Outside the car, Lilly asked bewilderedly, "What's going on?"
She couldn't shake off the feeling that her uncles were interrogating Ivan. But he's not a criminal!
Then, Ivan stepped out of the car, followed by her several uncles.
Bryson beckoned to her with a smile. "Lilly, come on in."
While Edward and Jonas were busy "escorting" Ivan out of the car, Bryson took advantage of the moment and promptly pulled Lilly into the vehicle.
When Edward and Jonas turned around again, they saw Lilly, Hannah, Blake, Drake, Josh, and Zachary sitting in Anthony's extended Lincoln, driving away.
Good Lord, these b*tards are crafty! Edward and Jonas exclaimed.
At that, the two quickly hopped into their cars and headed home, leaving Ivan standing rooted to the ground, watching the departing convoy with a faint smile.
Silently, he loosened his fists and shook his hands. No one other than him would know that they were long drenched in nervous sweat.
…
The next day was Bettany's birthday, and everyone was thinking about what gift to get for the elderly lady.
Lilly pondered, wanting to prepare a unique gift for her grandmother… But what would be a good gift?!
That night, she received another call from Ivan.
"Lilly, sneak out. I have something for you," the young man said over the phone.
Recalling that he had asked her to wait for him after school, Lilly finally realized that he had wanted to give her something.
With that, she teleported outside Crawford Mansion in a flash, avoiding Dexter and the others.
"Ivan, where are you?" Lilly looked around but couldn't find him.
Suddenly, a hand reached out from beside her and grabbed her hand. With a subtle glow, Ivan led Lilly away from the Crawford Mansion to a grassy area near Riverside Park.
"What's wrong, Ivan?" Lilly was surprised by his actions.
"I mainly didn't want your dad and the others to find out…" Ivan answered, and Lilly understood, nodding. "I get you. My dad and uncles can get quite strange. What did they ask you earlier today?"
Ivan cleared his throat and said, "Nothing much, just some questions about the Nether. They are concerned about whether you've really been well down there."
Lilly was touched. It turned out that her uncles were worried that she might be hiding something from them, not sharing anything upsetting.
"They can get really overprotective of me." Lilly smiled. "I'm really sorry for the trouble my uncles caused, asking you so many questions."
Ivan shook his head. "It's fine. I wasn't in a hurry anyway."
The two sat down on the grassy lawn by Riverside Park, where it was rather quiet at 11 p.m., with only occasional couples strolling by the dam.
Ivan lowered his gaze to Lilly, involuntarily looking at her hands…
His heart suddenly raced, and he quickly turned his face away.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Anyone Dares Bully you, Call Uncles!