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.”

struck Emeric with a searing pain, blurring his vision as everything around him became hazy.

the house, and

Thaddeus can do everything but give birth. Now, you

and try his cooking,

from the confrontation, he

copper–framed paintings: scenes of early summer, playful dogs,

paused before a life–sized portrait-

clad in a black shirt with a tall and lean figure, broad shoulders, narrow waist, and eyes sparkling like

good manners restraining him from reaching out to

remarkable, strikingly lifelike.”

“Really?”

spun

behind him, her eyes shy and downcast, clutching a brown teddy

adorable expression was simply irresistible.

warmly, “Absolutely. Did you

Marilla nodded

of thoughts and efforts into

it’s okay. The most important thing

the mention of Jareth, Marilla’s eyes sparkled with joy and her cheeks blushed as she said, “Jareth is really nice to me. I have nothing to offer him, so I made him a painting. He

felt a profound stir in his heart.

a world of darkness and violence, he rarely encountered

like a beam of moonlight, unknowingly illuminated a corner of

noticing his intense

you called Evadne ‘sister–in–law.‘ No need for formalities

young woman repeated obediently.

with intent, Aaron was about to speak when a cold voice

rather inappropriate for you to be so close to her in

with a dark look in her eyes, stepping protectively beside Marilla, displaying

with a light smile, “I fail to see where I’ve been inappropriate, to warrant such hostility from you. What, because she is with Jareth, she can’t even have a normal conversation without fear of retribution? Does speaking to a

“You!”

flared, her eyes burning with fury at Aaron’s

for the fact that this guy was Evadne’s brother,

head and

came off as tongue–tied and a bit

brother, and that was the only reason he chatted with her more than necessary. She knew that causing a rift over something trivial would embarrass her sister–in–law, and that would

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 Emeric

To everyone’s surprise-

a heated argument with his daughter, Emeric, torn between leaving and staying for dinner, had chosen the latter.

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

Thaddeus was

was nerve–wracking. He’d never been this

the living room, the pressure he emanated on

a few simple dishes,

fretting. “What if your dad can’t stomach

neck and tied it behind him. “Oh, come on, it’s not that bad. But I won’t lie–Dad’s taste buds have

hard, taking a

right here to guide you. Just follow my

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