Chapter 591

Watching from the sidelines, Lily felt the heartache as she saw the torment in Jareth’s fiery eyes, his desperation palpable. Initially, she too had not been in favor of Jareth’s “tough love” approach, fearing it too harsh for Marilla.

But the stark reality of Elspeth’s death sentence could not remain hidden forever. Better to deal with it now and rip off the Band–Aid than let the wound fester.

Yet, she had underestimated Jareth’s control over Marilla and the usually docile Marilla’s explosive strength when cornered.

“Lily, take Marilla back to her room to rest,” ordered Thaddeus, his voice laced with concern as he turned to Jareth. “You look like hell, too. Let Lily stay with Marilla.”

Lily gingerly lifted Marilla from Jareth’s embrace, easily sweeping her into her arms and ascending the staircase with unwavering steps.

The couple was left dumbfounded.

Jareth’s secretary, raised in the household since she was a girl, was proving to be worth her weight in gold.

“I just wanted for Marilla to face reality. I didn’t expect for it to turn out like this,” Jareth confessed, his chest heaving as if a bellows had been shoved inside, his whole being seeming to fry in an invisible frying pan. “Elspeth never truly cared for Marilla. I thought Marilla had come to accept that, that she wouldn’t.”

“You thought, you thought! Have you ever, for once, considered Marilla’s feelings in all of this?” Evadne exploded, closing the gap between them in two strides and grabbing Jareth by the collar. “From the moment you charmed her, brought her into your life, keeping her away from the Abernathy family, then parading her before the scrutinizing eyes of the Fairhaven elite – your grandfather, your mother! And now you impose your will upon her, assuming she’ll just accept and bear it? Where do you get this blind confidence? Have you ever truly considered Marilla? Have you seen things from her perspective? Have you ever cared about her feelings?”

“Evadne.” Thaddeus’s gaze faltered.

He wanted to interject but feared making matters worse, knowing his own words often lacked the necessary tact.

Reminiscing, Jareth felt a sharp pang in his heart, his eyes losing their luster.

Marilla was happy, if this was what

compliance, her gentlenes, all made him overlook her true feelings. She agreed to everything he proposed, appreciated every gift, even the passionate nights that left her breathless, always whispering, “I love it,

realized he

he was being considerate, altruistically noble, never pondering whether this was

you’re from two entirely different worlds,” Evadne continued, her voice a mix of anger and concern. “What you need to do is enter her tender world with enough love and patience, not carelessly drag her into your life, isolating her from the world, severing her normal social needs, and keeping her caged like a canary!

holding her back. In this lifetime, I only want Marilla! You and

come? Can you endure that? Can you persist? You’re not a patient man by nature. You’re accommodating and tolerant now only because you’re in

be able to?” Jareth’s voice broke, hoarse and choked, as he shouted back at Evadne, “You shouldn’t doubt my love for

her, his eyes dark and serious. “She didn’t mean it like that; she’s just distressed for Marilla. Back in the Abernathy household, none of us, including myself, ever truly cared for Marilla. The only one who’s always been there for her was Evadne. Seeing Marilla in such pain,

had been harsh, but it was out of fear for Marilla’s

she couldn’t steer the course of their emotions, and it was high time she gave Jareth a wakeup

often her keen sensitivity, her stronger–than–average empathy that makes her so vulnerable to

“Besides, Elspeth is her mother. Even though she’s a murderous fiend, irredeemable, a step back would remind us that Elspeth did raise Marilla when she was just a little girl. Her own mother sentenced to death,

and scattered. “Marilla said she wanted to see Elspeth. I didn’t want her

Thaddeus exchanged a look, sighing

brother’s shoulder. “Jareth, take Marilla to see

looked stunned, his heart in turmoil. “But

her dues.. That’s enough,” Thaddeus said, a faint

diminishing the pain his mother had suffered. It was the understanding that clinging too fiercely to hatred could drown not just oneself

audible. “Jareth, I know you and Thaddeus are tight, but you have Marilla now. You’re a family. Can

and Jareth were speechless.

last time shows she’s pure–hearted, compassionate. If Marilla were like Glynnis, acting as if she popped out of a rock, then you’d really have something

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