Chapter 216

Chapter 216

Elowen walked over and set the gifts on the coffee table, sitting down beside Raina.

She sat very close, close enough to smell the faint sandalwood scent on Raina.

She'd loved this scent as a child, always burrowing into Raina's embrace whenever she visited.

"I came to see you," she said, her voice soft. "So much has been happening lately. I haven't come to visit, and it's been weighing on my conscience."

Raina looked at her without speaking.

Elowen continued, "I specially picked these out for you. You mentioned last time you liked the pastries from that shop, so I waited in line for two hours to buy them. And this—it's a scarf I brought back from Sylvanor. I couldn't bear to give it to anyone else, but I thought it would look beautiful on you."

She took out the gifts one by one, laying them before Raina like presenting treasures.

Raina glanced at the gifts, her gaze indifferent, making no move to accept them.

"Elowen, that's very thoughtful of you," she said. "But you should take these things back."

Elowen's smile froze for an instant, then her face filled with grievance. "Mrs. Stuart, does this mean... You dislike me now?"

Raina closed the photo album and looked at her. That gaze was too direct, direct enough to make Elowen uneasy.

"Elowen, I've heard about the things you did."

Elowen's expression changed. She'd considered that Raina might know, but hadn't expected her to address it so directly. "Mrs. Stuart, that was all a misunderstanding. I can explain..."

"No need to explain." Raina interrupted her. Her voice wasn't loud, yet it silenced Elowen. "I've watched you grow up since childhood. I know what kind of person you are."

Elowen was stunned.

Raina sighed, a trace of regret in her eyes—that kind of regret hurt Elowen more than anger would have.

"You were so wonderful as a child—obedient and sensible. Every visit, you'd keep me company, help water the flowers, sit with me in the sun. How did you become like this after growing up?"

Elowen's eyes reddened. This time it wasn't pretense—they truly reddened. "Mrs. Stuart, I truly know I was wrong. I just liked Alaric too much. I was momentarily confused..."

"Liked?" Raina shook her head. "Is that liking? That's possession. Liking someone means wanting them to be well, being willing to see them happy, even if that happiness doesn't come from you. Did the things you did make Alaric better? Did they make him happy?"

Elowen couldn't speak.

Raina stood and walked to the window. Sunlight stretched her shadow long across the floor. "I have no say in Alaric's matters. He's been independent-minded since childhood, even more so as an adult. Even his father can't control him, much less me."

She paused and turned to look at Elowen. "Besides, I've met that Harper. She's a good girl. I'm at peace with Alaric being with her."

Elowen's face went completely pale.

She stood and walked to Raina's side, her voice trembling. "Mrs. Stuart, you can't do this. After all these years of friendship between our families, can you bear to watch Alaric be deceived by that woman? She's divorced and her reputation's ruined—she's not worthy of Alaric! What does she have? She has nothing!"

Raina looked at her with the calm gaze one might give an unreasonable child.

"Elowen, whether she's worthy isn't for you to decide, nor for me to decide. It's for Alaric to decide. If he thinks she's worthy, then she's worthy. If he thinks she's good, then she's good." She paused, a trace of pity in her eyes. "Go home. Stop being so stubborn."

Elowen stood there, trembling all over.

Her nails dug into her palms, the pain almost making her cry out, but she held it in.

No, she couldn't give up like this.

"Mrs. Stuart, at least persuade Alaric not to help Harper against me. Our families have been friends for generations—he can't treat me this way. If you speak, he'll listen at least a little..."

Raina looked at her and suddenly smiled.

That smile carried complex meanings.

Pity, helplessness, and something Elowen couldn't understand.

"Elowen, you think Alaric will listen to me?"

Elowen froze.

Raina returned to the sofa, picked up the photo album, flipped to a certain page, and handed it to her. "Look at this."

Elowen leaned over and saw an old photograph.

The photo showed a young Alaric and Xander facing each other, both looking displeased.

Xander's finger was practically jabbing Alaric's face, while Alaric's expression was cold, his jaw tightly set.

"This was five years ago," Raina said. "I wanted to take a photo of father and son together, but they got into another argument. You know what it was about without me saying—his father wanted an arranged marriage, wanted him to marry a suitable match. He refused. After that, he moved out. He's had complete control of company matters ever since. His father wanted to interfere but couldn't get near."

She looked up at Elowen. "Elowen, the Stuart family isn't what you think it is anymore. Alaric's father can't control him, much less me. Whatever he wants to do, no one can stop him. Whoever he wants to help, no one can stop him."

Elowen's mind went blank. "You're saying... the Stuart family can't control him?"

Raina nodded. "We can't control him. And we don't want to. He's grown up with his own ideas. As parents, as long as he's doing well, that's enough. As for who he's with, who he marries—that's his business, not ours."

Elowen collapsed onto the sofa, as if all strength had been drained from her.

She'd thought that as long as she won over the Stuart family, as long as Xander and Raina stood on her side, Alaric would listen to them.

She'd thought decades of family friendship could be leveraged for something.

But now Raina was telling her the Stuart family had no control over Alaric at all.

Then what was the point of all this?

Raina looked at her state and sighed.

That sigh was light, yet pressed on Elowen's heart like a stone.

"Elowen, go home. Stop being so obsessed. Some things can't be forced. You're still young with excellent prospects. Why hang all your hopes on Alaric? There are plenty of other opportunities out there."

Elowen didn't answer.

She didn't know how she walked out of the Stuart Villa.

She walked down the street, aimlessly wandering.

She didn't know how long she'd walked. She only knew that as dusk approached, she stopped at a certain place.

She looked up—it was a bar, its neon sign flickering with ambiguous light in the evening.

She pushed through the door and ordered a drink.

The strong liquor burned down her throat, the harsh liquid scorching her esophagus, but it couldn't burn away the hatred in her heart.

'Harper.'

'It's all because of you.'

'If not for you, why would Alaric ignore me?'

'If not for you, why would the Stuart family treat me this way?'

'If not for you, how would I have fallen into this state?'

Elowen's hand trembled as she gripped her glass, the hatred in her eyes nearly overflowing.

The liquid swirled in the glass, reflecting her twisted face.

Her phone rang.

Who could it be?