CHAPTER - 2 Grace proposes to Mason

Millie had already lost all her faith in this crazy daughter. She did not know how her daughter had become someone without any humanity. 

"Right now, I am worried about the other baby. Even if she was born dead, isn't she still our little baby girl. We should have at least stayed back and done all the formalities by ourselves. I am feeling so much hurt.

A part of my heart is killing me because of the guilt I am having right now. I am unable to show my full happiness even when I hold my baby girl in my hands. All I could see was her dead twin sister's face and it haunts me. I don't know how to make Grace understand that." Mason said.

His eyes were overflowing with tears and blocking his vision. Mason held his chest and closed his eyes. Millie patted his shoulders and said,

"I am responsible for how she is behaving now. If only I found out about her absurd behavior earlier then I would have not let her do what she did today. I failed to teach my daughter properly. Forgive me, Mason. I have no words to describe the guilty consciousness I am having now."

"No, no... Please do not say that. It's not like I am not a culprit in this. I knew about all these but still supported her blindly in her every action. So, Mom, it's my fault, not yours." Mason stated.

The plane took off and Millie looked outside with teary eyes. If only her daughter had a little bit of maturity as her son-in-law, she would have not been pushed into such a situation today. 

“Grace did very well in all other aspects but when it comes to making choices, she always wants the best among them all. She forgets that even the ones which are not the best are actually not bad and they are good.

During her school days, she was the topper in all the subjects. She even got a complete scholarship when she joined the best medical college in the city. But what is the use of all these things, when she lacks compassion,” Millie complained.

“I hope our daughter Tina will be able to change her way of thinking. I know somewhere in her heart, she is still tender-hearted and some warmth is left. I saw the motherly love and concern in her eyes for Tina. So I don’t think it will be long before she realizes her mistake and accepts our other daughter Dina,” Mason said.

Millie shook her but did not speak against her son-in-law’s pensive wishes. When her father, Liam was alive, he selected a few candidates for her marriage proposal. But Grace as usual had other plans. She chose the best eligible bachelors in that country to spend her life with.

Mason, he was an elite businessman and his company stood on the top of all. Liam hesitated. Even though they were rich but compared to Mason, he was just a small businessman who runs a few motels across the country.

That did not stop Grace. She was working as a resident at one of the topmost hospitals at that time. She was only left with a couple of months before completion.

She went straight to Mason's company and proposed to him in front of everyone. She was fearless and her straightforwardness impressed Mason. So he accepted her proposal. 

"I am Grace. I think we should try dating, what do you think?" Grace asked him directly.

Mason looked at the woman in front of him with a broad smile. She looked determined and she would not let go until she heard a positive answer from him.

"Why not? By the way, I am Mason," Mason replied.

"I know. I spoke to your parents first before coming to meet you here. I asked for their permission and they are delighted with me. I hope you would share the same feelings towards me." Grace said while looking straight into his eyes.

At that moment, both of them missed noticing the shadow that was lurking near them. After the shadow started to place an enchanting spell on both of them, Mason's eyes instantly turned dreamy.

"Why not let us get married instead? Since you like me and I like you, isn't it better to take the next step instead of wasting our time dating?" Mason asked.

Everyone around them was shocked after what they had heard. Grace always achieved what she wanted every time by any means without considering anyone's feelings. 

As Mason agreed instantly without her putting any effort, she almost looked at him with a blank expression. It took her a long while to process what he just said.

"So when should we get married?" Mason's next question left everyone speechless including Grace.

But she quickly came out of her daze and said, "Why not now? My dad has told me that we should never delay once we made a decision. So let's go."

She held his hand and walked out of the building. They registered their marriage that day. In a week, they had a grand marriage and reception. As she had only two months left for her residency to complete, they went on a honeymoon trip after that. 

Millie used to feel happy that she gave birth to such a fortunate daughter whenever Grace accomplished any victory. She was content with her daughter's choice. She truly felt happy that Grace got a more outstanding and understanding husband.

She didn’t know at that time that all her praises had made her daughter snobbery and disdainful. Millie did not even realize that she was turning her daughter into a monster. Her daughter had now become an emotionally unstable person when she could not get what she wanted.

Now she finally understood that Grace was actually not the best child in this world as she had always thought. Her heart ached for the dead infant who was left alone at the hospital.

'Should I have stayed back? I am an idiot to give in to my daughter even this time. I am sorry, baby Dina for being such a horrible grandmother. May your soul rest in peace', Millie asked for forgiveness from her other grandchild.

After a few hours into the journey, Mason got worried as Grace did not come out of the room for a long time. He stood up from the seat and went to the bedroom to check on his wife and the baby.

When he opened the door to the small bedroom at the back of the plane, he saw the mother and daughter were sleeping next to each other. The infant held Grace's hand and had put one finger into her mouth. She started to suck Grace's thumb slowly. He walked towards them to remove her finger from the baby's mouth.

"Shh... Go away. My daughter is sleeping, do not disturb her…" Grace whispered impatiently.

That made Mason leave the room immediately. He came out with a complicated expression on his face. If it was Grace from earlier, she could never let the baby suck her thumb. Looking at his weird expression, Millie asked,

"What happened? Did she once again behave like a senseless person?"

"No, actually she is too attached to the child. But, I am still unable to understand why she would leave her other child back in the hospital? She did not even let me see the baby's face." Mason complained.

"Do you still not understand her character yet, after staying with her for so long? She wants the best in everything and to achieve that she would go to any length. She cannot endure seeing a tiny speck of dust in our house. She had fired almost four hundred and fifty-seven people till now and the counting is still going on.

When she came to know that she could not conceive a child of her own, she almost lost her will to live on. You convinced her that being a doctor, and especially as a gynecologist, she must know that there were other ways to have a child. The medical field has improved a lot but there is no cure for a person whose heart is as dark as her." Millie commented as she recalled that fateful day.

It made her heart bleed. She kept quiet for a few minutes. Her daughter had broken almost everything she could see or reach with her octopus hands. She walked like a dead woman who just came out of the grave after being buried for a day. She could not take in the report that showed she could never become pregnant in this lifetime.

"Yes, I did convince her but now I deeply regret it. We both could have lived together happily. But that moment, I could not see her struggle with herself. I was afraid of each passing day after she came to know that she could never become a mother. So, I brought the best candidates in, for surrogacy. But who would have known that the woman we choose would have complications and even falsify the data just to earn money? When we realized the truth it was already too late and she was pregnant with our twin babies for almost five months." Mason said.