Chapter 277 - Uncovering The Veil
"Hi Grandma, how are you?" Oscar replied in Swedish when his grandmother put an arm around his shoulder.
"Great, my grandson. So this is the woman you were talking about before?" The grandmother asked again in a language completely foreign to Lisa's ears.
"Ah, this is my grandmother. Lisa, Brigitta. Grandma, this is Lisa, my future wife," said Oscar in English. He tapped Lisa's shoulder while turning his palm towards Brigitta.
Lisa lowered her head while shaking the old woman's hand. Her lips smiled pleasantly when Brigitta's two clear blue eyes met Lisa's dark eyes. "Hello, I'm Lisa. Nice to meet you," Lisa replied in English.
"Hey, Lisa! Nice to meet you. I heard so much from Oscar about you. He said that he can't forget you every day at the office!" Brigitta said pleasantly.
Hearing those words just now, Lisa laughed lightly as she blushed. "Ah, grandma it's not true.."
"Eh, don't call me grandma! Just call me Brigitta," the old woman sounded stern and carefree. She patted Lisa's shoulder so firmly that the younger woman was a little surprised.
It seemed that Lisa still carried her Eastern culture when Brigitta told her to call her without using a title or honorific like she used to call an older person back in Indonesia. In the place where Oscar lived, no matter how old or young, it was enough just to call by name. There was no need for a special designation for the elder like commonly used in Asia.
Lisa felt a bit uncomfortable to call Oscar's grandmother by her first name only. She lowered her head and said, "Is that okay? I'm sorry but I'm not feeling good about it. It's rude to call older people just by their name in my home country,"
"Ah, you are so formal, Lisa! Take it easy! After a while, you will get used to calling me by my first name only. Anyway, let's come in!"
Brigitta Petersson was Oscar's paternal grandmother. Mother of four children, one of whom was Peter Petersson, who was none other than Oscar's biological father, who inherited the the multinational telecommunications company— Petersson Communication. The Petersson family's status in their home country was highly respected and held great power in the business world.
Even though they were part of a very wealthy family, the Petersson family was still one of the families who loved simplicity and lived humbly, unlike the millionaire families in Indonesia. No wonder that Oscar's residence did not look frenetic like a luxury house owned by a well-known artist in Indonesia.
When Lisa stepped into the ancient house that was still standing strong, she was greeted with beautiful furniture in the old North European style. There were not too many extravagant decorations in the house. The walls were covered with predominantly white wallpaper accented by thin blue lines, giving a fresh and spacious impression.
"Lisa, you must be very tired from the long journey here. How about we chat while drinking coffee?" Brigitta asked.
Lisa just nodded in agreement.
"I heard that Indonesians really like drinking coffee. Is that true?" Brigitta asked as she stirred the unsweetened coffee cup and handed it to Lisa. "Oh, don't forget this cinnamon roll, go with it."
Lisa grabbed the steaming cup of coffee along with a small plate from Brigitta. She blew on its surface and then breathed in the soothing fragrance. "That's true, most Indonesians like to drink coffee," she said in reply to Brigitta's question just now.
"This coffee is delicious by the way! This is the first time I have this delicious unsweetened coffee," Lisa said sincerely. Her eyes were sparkling.
"It's good if you like the coffee. By the way, how's Sweden? Isn't it beautiful?" The woman asked, then took a sip of coffee with one hand. Even though she was over 70 years old, Brigitta's young soul seemed excited from the way she behaved. Her style showed like a young independent tomboy woman. Oscar's grandmother must have had a scuffling hobby when she was young.
"It's good, Brigitta, but so cold! I still can't adapt to this extreme weather," Lisa replied frankly. She returned to sipping her coffee.
Hearing this honest and straightforward answer just now made Brigitta very happy with Lisa. She crossed her legs while leaning her arms over the back of the sofa like a big boss. "Oscar, I love this woman! She is not shy and dares to speak her mind!"
Oscar smiled faintly from behind his coffee cup as he glanced at Lisa. The two lovebirds exchanged glances then looked back at Brigitta who was smiling happily.
"So Lisa, tell me a little about your family, I really want to know what your family is like," Brigitta asked before taking a sip of her coffee.
Hearing the question just now made Lisa feel like being hit by a truck. Her throat suddenly caught. If she were to tell Oscar's grandmother the truth, would this old woman with a young heart accept it?
But she didn't want to lie anymore. She mustered up the courage to speak up. "I was born into a poor family, my father left my mother for a long time because he married a richer woman. When my mother asked for a divorce, my father hung up on her divorce papers. Luckily, Oscar helped me solve my parents' divorce problem," she said, looking at Oscar.
"Is that true, Oscar? Wow, my grandson you are really great! Grandma is proud of you!" Brigitta said, patting Oscar's wide shoulder.
"It's my responsibility to protect and help Lisa, Grandma." The man took another sip of his coffee, which was only half left.
"Better that way Oscar, don't you dare to hurt this woman! She really is the right choice!" Brigitta fiercely added. Her eyes glowed with joy.
"I initially felt sorry for Lisa who needed help but she still insisted on wanting to be independent. I was so stubborn, at that time my help was rejected! Lisa was still trying to work as hard as possible to support her broken family. How could I not appreciate that persistence, Grandma? That's why I fell in love with her over time," the man grasped Lisa's cold palm then looked at her with an affectionate gaze.
"Oscar, you are a master of flirting!" Lisa replied with a carefree tone.
Brigitta laughed when she heard Lisa's very honest and straightforward words. "I love your style, Lisa! Oscar used to have a girlfriend, an Indonesian too, but she was very spoiled and too shy. I don't really like her," she said, adding to her coffee cup.
"Grandma, enough. Don't talk about Clara anymore! " Oscar exclaimed irritably.
"Lisa, have you met Oscar's parents yet?" Brigitta asked casually. Her legs were crossed like a man.
Hearing the word 'Oscar's parents' made Lisa's heart feel as if it had stopped for a moment. Her memory went back to her dark past when she first met Greta, Oscar's biological mother.
Oscar's birth mother was very different from his grandmother. She hated Lisa so much because she was not from a prominent family. Not only that, according to Greta, Indonesians were tacky and stupid, especially the women. She also considered Indonesian women very spoiled and not independent. That's why she was very upset when Oscar was dating Clara. Even though Lisa was not the typical spoiled woman, Greta still didn't like her.
With a sigh, Lisa ventured to speak the truth. "I've met them but never really talked at length like this," she replied, lowering her head.
"So you haven't met my son Peter?" Brigitta asked back.
"Oh, I have met Mr. Peter before. He was my boss before Oscar became his successor. I've only ever met and talked to him briefly," Lisa replied.
"Haha, Greta? I already know what you think, Lisa. I have known Greta longer than you. She definitely doesn't like you because you are Indonesian, right?"
Lisa immediately opened her eyes wide when she heard Brigitta's words just now.
"Don't worry, I don't like Greta either. Before Oscar's father married Greta, he was already married to an Indonesian woman. Even though the woman was not from a respectable family, I could see that Peter was very happy with her so I just let him be. The important thing for me was Peter's happiness. But their marriage only lasted for a year because Greta's parents forced her to marry Peter for the sake of lasting relations between the Petersson company and her family's company," Brigitta explained at length.
"Oh, sorry. I didn't know that Mr. Pete ..." Lisa said with a sad face.
"That's why Greta despises Indonesian women. It was all because of that," Brigitta added. "But you don't need to worry, Greta doesn't dare to raise against me.. That's why I asked Oscar to bring you here because I wanted to get to know you better."