Violet was very nervous. This was the first time she would meet her boyfriend's parents, and she wanted to create a favorable impression from his family.

"Calm down, I'll be there, and I promise they will love you just like I do," she was fidgeting with her dress again, and he didn't want her to feel too nervous.

"Aunty Violet! So pretty!" Enzo welcomed as soon as he saw her. All of the Santoris family sat in the living room to welcome them, it would have been a tense situation, but it was saved by Enzo breaking the ice.

"Thank you, Enzo. I missed you a lot," she smiled as she patted his head. The women smiled back, while the men remained with their poker faces.

Violet relaxed when she saw Aurora, she recognized her as being her mom's doctor. She was glad that she was as nice and friendly as she was at the hospital. Initiating engaging conversations that made her feel welcome and comfortable.

Daisy asked a lot of questions, but they did not feel offensive, it was just someone being friendly that wanted to know more about her.

While Matthew and Gabriel chimed in on the conversations from time to time, Dimitri had no interest in joining them. All that mattered was that Violet was the woman Gabriel loved, and there was no issue there because his parents seemed to like her already.

And the feelings were mutual, Violet felt very relaxed and at ease with his family. Gabriel was right, Alya had totally manipulated the truth about his family.

She had prepared handmade gifts for Gabriel's family instead of buying something from the store. It would be hard to shop for them since they already have everything. To show her appreciation and respect, she made a flower arrangement from flowers she hand-picked from a local flower market and baked a variety of desserts she thought they would like.

Daisy was digging into a delectable chocolate creation, "You really made these Violet? These taste like the ones you get from those specialty bakeries, I love them."

"Aunty, yum yum...baby favorite," Enzo added cheerfully as he covered his face with icing.

Gabriel felt proud that everything seemed to go as he planned. "Mom, Violet is a very talented baker, you should have her bake you more. These are just a portion of what she knows to make."

Violet got shy when Gabriel held her hand and praised her, "Oh Gabe, thank you! I'm really not that good. I only bake because I really enjoy it."

When all the desserts have been consumed, and all the conversations exhausted, Gabriel brought Violet home.

Daisy and Matthew gave their approval on the spot, thinking this time Gabriel made the right choice. Violet was someone who would love him and make him happy.

Gabriel was grateful that his family always supported his decisions, and like his brother, he finally found the woman he would spend the rest of his life with.

-=-

Aurora and Daisy were having tea in the garden when the subject of Violet came up.

"Mom, what did you think of Violet? Did you have the same feeling about her?

I really liked her a lot. I haven't known her for a long time, but I always thought she was a very good daughter by taking care of her mother when she was sick," Aurora stated.

"Yeah, I had a very good impression of her. Gabriel has always been softhearted, he innocently believes people are inherently good, not like Dimitri, who distrusts people before giving them the benefit of the doubt.

So years ago, Gabe brought this girl home, he thought he loved her and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. But the thing is, we knew that she would not make him happy. She was always asking for the most expensive gifts, demanding things from Gabe that were not possible. Her eyes always looked like she was scheming, and when I learned that she sought him out to be his girlfriend, I decided to step in.

He was so young and so jaded, we knew that talking to him would only make him rebel, so we sent him on a business trip for a year. Test their relationship if it does not break them apart. But what we did not expect was that she would cheat on him and hurt him as she did. You know the story right?

That incident changed his outlook and the way he viewed women. We thought there was no bringing him back, but I always hoped that one special woman that would love him would come and make him believe in love again.

Violet fit that bill, and I think from the thoughtful gifts she brought us, to the way she held herself even though she was nervous, her love for him was genuine. There is no faking loving someone like that," Daisy declared.

Aurora's admiration for her mother-in-law increased. She was a very smart lady and knew how to handle situations perfectly. There was a reason she was Matthew's perfect match.

"Speaking of love, I want you to know that I know what happened to you and Dimitri. He used to avoid marriage like the plague, so we were surprised when he called us the day he saw you, informing us that he had a wife and a son.

He had not been proud of what he did, but he was honest about it. He regretted taking advantage of you and losing you the next day. Dimitri told us he fell in love with you that night and now that he found you again, that he would marry you right away.

We promised to keep his secret because I've never seen my son look so scared to lose anyone before. But it was not a problem because as soon as we met you and Enzo, we were drawn to you, and liked you right away.

I've always wanted my children to marry for love. Business marriages seldom work out for the best, and since we already have a lot of money and we don't need anybody to expand the business I let my kids choose the woman they want. My only hope was that my daughters-in-law would be good people who loved my sons for who they were and not because of what they have to offer," Daisy said.

Aurora was glad that she had a mother-in-law like Daisy who treated her like her own daughter. It made it easier to make her decision.

"Mom, when I learned about what Dimitri did, I was devastated, but I have decided to move past that. I realized that I have fallen in love and cannot live without him. So you don't need to worry. Everything is fine. Your wish has come true," Aurora assured her.

Daisy smiled, "I'm happy for both of you. Every relationship has a past, and believe it or not, my relationship with Matthew had a very bumpy beginning. We were both stubborn people, so we fought a lot.

In the end, we should always look at the bigger picture, determine what is important, then and only then will you have your answer."

Aurora could not believe her in-laws had a troubled start because looking at them together would make you think they've always been in love with each other.

Life is not always going to be a bed of roses, the thorns show us how valuable the roses are.