During dinner, Alexander kept putting vegetables into Iris’s bowl, urging her to eat more.
Evelyn watched him.
She thought about how flawless he was in almost every way.
Even toward his wet nurse, he showed such devotion that most people would feel inferior.
And yet, this man—perfect in every aspect—seemed to stumble when it came to matters of the heart.
“You should eat more too!” Alexander placed a piece of fish into Evelyn’s bowl.
“Okay,” Evelyn replied softly, snapping back to reality.
She lowered her head and continued eating.
After dinner, Alexander helped Iris clear the table.
Iris kept insisting she could handle it herself, but Alexander ignored her protests.
He stacked the dishes together and carried them to the sink.
Evelyn couldn’t help much, so she went to the nursery first to check on the baby.
The baby was fast asleep.
She stood by the crib for a moment, watching, then quietly left the room.
She wanted to help Iris in the kitchen.
But as she reached the dining room doorway, she overheard Alexander and Iris talking.
“Alexander, treat Evelyn well. Grace is in the past now.”
“I know,” Alexander said.
“Before, I kept telling you to settle down with Grace. I wanted you to marry early so I could help raise your children.
You always thought you were too young and in no rush. Now you’ve missed your chance.”
“Iris, it just means we weren’t meant to be together.”
“Yes, you missed it.” Iris sighed.
Evelyn turned around and walked back toward the stairs.
She didn’t enter the kitchen to disturb them.
Iris must have really liked Grace.
She probably thought Grace was a better match for Alexander.
That was why she felt so regretful that they hadn’t ended up together.
Alexander finished helping Iris clean up and came upstairs.
Evelyn stood quietly by the sofa, staring out the window.
Alexander sat down beside her.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked.
“Alexander, I wonder if things would have been different if you had gone back ten years.”
“If I had been with you back then, I would have been a pervert,” Alexander said with a self-deprecating laugh.
“Ten years ago, you wouldn’t have been with me,” Evelyn turned to face him.
Back then, he was in love with Grace.
Alexander looked at her, quickly understanding what she meant.
“Evelyn, if I went back ten years, it’s true that I probably wouldn’t be with you. I didn’t even know you existed back then.
But sometimes fate is strange. It brought us together.
You once said that if it wasn’t you, it would be someone else.
But when I think about it now, I still believe there wouldn’t be anyone else.
If it were someone else, I wouldn’t have waited until now.
Before you, my mother arranged countless blind dates for me. I saw pictures of many girls.
None of them interested me.
But the moment I saw your picture, I agreed to meet you.
You can’t deny that this is a kind of magical fate, bringing us together.
Even if I had liked you back then, with your personality, you wouldn’t have agreed to marry me unless your family was in trouble and you thought I was gay.
See? The right time, the right place, the right people—everything aligned to bring us together.
Are you going to deny that we’re meant to be?” Alexander spoke seriously.
Evelyn blinked, completely stunned by his words.
“Why is it that when you talk nonsense, I still can’t help feeling like it makes some sense?” Evelyn asked, confused.
“That means what I said is actually reasonable. But there’s conflict in your heart, and you’re not willing to accept it,” Alexander replied with a smile.
In the end, Evelyn admitted Alexander was too good with words.
“I was just thinking, if you went back ten years, maybe you could have made a different choice.”
“I don’t need to go back ten years to make a new choice, do I?” Alexander said, then added, “Because I don’t want a new choice.”
“Evelyn, I know you’re rejecting me from head to toe right now—”
Evelyn suddenly felt like laughing.
“Because I’ve done things that hurt you. But Evelyn, that was never my intention.
When you were in the operating room, I stood outside waiting.
Every second felt like an eternity.
When the doctor handed me the critical condition notice,
I thought that if you left me, I wouldn’t stay either.”
“What about our baby?” Evelyn looked at him in shock.
“At that moment, I couldn’t care about the baby.
I wished I could put the baby back in your womb, as if nothing had happened.
The baby is the product of our love. It only exists because we’re together, right?” Alexander kissed Evelyn’s hand, murmuring softly.
Evelyn tried to pull her hand back, but Alexander held it tighter.
“I need to go to the bathroom. Let go,” Evelyn said angrily.
“Together,” Alexander said.
Evelyn was speechless.
“What’s there to be speechless about? I need to pee too.”
“I need to pee too!”
“I’m going crazy. I don’t think I’m crazy—you’re the one who’s crazy first!”
“If you don’t forgive me, I’ll go crazy right now!”
“Stop messing around. Iris will see us and laugh,” Evelyn glared at him.
“No, she’ll be happy. She’ll be happy that we’re happy.”
Evelyn stared at him for a moment, then sighed.
“Iris likes Grace more, doesn’t she?”
“Did Iris tell you that?”
“No. But Iris doesn’t like me very much. She probably likes Grace more.”
“She does like Grace a lot. She always says Grace looks like her daughter. I think Iris misses her own daughter.
See? Iris used to treat you coldly, and now she still doesn’t like you much.
But lately, she keeps telling me to treat you well and not bully you. She says if you bully me, I have to take it.”
“Iris told you that?” Evelyn couldn’t help rolling her eyes.
“Really. That’s what Iris told me.” He added the last part himself.
“Fine, fine. I believe you. Can I go to the bathroom now?”
Alexander let go of her hand with a smile.
Evelyn got up and headed to the bathroom.
After using the toilet, she decided to take a shower.
Halfway through, Alexander walked in.
Evelyn screamed and grabbed a towel to cover herself.
“I’m taking a shower!”
“I need to pee,” Alexander replied innocently.
Even though the bathroom and washroom were in the same room, they were separated. Only from the washroom could you see into the shower area.
Evelyn was speechless for a long time.