FreeBooksOnline Chapter 252: Dreams
Chapter 252: Dreams
The morning sun filtered softly through the curtains, casting a warm golden glow across the quiet house.
Inside the kitchen, Tristan stood by the counter, carefully cracking eggs into a bowl, though his attention wasn’t entirely on the task, a little someone was perched comfortably on his shoulders, her tiny hands resting on his head.
"Shh, be quieter," Tristan whispered, glancing toward the stairs. "Today is your Mom’s big day. We want to give her a lovely breakfast in bed, not wake her up."
Leah nodded seriously, placing a finger against her lips. "Okay, Daddy... but you have to sprinkle in the salt or it’ll be too bland."
Tristan chuckled under his breath and reached for the salt shaker. "Yes, Chef."
He sprinkled just the right amount, following her instructions like they were sacred rules.
"How do you know how to cook, princess?" he asked, smiling. "Daddy is impressed."
Leah grinned proudly, lifting her chin. "Daddy’s princess knows how to do everything."
"That, I do not doubt," he said warmly.
Behind them, Leo leaned against the doorway, his arms crossed, watching the scene unfold with quiet amusement.
"You’re going to burn it," he pointed out flatly to his father.
"I am not," Tristan replied, flipping the eggs with surprising skill.
Leah leaned forward slightly. "Daddy won’t burn it. I’m supervising."
Leo rolled his eyes, "I’m serious, Daddy’s skills in the office might be great, but in the kitchen his skills are pitiful."
"Alright, come here little boss, show me how it’s done." Tristan lifted him onto the counter.
Leo looked satisfied, he started to instruct his father as if he owned the whole kitchen. Both kids giggling and laughing at their father’s mistakes, in the end, a slightly nice looking breakfast was prepared.
Tristan carefully arranged everything on a tray, the eggs, toast, fruit, and a neatly poured glass of juice. Leah insisted on placing a small flower in the corner of the tray.
"For Mommy," she said softly.
Tristan smiled, his heart warming at the gesture.
"Let’s go," he whispered.
They walked quietly upstairs, Tristan balancing the tray while Leo opened the door gently.
Inside, Celine was already awake, propped up against the headboard, her golden blonde hair loosely falling over her shoulders and her phone against her ear.
"...and the main character didn’t realize it until the last scene right? I’m going through the whole script right now..."
She stopped mid-sentence as the door opened.
Leah beamed. "Mommy!"
Celine looked up, her face lighting up instantly at the sight of them. She hung up her call and opened her arms to Leo who instantly jumped into the bed next to her.
"Mommy, Daddy made you breakfast," Leah announced proudly as Tristan walked in. "I didn’t teach him how to do it, he made it all by himself."
Tristan raised a brow. "Yes princess, go ahead and expose the fact that you taught your father how to make breakfast."
He whispered secretively to her and she leaned down to whisper back, "Mommy won’t know that."
Celine chuckled at their little exchange.
Tristan proceeded into the room, placing the tray gently on the bed.
Celine laughed softly. "Oh, wow! I’m impressed."
Leo smirked slightly. "You shouldn’t be Mommy, it isn’t that great."
"Hey," Tristan warned lightly. He was always bantering with the little boy and they argued about everything, like the stock market, or rising losses in certain industries, sometimes he had to remind himself that he was the adult here, he shouldn’t be arguing with a kid over important stuff, but the little rascal seemed cut out of his own flesh, their minds seemed to work on the same wavelength, and his little boy was smart as hell. He’d have no choice but to give in to him sometimes.
Celine shook her head, smiling as she looked at her family. "Thank you... all of you for this lovely breakfast."
Tristan leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.
They all climbed onto the bed, the space quickly turning lively and warm.
Leah insisted on feeding Celine a piece of toast, missing her mouth slightly and giggling.
"Careful," Tristan chuckled.
Leo started sharing his ideas with his father, even while eating, occasionally pausing only to correct Leah or comment on Tristan’s cooking.
"Not bad, It actually tastes really good," he admitted, deliberately teasing his father.
Tristan looked mock-offended. "Actually? Are you still insinuating my cooking skills are terrible?" He grabbed the kid and tickled him.
Celine laughed, the sound light and full of joy as she looked at them all.
Everyday of their lives were filled with soft moments like these, and nothing else mattered...
Just this.
---
Later that evening...
Celine stood before the mirror, dressed in a breathtaking, white evening gown that flowed elegantly around her. The soft shimmer of the fabric caught the light, making her look almost ethereal.
The name Cristal was now known as an exclusive brand, celebrities who appeared wearing Cristal were praised to the moon. She recalled several months ago where Lilian had tried to have a custom design from her brand only to be dropped last minute, just a few days before her premier. The latter had been absolutely shocked to find out the face behind the brand. She had refused to believe that the Cristal she had been seeking out was actually her half sister whom she’d sworn to destroy.
After her career crumbled like a house of cards, Lilian had instantly gone into hiding, and since Celine found out that she had nothing to do with the rumors around her five years ago, she had completely let go of any thoughts of revenge against her.
As for her father Timothy Roberts, well she had taken over Silver line Realty, and it had felt absolutely satisfying to watch the man crumble to his knees.
’You ruined my mother happily with no regrets, I hope for the rest of your life you remember how much you’ve hurt her and everything you’ve lost because of that.’
Celine sighed, shaking off the bitter memories.
Behind her, Tristan adjusted his cufflinks as he came out of the walk in closet then stopped in his tracks when his eyes fell on her, he stood leaning against the wall, his eyes never moving away from her.
"You’re staring," she said softly, meeting his gaze through the mirror.
"I can’t help it. My wife is so fucking gorgeous!" he replied honestly.
Turning to face him, she smiled. "You’ve seen me a thousand times."
"And everytime I realize that I’m a lucky bastard, this woman is mine."
Her expression softened, Tristan stepped closer wrapping his arms around her waist, he leaned down to drop a light kiss on her lips, then brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Nervous?"
"A little," she admitted. "I’ve been dreaming about this moment for a very long time."
She had been nominated for best actress a few months after the official release of The Stars We Steal, a film that instantly soared the charts. Her popularity had come in full force, soaring to heights even she couldn’t imagine.
Seeing the trace of uncertainty in her eyes, a mysterious smile played on Tristan’s lips. He took her hand, squeezing it gently. "There’s no need to worry, you’ve already won."
She tilted her head. "How?"
Tristan paused, should he tell her he already knew the outcome of tonight’s award ceremony? He already knew who would take home which awards, and she shouldn’t be worried or nervous because her hard work had paid off.
"You’re the absolute best at everything you do, darling. No one deserves that award more than you do."
Her eyes glistened faintly, but before she could respond, a knock came on the door.
"Ma’am, the limo is here," her assistant announced from outside.
Celine exhaled softly, then smiled. "Time to go."
---
The moment they arrived, the flashes were blinding. A long, sprawling red carpet laid at the entrance like a grand welcome into a palace ball.
People were awed to see a beautiful little girl, dark hair and beautiful ocean blue eyes step out of the limo like a princess, next came a little boy, the perfect image of Tristan Grayson with golden blonde hair. When the couple stepped down with ther children, cameras clicked nonstop.
This couple had set a gold standard in Neville, many now refered to Tristan as the golden husband.
One time he had bought half the city his wife would be driving through that morning, turning every billboard, every poster into images of her, the man had basically turned Neville into his wife’s private museum with signs titled; Things I Love About You.
Women had gone berserk across the city about how absolutely romantic of a gesture that was.
Another time he’d hired a master perfumer to create a scent based on her skin, her personal scent. The luxury perfume master who worked for the biggest brands all around the world created two bottles of a perfume called; Cèline. One Tristan gave to his wife for her personal use and the other...rumors said he kept it in his personal safe as his prized possession.
It is also a well known fact that he leaves every board meeting for her, it’s a quiet rule now in the business world, if she calls, he leaves. One certain time left a big impression on people’s minds, it was said that in the middle of the biggest annual conference between Grayson Corp and other international companies, he paused the entire conference for a five minute call just to hear about her newly planted orchids blooming in their garden, and no one at the conference dared to say a word throughout the call with his wife.
Many have witnessed several outrageous shopping sprees where he buys everything his wife sets her eyes on and when she says she doesn’t want everything he merely tells her to pick the ones she wants and toss the rest.
Now there were dedicated blogs, and channels talking about their married life, at least snippets of it they catch in public and every rumor about them. Many fan pages dedicated to idolizing the couple.
Cameras clicked rapidly on the red carpet as reporters called out her name.
"Celine! Over here!"
"Your beautiful marriage is the envy of the whole world right now, are you happy as Mrs Grayson?"
"Celine, is it true that your marriage is only outwardly beautiful?" Reporters bombarded her with questions.
She paused for just a moment at the entrance, Tristan stood beside her, Celine turned slightly toward him, and the two shared a quiet look.
Then she faced the cameras again, offering a mysterious, smile but no words, and somehow, that said everything.
---
Inside the grand hall, the atmosphere buzzed with anticipation.
Celine sat gracefully, but her fingers fidgeted slightly in her lap, Tristan noticed immediately. Without a word, he reached over and took her hand, threading his fingers through hers.
She looked at him.
"You’re okay," he murmured.
She nodded, exhaling softly as his presence steadied her. All her life she’d had this dream, to be named best actress, six years ago at the start of her career she hadn’t gotten to fulfill that dream, it made her nervous now because the her in the seat was her nineteen year old self who practiced lines, went to auditions, endured her father’s abuse, hoping she could make her dream come true, hoping...
"And the award for Best Actress goes to..."
The gigantic hall itself held its breath in anticipation,
"Celine Grayson."
For a second, everything seemed to stand still.
Then the applause erupted.
Celine blinked, stunned, her hand tightening in Tristan’s.
He smiled at her, pride shining in his eyes. "Go on."
She stood slowly, emotions rising in her chest as she made her way to the stage.
And as she walked forward, under the lights, she stopped for a moment, turning around to look at her husband and the two little angels who had been sitting next to her. In that moment she realized...
No matter how bright the spotlight was...
Her true light had always been waiting for her at home, with this beautiful family she had built.