Chapter 47

So now, the only person she could rely on was herself.

Elsie arrived at the sanitorium right on time for her treatment, practicing her pronunciation.

Unexpectedly, she bumped into Mason there.

Mason was quite surprised as well, yet he approached Elsie without any hesitation, greeting her warmly.

"Elsie! Long time no see. What brings you here?"

Elsie smiled politely and typed her response on her phone.

[I'm here for treatment. What about you? Why are you here?]

Mason didn't answer why he was there. Instead, he looked at Elsie with concern and asked, "Is something wrong with your health?"

Elsie shook her head with a smile and pointed to her throat.

[No, I'm doing some speech therapy. The doctor says I might be able to talk again.]

Mason's eyes lit up, genuinely happy for Elsie. "That's awesome! I believe you'll be able to speak again one day!"

Elsie's smile softened even more. She signed a thank you gesture and typed again.

[Thank you for your kind words. I hope so too.]

Mason suddenly remembered something and said, "That incident a few days ago caused quite a stir. Are you okay?"

Elsie immediately grasp what Mason was referring to. Her smile faded, and she looked like she didn't want to talk about it.

[It's in the past. There's nothing more to say.]

Mason was taken aback by her response. Seeing Elsie like this...

Could it be that she had really given up on Ronald?

Elsie excused herself, saying she had to go for her treatment, and left on her own.

Mason watched Elsie's disappearing back and decided to call Ronald.

Mason got straight to the point. "Ronald, did you know Elsie is doing speech therapy and might be able to talk soon?"

There was a long silence on the other end of the line before Ronald's hoarse voice came through. "How do you know?"

"I ran into Elsie at the sanitorium."

Mason hesitated before speaking again, his voice full of curiosity. "Is it really over between you and Elsie? You'll regret this!"

Ronald remained silent, and Mason, not hearing any response, hung up the phone.

In Ronald's mind, the image of Elsie's face flickered, and a slow-burning rage began to rise within him.

Even Mason knew about this, but he didn't!

What did Elsie take him for?

Did she ever love him?

Even if she didn't love him now, did her previous feelings disappear so quickly?

"Teddy, find out what Elsie's been up to."

After her speech therapy session, Elsie played with the kids for a while before heading home.

She unlocked the door and entered, only to find a man sitting in her small garden.

The afternoon sunlight cast a glow on his well-defined face, making it hard to see clearly.

Elsie's eyes filled with tears instantly.

She murmured, "Cedric?"

Elsie thought, 'Is it really you? Have you come back to see me?'

"Who's Cedric?"

The familiar yet strange voice snapped Elsie back to reality. She looked closely and realized the man in front of her was Ronald.She must be hallucinating.

Cedric, with his gentle nature, could never be this selfish and domineering Ronald.

Ronald barged into her home like he owned the place, showing no respect.

Seeing Ronald's angry expression, Elsie, even angrier, signed, "Why are you in my house?"

Ronald, standing against the light, found it hard to read Elsie's expression.

He avoided the question. "Why didn't you tell me you were getting treatment?"

Elsie couldn't be bothered to respond, finding even the mere act of glancing at Ronald utterly repulsive.

She turned her face away, acting as if Ronald wasn't there.

To Ronald, it seemed like she was saying he had no right to interfere.

Ronald's anger flared up even more.

He suddenly sneered. "The person helping you with your treatment is Bruce, right?"

"What? Now that you've got Bruce, you don't want to deal with me, your husband?"

"Elsie, are you that cheap? Do you need a man to flatter you to be happy?"

Elsie's body trembled. Ronald's words cut into her like knives.

She glared at him, signing furiously.

"Have you said enough?"

"Isn't Missy enough for you to worry about? Why do you have to meddle in my business?"

Elsie's cold smile deepened as she saw Ronald's face darken.

"What's wrong? Can't Missy soothe your lonely heart? So you come to me?"

"But what can I do? I don't care about you anymore!"

Ronald stepped forward, towering over Elsie, his eyes burning with anger. "Do you even know what you're signing?"

Elsie fearlessly glared back, pushing Ronald away with all her strength, taking three steps back to put some distance between them.

She was afraid Ronald might use force on her again.

She signed with a mocking gesture. "What? Now you want to control what I want to say too?"

"You!" Ronald stared into Elsie's eyes, once filled with love, now only showing ridicule. He suddenly forgot what he wanted to say.

He stormed past Elsie, slamming the door behind him, never looking back.

Elsie stood with her back to the door. After a while, she turned around and saw Aline about to knock.

Aline smiled. "The chocolate you gave me yesterday was delicious. I came to ask what brand it is."

Elsie forced a faint smile, uncertain of how long Aline had been there or whether she had overheard the argument with Ronald.

She sent the chocolate brand to Aline on her phone.

But Aline didn't leave. She walked in, looking around the unfamiliar room.

She smiled and asked, "Are you getting used to living here?"

Elsie nodded, not understanding why Aline was suddenly acting friendly.

Before, Aline had always ignored her attempts to get close.

Suddenly, Aline asked, "Was that man who just left Ronald, the CEO of the York Group?"

Elsie paused. Ronald was often in the financial news; she didn't believe Aline didn't recognize him.

Why was she asking about Ronald?

Before Elsie could type a response, Aline continued, "I actually know sign language. I used to volunteer at an orphanage."

"So, can you tell me about you and Ronald?"

"Did you really interfere in your cousin's marriage?"