ebookslot Chapter 559 - 531: Farewell
Chapter 559 - 531: Farewell
On the day of the Duanwu Festival, Simon Forrester and his wife returned to the Forrester old mansion to celebrate with Old Master Forrester.As the car passed the Grant Estate, they both looked a little longer.
The Grant Estate was as usual, with the gates tightly shut, showing no difference even with Ian Grant’s passing. Perhaps it was psychological suggestion, but both felt as if the Grant Estate exuded sadness from inside out.
Sienna Thornton withdrew her gaze and asked, "The last time we came back, it seemed that Gage Grant’s grandfather didn’t know Ian was ill. Now that he’s suddenly gone, how can the old man bear it?"
Simon Forrester shook his head, "We’ll ask Grandpa when we go inside." With that, he parked the car and turned off the engine.
The two got out of the car, and just as they entered the inner courtyard, Old Master Forrester, who was standing by the rockery feeding the goldfish, threw away the fish food in his hand and quickly greeted them, lowering his voice, "I heard Ian is gone?"
Sienna Thornton nodded.
Old Master Forrester asked, "What illness? Wasn’t he fine when you two got married? How long has it been?"
Sienna Thornton said, "Breast cancer, it was already in the late stage at that time."
Simon Forrester patted her shoulder, "Let’s talk inside."
The three of them entered the living room.
As soon as they sat down, Old Master Forrester frowned and sighed, "They all kept it from Grant until Ian was about to go, then they let Grant see him for the last time. Grant came back and just collapsed... When I went to see him, he kept muttering that his greatest regret in life was forcing Dean Thorne to marry his daughter back then..."
Old Master Grant’s words sounded like he was blaming himself, but actually, he was blaming Quentin Thorne for not treating Ian well, which caused Ian’s illness.
Sienna Thornton didn’t say anything.
Simon Forrester glanced at her, and said, "That’s why they say a forced love is not sweet. The old sayings have some truth in them."
"That’s right!" Old Master Forrester lamented, "Back when your father, you, I never interfered in your choice of partner, because I knew the foundation of any relationship is so important! Your mother was muddled then, wanting to match you with that girl from the Sinclair Family, I’ve lost count of how many times I opposed it..."
The old man kept speaking, not noticing Sienna Thornton’s face growing darker by the minute, until Simon Forrester said, "Let’s not talk about that," making the old man realize his faux pas.
The atmosphere returned to calm.
After a while, Simon Forrester asked, "What’s Grandpa Grant’s attitude now? The funeral is tomorrow. Is it still appropriate for us to go?"
"We must go, of course. We’ve been neighbors for decades, and I watched that girl Ian grow up, so I must go to send her off..."
"Okay, let’s go together tomorrow morning." Simon Forrester took Sienna Thornton’s arm and stood up, "We’ll head back to our room now, Grandpa."
"Go on, come out when it’s time to eat."
The two returned to their room, and Sienna Thornton sat wearily on the sofa, staring into the distance, lost in thought.
Simon Forrester walked over to sit beside her, "The weather’s nice today. Should we go for a stroll after lunch?"
She rested her head on his shoulder and said softly, "Where to stroll?"
"I’ll take you to buy something to eat," he smiled, lightly kissing her lips, "to buy some sweet candied hawthorn."
...
The day after the Duanwu Festival, Old Master Forrester took his grandchildren and children-in-law to the most prestigious cemetery in Brimfield to attend Ian’s funeral.
Sienna Thornton wore a small-collared black blouse tucked into black ankle pants, her face pale and devoid of lipstick, her hair simply tied in a ponytail.
She held a white chrysanthemum and walked shoulder to shoulder with Simon Forrester behind Old Master Forrester into the mourning hall.
The mourning hall was large, and at the entrance, there was a background wall made of white chrysanthemums with Ian’s photo hanging on it. The photo was framed carefully in a wooden frame, surrounded by neatly arranged small white chrysanthemums.
Sienna Thornton withdrew her complicated gaze and saw Quentin Thorne and Mina Thorne standing on the right. Opposite them was Old Master Grant in a wheelchair with Ronan Grant and family. Zachary Grant and his four sons were helping greet the friends coming to offer condolences.
Mina Thorne cried until her eyes were swollen, and Quentin Thorne also looked very gloomy.
Thomas Reed went to the visitor registry to offer condolence money and sign in, while Old Master Forrester led the other Forrester Family members forward to bow before Ian’s photo, then turned to Quentin Thorne.
Sienna Thornton and Simon Forrester followed behind the old man, bowing to Quentin Thorne after Old Master Forrester offered a "Please accept our condolences."
Looking at his eldest daughter, Quentin Thorne said nothing, only closed his eyes and nodded slightly.
Sienna Thornton knew he was telling her: "Dad’s fine, don’t worry."
She nodded back to him.
Old Master Forrester then led the Forrester Family to meet Old Master Grant. He patted his small companion sitting in the wheelchair on the shoulder, and all he could say was, "Condolences, old Grant."
Old Master Grant wiped away tears with a raised hand and nodded silently.
The mournful music played at the venue, creating a solemn and sorrowful atmosphere. Before leaving, Sienna Thornton turned back for one last look at Ian’s portrait.
The picture seemed to have been enlarged from an early years identification photo of Ian, looking younger than how Sienna Thornton remembered her.
In the photo, Ian was smiling, perhaps posing for the picture, or perhaps at that time she didn’t know Quentin Thorne had a kid in the countryside, so she thought life was quite good.
This was Ian’s last impression left to the world.
The Forrester Family exited the mourning hall and ran into Old Mr. King approaching.
Old Mr. King also led his sons and grandsons to the funeral, exchanged a few pleasantries with Old Master Forrester, and then his gaze drifted over to Sienna Thornton standing beside Simon Forrester.
Old Mr. King pulled Old Master Forrester aside, glanced at Sienna Thornton again, and then asked in a low voice, "Isn’t your granddaughter-in-law adopted by Dean Thorne? Why isn’t she helping inside?"
Old Master Forrester was taken aback, asking, "What adoption? My granddaughter-in-law is Dean Thorne’s own daughter."
Old Mr. King was also taken aback, saying, "On the day of the wedding, Old Grant told me your granddaughter-in-law was Dean Thorne’s country relative adopted by him. Isn’t that right?"
Old Master Forrester was speechless, not expecting that even after Quentin Thorne had publicly acknowledged his daughter, Old Master Grant was still deceiving himself.
The old man turned to glance at the sorrowful faces inside the mourning hall from the Grant and Thorne families, his gaze lingering on Quentin Thorne’s face for a moment.
No matter how bad his relationship with Ian was in the past, Quentin Thorne’s face still showed sadness now that she was gone.
Old Master Forrester drew back his gaze, turned around, and whispered, "Old King, I don’t know what Old Grant told you, but my granddaughter-in-law is truly Dean Thorne’s own daughter."
He stopped speaking there and signaled the other Forrester Family members to leave.
Before each got into their car, Old Master Forrester suddenly said, "Since everyone is here today, let’s just eat outside before heading back."
The group then moved to The Imperial Court Club for lunch. As soon as they entered the private room, Bianca Fordham said, "The Thorne Family kept this funeral quite low-key, didn’t they? Not even a purification banquet."
Grandma Forrester said, "Ian wasn’t that old, and both the Grant and Thorne elders are still alive, how could they give her a grand affair?"
Bianca Fordham sighed repeatedly, "As a woman, I really feel for Ian. She never got her husband’s love when she was young..."