needed to answer."
Instead of being offended, Lucy and Samuel quickly stood, smiling kindly as they extended their hands for a handshake.
"Oh no, it is all right," Lucy said, gripping his hand lightly. "We have just arrived..."
"We completely understand," Samuel added, though his smile looked a little tight.
Axel could see the uncertainty in their eyes, the way they were subtly studying him.
Samuel and Lucy were doing their best not to reveal how nervous they felt inside.
After all, this young man was Axel Knight—the kind of person they usually only saw on television or read about in a business magazine.
"Please sit, Sir... Ma’am..." Axel said, feeling a faint sense of awkwardness. He rarely dealt with polite family greetings, especially when the other party was the Walters, who had a strange, awkward relationship with his own family.
Lucy and Samuel exchanged a quick glance before Samuel cleared his throat.
"Actually... you can just call us Samuel and Lucy. No need for Sir or ma’am. We are family now."
Axel paused. He wasn’t used to addressing elders casually. It felt too familiar, too intimate.
"I... am not sure that would be appropriate," he replied honestly.
Lucy laughed softly. "We insist. If you call us ’Sir’ and ’ma’am,’ we will feel like strangers... And old."
Samuel nodded quickly. "Very old."
Axel paused for a brief moment while the two elders waited with hopeful eyes.
Finally, he gave a short nod. "All right. Samuel. Lucy."
Both elders instantly brightened, as if they had just achieved a great victory.
"You are such a polite man, Axel..." Lucy said with an apparent tone of excitement.
Axel stiffened.
Stella immediately burst out laughing, and Samuel nearly laughed out loud, watching how surprised Axel was to hear Lucy compliment him. Still, the mood in the room warmed instantly.
Axel politely asked them to sit again before turning toward Alicia.
"Alice," Axel greeted with a respectful nod.
Alicia’s tension softened. "Axel, good to see you again."
"Thank you for coming..." He said before looking at Stella. "Where are Evelyn and Oliver?"
"Oh, they’re at the front door," Stella said. "They went out to meet the Knights... I mean your grandparents."
Axel turned to the elders and said, "Please excuse me for a moment."
He left the living room quickly and headed toward the front door.
Just as he reached it, the sight outside made him slow to a stop.
He saw his mother walking toward the house, Oliver holding her hand tightly.
Behind them, his Grandmother and Grandfather walked beside Evelyn, talking happily.
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