Chapter 509

The air in the living room chilled as though a frost had settled upon it.

Aaron knew better than to intervene. It would only make things worse, like throwing fuel on a fire. So he slipped away quietly, unnoticed.

Lily, too, gently coaxed Marilla away, leaving space for the conversation between father and daughter.

Thaddeus felt his breath catch in his chest. He instinctively wanted to reach out his hands for Evadne’s, but his fingers curled back, halting the gesture.

-Evadne. I don’t want you to go.

Thaddeus was no coward; he loved fiercely and unapologetically, and he hated with a passion that was equally intense.

But he wasn’t just failing Evadne; he felt regret for Emeric as well.

Whether it was during the painful moments in their three–year marriage or the loss of their child, they were all his faults. He had wounded Emeric’s pride and joy, and for that, he was unforgivable.

Even if Emeric lashed out with a tirade of insults or threw another punch, Thaddeus would take it until the man’s anger was spent.

“Emeric, what’s are you thinking about?”

Evadne scoffed with a resolute gaze, “If I were ever swayed by your words, I wouldn’t have risked life and limb to leave that suffocating house. You might as well save yourself the trouble and worry less about me. I managed just fine on my own in foreign lands for all those years, without you turning over every stone to find me. But now, to ruin my happiness, you really are pulling out all the stops, aren’t you?”

Thaddeus stepped forward; worried as he studied Evadne’s determined profile.

“Evadne!”

Emeric’s face drained of color, and his breathing became unsteady with anger. “Look at you now! Do you even resemble the heiress of the Ashbourne family? You’re buying groceries at the supermarket! Have you been cooking yourself all this time? Have you not had enough of playing the unpaid housekeeper for the Abernathy family for three years? Is this the love, the life you wanted?!”

His rage grew with every word.

His beloved daughter, the child he cherished, was meant to be pampered, not to suffer like this!

Thaddeus didn’t act like a decent person!

“Emeric, this is the life I’ve always wanted: the simple life of ordinary people.”

Evadne fought back the torrent of emotions, her voice turned bitter, “I don’t see it as suffering because this is what I want. All I desire is a small home with my loved one, and the simple routine of daily life.”

Thaddeus’s lips paled as if touched by frost, his clenched hands a testament to his regret.

A simple routine of daily life, a narrative of love not captured in words.

That was what Evadne had always wanted, and only now was he able to give it to her.

“You’ve never experienced these things, and you never truly understood me. You don’t even know what my mother wanted. So, you have no right to judge my life, to obstruct my choices.”

a searing pain, blurring his

one cooking, cleaning the house, and doing

his clenched fist, intertwining their fingers firmly, “My Thaddeus can do everything but give

his cooking, or you can leave. It’s

he hadn’t left the

he noticed the walls adorned with elegant copper–framed paintings: scenes of early summer, playful dogs, and most of all, portraits.

a life–sized

and

good manners restraining

remarkable, strikingly lifelike.”

“Really?”

Aaron spun around.

appeared behind him, her eyes shy and downcast, clutching a brown teddy bear tightly to her chest.

was

warmly,

nodded slightly.

lot of thoughts and efforts into

most important thing is that

“Jareth is really nice to me. I have nothing to offer him, so I made him a painting. He doesn’t dislike it,

stir in his heart.

world of darkness and violence, he rarely encountered

a beam of moonlight, unknowingly illuminated

his intense

at Myra’s birthday party, you called Evadne ‘sister–in–law.‘ No need

woman

was about

It seems rather inappropriate for you to be so close to her in private, doesn’t

with a dark look in her eyes, stepping protectively beside

fail to see where I’ve been inappropriate, to warrant such hostility from you. What, because she is with Jareth, she

“You!”

eyes burning with

it weren’t for the fact that this guy was Evadne’s brother, Lily would have given him a piece

head and tugged

tongue–tied and a bit daft, Marilla understood the subtleties of social etiquette.

with her more than necessary. She knew that causing a rift over

nonchalantly as he breezed past Lily. “If she’s meant to be his, no one can steal it. What’s the use of guarding her like a dog with a bone? You’re worrying for nothing. After all, we kids from the

To everyone’s surprise-

argument with his daughter, Emeric, torn between leaving and staying for dinner, had chosen

in the next he was sitting down to a meal. Only a

was

of his ‘future father–in–law‘ was nerve–wracking. He’d never been this anxious before, feeling like his heart was

the pressure he emanated on Thaddeus was

can only cook a few simple dishes,

“What if your dad can’t

apron over her man’s neck and tied it behind him. “Oh, come on, it’s not that bad. But I won’t

taking

guide you. Just follow my lead, step by step, and you

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