Elara was quite taken aback, "How old is your mom?"
Such a beautiful woman, if he hadn’t said, she would have thought Lucy Taylor was only in her thirties.
But thinking about it, she knew it was impossible; Lucy had such a grown-up son, she couldn’t possibly be just in her thirties.
Zion Fitzwilliam said, "She is forty-nine this year."
Elara felt a predictable yet thunderstruck sensation of tearing.
Zion looked at her and suddenly asked, "Is there sothing you want to say to ?"
Elara looked at him in surprise, "Is it that obvious?"
Zion chuckled softly, let her go, stood up, and handed her a cup of hot milk. Elara took it, "...Thank you."
Zion sat down opposite her, looking at her intently, and said softly, "You can say it now."
Elara felt a bit sour inside. He respected her so much, noticing her discomfort when he held her, so he let her go, retreated to a proper distance, and listened seriously to what she had to say.
But the things she wanted to say were all hurtful.
She held the milk cup, looking down and not at him, and asked, "Did you bring here just to show your parents’ relationship and to make change my mind, is that it?"
Zion made a sound of affirmation and then said, "It’s not just that, I want you to know that I can do better than my dad. By the ti we reach fifty, we would be more in love than they are."
Elara lowered her head, curved her lips slightly, and spoke softly, "But people’s hearts change easily. I believe you truly love at this mont, but ti changes everything. Love fades, and even the most loving couple may drift apart."
"I envy your parents’ love and want to hold on to your affection, but Zion, I can’t afford another complete defeat."
She finally mustered the courage to look up at Zion, her voice still soft but seemingly piercing his soul, "Zion, I’m rejecting you after weighing the pros and cons. I yearn for a peaceful life, and you... you are what I deem... a con."
If so things are destined to be lost after being gained, she’d rather not have them. Compared to the sweetness of love and the happiness of companionship, she’d rather choose solitude into old age, as long as it’s calm and quiet.
If Zion were an ordinary person, she might have had the courage to try, but he’s not. Agreeing to be with him ans confronting and bearing too much.
And she no longer has that courage.
So, she’d rather be a coward, a turtle hiding in its shell.
Elara bit her lip. After a mont, she continued, "I hope you can respect my choice."
Zion suddenly recalled the conversation he had with Felix Ford the day he found out Elara was pregnant.
He was very determined then, telling Felix, "I am not like you. No matter what, I won’t let her go. Even if she ends up hating , I couldn’t let go."
"Her happiness can only be given by ."
But Felix was unimpressed, cautioning him, "Don’t speak too soon. When the ti cos, you’ll realize that watching her in pain, you’ll feel worse than she does, and ultimately, you’ll have to let go so she can be happy."
Zion looked askance at those words then, but now facing Elara, hearing her talk about weighing the pros and cons, hearing her say she’d rather live a plain life alone, he suddenly understood Felix a bit.
When soone you love so much tells you about the pressure and helplessness brought by the relationship, it’s truly a difficult thing to face.
He remained silent for a long ti. Elara asked, "Is it particularly hard to let go?"
Zion nodded, "Yes."
"Particularly... hard."
Elara stood up, smiling lightly at him, "I still hope you’ll think it over, Zion. I’m very grateful you love , and I don’t regret falling in love with you, but we’re really not suitable. I can’t accept such disparity."
Zion watched as she turned and walked into the bedroom, his dark eyes seed to sink into a pitch-black hell, struggling and despairing, powerless to save.
The worries he had eventually beca reality, and without even having a chance to fight for it, she condemned him to a life sentence.
The next morning, Lucy Taylor ca knocking enthusiastically, wanting to take Elara and Zion fishing by the river.
Elara just finished washing up, put on her coat at the words, and was about to head out. Behind her, Zion thodically took the toasted slices of bread from the toaster and added the prepared ingredients to make two sandwiches.
In the car, he handed Elara a still-steaming sandwich.
Elara hadn’t expected that after the conversation last night, he would still take such ticulous care of her, leaving her unsure whether to accept it.
Lucy said excitedly, "Why eat sandwiches? We’re going to fish in the river soon. We’ll grill the fish we catch and eat them fresh! Right, Damian?"
She turned her head to confirm with Damian Fitzwilliam.
Damian smiled indulgently, "Yes."
Although, she had never caught a fish, nor handled one herself, nor grilled one personally.
But he just liked his wife’s confidence.
Elara watched their interaction, thinking about her relationship with Zion Fitzwilliam. Her mood grew heavy, and she spoke much less, only responding when Lucy Taylor cued her.
Soon they arrived at the riverside, which was also beautiful with unknown fluffy and cute plants growing along the shore.
The river was not wide, with clear waters and many little stones scattered at the edge. Lucy Taylor got out of the car ready to take off her shoes, but Damian Fitzwilliam grabbed her, "In the middle of winter, are you crazy? You can’t go barefoot, go change into rain boots."
Zion Fitzwilliam also brought out a pair of light pink rain boots from the back of the car, squatted down in front of Elara, and said, "Sit down, I’ll help you change shoes."
Elara instinctively stepped back.
"When did you get the rain boots ready?"
He didn’t even know about going to the riverside, yet he prepared rain boots in advance.
Zion Fitzwilliam replied, "This morning, my mom ntioned going to the river, so I brought a pair of rain boots."
Elara’s fingers tightened, "Why did you think of bringing rain boots?"
"Not very sure," Zion Fitzwilliam said, seeing her hesitating to sit down, he looked up at her with a smile and explained, "Just thought there might be a chance to use rain boots by the river. It’s a rare outing, I didn’t want you to feel disappointed."
Elara pursed her lips and said, "I’ll do it myself."
She took the rain boots from Zion Fitzwilliam and sat down to change shoes herself.
Zion Fitzwilliam wasn’t bothered, and reminded, "The river water is cold, can’t play in it for too long, okay?"
Elara was almost unable to hold back her tears. She could only respond with a muffled "Mm."
Lucy Taylor pulled Elara to go fishing.
She brought particularly good equipnt, a high-end fishing rod, and live worms as bait. Lucy Taylor, in her expert pose, boasted to her, "I had the servants dig these up from the yard early this morning. The fish around here love this bait."
Elara copied her movents, casting the line, and the two of them sat side by side waiting for the fish to bite.
Lucy Taylor looked at Elara and asked nosily, "I saw the lights in your room were on for a long ti last night. What were you two doing?"
Elara paused, and said, "Nothing much, just talking."
Lucy Taylor, who had experience, understood, "Isn’t Zion pestering you again? I’ll tell you, you must be resolute, incompatible is just incompatible. Don’t fall for his sweet talk; n love to deceive. Even if he’s my son, I have to be fair; not everyone is as excellent as my husband."
Elara chuckled, "Zion would be upset with you for saying this to ."
Lucy Taylor curled her lip, "But what I said is true, who knows how he will be in the future? Though he seems head over heels in love now, who can guarantee he won’t change after marriage? If you don’t trust him in your heart, I will certainly speak for you."
Elara suddenly stiffened.
Does she not trust him in her heart?
It turns out that her reluctance to accept him is rooted in distrust?
Lucy Taylor, pretending to understand her well, patted her shoulder, saying, "Don’t worry, I’ll definitely help you. Not to ntion, the child support will be several million a month, no problem. If you two divorce, I’ll make sure he gives you more. I know your last marriage wasn’t easy; it’s wise not to trust n. To step back again, if Zion truly loves you, he won’t give up easily. He will win back your trust, inch closer to you, so divorcing him now is like a test."
Elara found her mother-in-law’s thought process sowhat endearing, didn’t say anything, just smiled.
She didn’t want to test Zion Fitzwilliam; she genuinely wanted a clean break.
Lucy Taylor patiently waited for half an hour; pulling up the fishing rod showed no fish.
She didn’t believe it, and pulled up Elara’s too, still no fish.
Imdiately displeased, "What kind of river is this, not a single fish!"
She turned around and saw Damian Fitzwilliam and Zion Fitzwilliam each had several plump fish in their buckets.
Damian Fitzwilliam catching fish didn’t surprise Lucy Taylor, since he was always the main force when they went fishing. But Zion...
"Since when did you learn to fish?" Lucy Taylor frowned and asked.
Zion Fitzwilliam said, "I didn’t, first ti fishing today."
Lucy Taylor imdiately felt defeated, and ran over to find her husband for comfort.
Zion Fitzwilliam couldn’t control his gaze towards Elara, noticing she was looking at him too. As their eyes t, Elara instinctively looked away.
Zion Fitzwilliam stood up, walked over to her, and asked, "Can you help handle the fish?"
Elara was stunned, "Huh?"
Zion Fitzwilliam took her hand, walked to the bucket of fish he caught, "Before grilling, the scales and guts need to be cleaned. I can’t do it alone. My parents are a pair, they don’t want to help . Can you lend a hand?"
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