Chapter 826 Give Up on Each Other Amidst Hardship
Irvin pressed a hand on his nose, and felt the tears well up in his eyes as the pain spread across his nose. “Irvin…” Feeling bad for him, Mimi reached out a hand in an attempt to ease the pain in his nose.
He was gasping in pain when he noticed her worried look, so he quickly cast her a smile. “I’m fine, Mimi. Don’t worry about me.” “Let’s go.” He picked up the fruits that were scattered on the ground before he held her hand in his own and walked toward the stairs. Then, he stopped in his tracks at the stairs when hesitation crept into his mind.
Irvin was here to apologize but ended up screwing things up. As such, he felt bad for failing his mother. However, he would have to face Mrs. Lawrence’s overbearing hostility if he turned back to the room, and it created a dilemma for him.
Hesitating after a long time, Irvin was still unable to make a decision. Thus, he turned around and led Mimi into the exit passageway instead.
Facing the exit as the duo sat on the exit stairway, Irvin decided to try for a second time once Mrs. Lawrence left the room.
As he turned to check on Mimi, he found her staring intensely at the fruits in the bag and swallowing.
He rolled his eyes slyly as an idea occurred to him, and he eventually decided he had nothing more to lose at the moment. “Mimi, let’s eat the fruits. Later, we’ll tell Mommy that Jace has forgiven us. What do you think?”
“Sure!” She nodded vigorously.
He smiled at her compliance. “Surely you’ll only agree with all my decisions. You’ll never contradict any of my statements, am I right?”
She hummed in agreement, still smiling at him.
He shook his head in resignation and took out some bananas and a dragon fruit from the bag. “Which one do you want?”
Her answer came out immediately. “The bananas! I love bananas!”
Therefore, he gave her all of them while he quietly peeled the dragon fruit.
As the bananas were small, Mimi finished one in the blink of an eye and threw its skin on the ground.
“Mimi, littering is not right,” Irvin reminded her.
Reluctant to stop eating, she negotiated, “Okey dokey, Irvin. I’ll pick them up after I finish them all. Can I?”
“All right.” He was understanding.
Smiling at him, she began to eat the rest. When she was chewing, her cheeks puffed out, as if she was an eating hamster.
Even only watching her eat had somehow eased most of his anxiety.
Meanwhile in the ward, Jace was lying on the bed when she whined at her mother, “I don’t want to eat a banana! I don’t! I told you I hate them!”
“I don’t want to force you, but eating them can prevent you from having cramps. Your father is already mad at you since you got into a fight and broke your arm during the banquet. Please, listen to me.” Mrs. Lawrence shoved the banana next to Jace’s mouth as she tried to convince her.
Pursing her lips, Jace was unwilling to cooperate.
“Jace!” Mrs. Lawrence’s patience was bottoming out. “Can’t you behave? Can you ever imagine the hardship I had to go through over the years? I also hate to force you. If only you worked harder and were a boy, we’d never have to live in such hell.”
“Do I have no right to be loved as a girl?” Growling to show her displeasure, Jace pulled the blanket away as she slid down the bed and rushed out of the ward.
Heading straight for the nearest emergency exit, she wanted to hide from others and get rid of her negative emotions.
When she pushed the door open, she wasn’t expecting to see Irvin and Mimi enjoying the fruits.
Their smiles stung her eyes and were inflaming her fragile heart.
Irvin wasn’t prepared for Jace to rush inside all of a sudden, so he rose to his feet in embarrassment and helplessly stared at her without a word.
“Why are you eating the bananas that belong to me?” She took out her anger on them as she unreasonably accused them.
“What?” He was taken aback by the accusation. “You said you don’t want them!”
“Even though I don’t want them, they’re still mine! You can’t eat them!”
At that, Jace slammed the door behind her before she rushed over to snatch the banana from Mimi’s hand. However, before Jace could even touch another girl, she stepped on the banana peel first.
At the next moment, she lost her balance and fell off the stairs.
Both her entrance and exit were so sudden that Irvin and Mimi didn’t even have the time to react to her behavior, her wail already resounding through the stairwell.
This time, Jace broke her leg.
Elise was eventually forced to see Mrs. Lawrence herself, while Irvin and Mimi got scolded.
After that, the Lawrence Family insisted on not seeing them ever again.
Moreover, Irvin learned his lesson of never littering in public anymore.
…
The following day in the White Residence.
On the morning of a weekend, Onyx was reading the newspaper on the sofa to pass his free time. Lately, the downturn in the publishing industry also gave him more free time.
Lyra seized the opportunity to serve him hot tea and snacks. Massaging his shoulders, she began, “Dear, since Adelpha has been staying in the rural area for seven years, I think it’s about time for her to come back. You see, she has nobody to depend on as she lives alone in our old residence. The local thugs and hooligans have been trying to take advantage of her, and we can’t even protect her in time if something happens.”
He rolled his eyes at her petulantly when he heard her request. “You’ll take care of her after she’s married? You already know the publishing industry is receding lately, and there is a sharp reduction in my income. How am I supposed to feed a big spender like her?”
“She won’t! Adelpha told me that she has changed a lot. She’s turning thirty years old in three years; do you want to see her become a spinster and get picked by others instead?” She put more effort into persuading him. “There’s no way we’ll ask her to marry an uneducated man. I know some people who are looking for a wife for their sons, and we shouldn’t let the chance slip.”
Pondering for a moment, he didn’t show a hint of firm disapproval as he commented, “I’ll consider it.”
At that moment, the sole servant of the residence came into the house to report. “Master, Madam, Miss Anastasia is here with the young master and young mistresses.”
As soon as the words reached them, Elise walked into the house with three children in tow.
“Oh my. There’s a lot of them!” Lyra’s eyes widened at the children as her interest piqued. She wouldn’t have thought “Anastasia” would give birth to so many children.
Onyx watched the group with a livid expression, not bothering to welcome them into the house. “Why are you even here? You’ve never called us over the last seven years, and I’ve gotten used to pretending you aren’t alive out there.”
Asking the kids to take a seat on the sofa, Elise put on a façade by making a sad face at him. “Dad, I’m your daughter and one of the Whites. You have to help me. I broke Maestro Yorkson’s piano when I was in another country, and I need to compensate fifty million. I don’t think I can pay that much even if we sell the house. Can you help me, Dad?”
“What? Fifty million?” His expression changed as he jumped to his feet in anger. “How dare you ask for so much?! What do you expect from me? Do you think I’m in charge of printing the money? I don’t have that kind of money!”
“Dad, it isn’t right to say that. As a family, we must go through thick and thin together. I’ve never asked you for any favor. This is the first and only time when I need your help. Are you that cruel to leave your daughter in misery?” She tilted her head to hide the grin forming at the corner of her lips.
“You ungrateful little b*stard! I’m not your father. We broke off relations with each other a long time ago. I don’t have any money. Don’t even try to scam money off me.” He decided to turn his back on her.
He had chosen self-preservation over bearing the hardship with his family.
“After all, I’ve been providing a roof over your heads.” At last, Elise finally cut off to the chase.
