"I'm not mad at you," Evelyn said quietly.
"I'd rather you yell at me than be this calm," Alexander whispered in her ear.
"I just don't want to make things hard for you," she replied softly.
Because she loved him deeply, but she also didn't want to hurt herself. So she left the choice to him.
She didn't want to act like a bitter wife making a scene. She also didn't want to swallow her pain in silence.
If you don't truly love someone, you can't understand how much it hurts.
She loved him. She knew how painful it was when two people who loved each other were forced apart.
She felt that the separation between Alexander and Grace was a deep regret in both their hearts.
The three of them were destined to get hurt. Either they all suffered together, or one person stepped back to let the other two be happy.
So even if Alexander finally chose Grace, Evelyn would respect him and bless them.
Most of the time, people don't have a choice. But luckily, sometimes they do.
"The hardest time has passed.
When Grace suddenly broke up with me for no reason, honestly, I couldn't accept it at all.
I tried to make her stay. But in the end, I failed.
That was the most difficult time for me.
I knew in my heart that if I gave up my responsibility to my family and left with Grace, we could still be together.
But I chose to stay.
I once heard a saying. I didn't understand it before, but now I agree with it completely.
If two people don't end up together, it only means the love wasn't strong enough.
Evelyn, that was my hardest time.
Now, I have no difficulties at all. I don't want to start over with Grace. I just want to live a good life with you.
I didn't handle some things well before. I hurt you.
I'm sorry.
You have every right to think I made a childish mistake. Don't hold it against me.
I promise it won't happen again," Alexander said, holding Evelyn tightly.
"But I'm afraid you'll regret it," Evelyn hesitated.
"Evelyn, please have some faith in me," Alexander begged.
Evelyn bit her lip. She didn't have faith in herself. Maybe it was because Grace was so amazing. Maybe it was because they had such deep feelings. Maybe it was because Alexander had really hurt her before.
"Evelyn, look at us. We got married without even meeting each other. That shows we were meant to be together.
After we got married, our feelings grew stronger every day. That shows we are a perfect match.
Now we have a baby. We should live even better.
Don't worry about me. Forgive me. Let's live a good life together."
"Do you really want to live a good life with me?" Evelyn turned her head and looked directly into Alexander's eyes.
"Yes," Alexander nodded.
"Am I the only one in your heart? You won't regret it in the future?"
"Yes."
"I'm only giving you this one chance. There won't be another."
"I know. That's why I cherish it so much."
"I'll let go of what happened before. I won't hold it against you. From now on, you have to focus only on me. We'll live a good life," Evelyn said seriously.
"Yes, my wife," Alexander answered playfully. Then he leaned down and gave her a quick kiss.
Evelyn wanted to tell him to stop being silly. But she didn't say anything. The corners of her mouth lifted, and she couldn't help smiling.
In the end, she still wanted to be with Alexander. She just couldn't bear to leave him.
Alexander kissed Evelyn's neck. His lips began to move downward.
"Hey, I haven't showered yet," Evelyn said, pushing him away angrily.
"We'll shower together later," Alexander insisted.
"Get away. It's hot," Evelyn said with a laugh.
"Who cares?"
Evelyn forgave Alexander. She let go of the past and lived peacefully with him.
Just as she always believed, as long as Alexander treated her well, she would treat him the same way. She would even give more than he did.
Husband and wife shouldn't keep score. They give for each other and for the family.
But some mistakes can never be made.
If that line is crossed, forgiveness alone can't solve the problem.
The hard part is making the choice.
Evelyn continued to wait for the baby at home. She knitted scarves and took walks in the garden. Sometimes when she felt bored, she would go out to eat with Alexander or go shopping.
Life was peaceful and fulfilling.
Scarlett never moved back to the Sterling Mansion. No one mentioned it again. The storm from before seemed to have passed.
Evelyn sometimes felt a strange calm before a storm. But since nothing special happened, she thought she was just overthinking.
One day, Evelyn went for a walk in the back garden with Lily as usual.
As she was about to walk past the fountain, she heard people talking.
"Last night, Miss Scarlett came back. She wanted to see the old lady. But the old lady refused to see her."
"If I were the old lady, I wouldn't see her either. The old lady raised her since she was a child. But she never showed any gratitude. In the end, she was just ungrateful."
"That's right. So when Miss Scarlett came back last night, we tried to stay far away from her. We were afraid of getting caught in the fire."
Evelyn coughed loudly.
The voices on the other side stopped immediately. The two maids came around the fountain and saw Evelyn and Lily. They quickly greeted her.
"Hello, young madam."
"Did Miss Scarlett come back?" Evelyn asked after nodding.
One of the maids looked at the other and then answered truthfully.
"She came back last night. But the old lady didn't want to see her. So Miss Scarlett left again."
"Did she say anything?" Evelyn asked again.
"Young madam, I don't know the details."
"I see. It's fine. You can go now."
"Thank you, young madam."
The two maids thanked her and hurried away.
Evelyn lowered her head, lost in thought. Then she heard Lily speak.
"When Miss Scarlett comes back, she should ask the old lady for forgiveness."
"I don't know. Later, you can ask Chloe to find out more.
See if there's anything we can do to help," Evelyn told Lily.
"Young madam, do you want to help Miss Scarlett?" Lily asked in surprise.
"Everything is going well at home. If Miss Scarlett can change her ways, I should say a few good words for her in front of Mother.
But I'm afraid..." Evelyn stopped.
Some words could be said casually. But some words couldn't. Besides, in front of Lily, it wasn't easy to talk about the rights and wrongs of the Sterling family.