Chapter 408 Marital Harmony, Early Conception
She turned to look at him, somewhat speechless, her mouth opening as if to say something, but unable to get a single word out for quite a while.
The more William had no principles, the more he kept lowering his bottom line for her, the more she felt like she wasn't being a good wife.
Back in school, when the last-place student sat next to the top student, there was a sense of guilt.
Always worrying whether secretly playing around in class would affect the next person.
Whether the other person would go with the flow and stop trying hard because of her lack of ambition. That's exactly how Thalia felt now - like she didn't deserve this.
This guilt made her feel like she was an unforgivable human being.
Standing on the edge between clarity and numbness, not daring to fall but unable to break free either.
"What do you want to say?" William saw through her hesitation.
"Nothing." Thalia put down her utensils and pulled out a napkin to wipe her mouth.
The person who had been sitting properly in the chair was now squatting on it, hugging her knees, curled up in a ball.
"Going upstairs?" William asked.
"How?" Thalia asked.
"How do you want to go up?"
"I don't want to walk."
William got it and called out Thalia. "Just say it if you want me to carry you."
When William came out after his shower, Thalia was already asleep, hugging a stuffed toy. A floor lamp stood alone in the corner, its dim light only revealing Thalia's long hair spread behind her head.
William turned off the floor lamp and got into bed, pulling the stuffed toy from Thalia's hands and tossing it onto the sofa.
On this bed, whenever he saw anything extra that didn't belong there, he wanted to throw it away.
........
When the 4 AM alarm went off, Thalia groggily climbed out of bed.
For once, William was woken up by Thalia.
The man propped himself up and sat against the headboard, his voice hoarse. "What time is it?"
"Four o'clock."
"Up this early?"
"Peace Church opens at six, and it takes an hour to drive there from here without traffic."
William splashed cold water on his face to wake up a bit. Seeing Thalia wearing a tracksuit, he also picked out some casual clothes.
The two traveled together in a business vathat n they rarely used. John and Finn sat up front with the partition raised. Thalia caught up on sleep in the car while William replied to emails on his iPad.
Angelina woke up early in the morning needing to use the bathroom. Just as she got up, her phone on the nightstand dinged, showing an incoming email.
This early?
Angelina: [It's hardly morning.]
William: [Up early, going to Peace Church.]
Angelina laughed. In her impression, William never believed in these things.
Angelina: [What are you going to Peace Church for? You have everything already. Do you still need God to guide you?]
William held his phone, studying Angelina's words over and over.
He already had everything others spent their whole lives seeking.
The destination some people spent their entire lives trying to reach - he was already standing at that endpoint now. What was he going to Peace Church for? Peace, health, a life free of worries?
None of that was what he currently wanted.
After a long while, the man's slender fingers moved across the screen: [To communicate with God about how to have a harmonious marriage and have a child soon.]
Angelina was stunned.
Angelina was shocked by this man's shameless words. She clicked her tongue twice, and sticking to the principle of not being a buzzkill, replied: [Wishing you success in advance.]
At Peace Church in the early morning, guests were already gradually making their way up the mountain. The business van drove all the way to the back entrance of Peace Church, and they entered through the side door before the main gates opened.
The moment the door opened, the guests flooding in immediately saw the man and woman standing in the main hall. Though dressed simply and wearing masks, they still couldn't hide their distinguished bearing.
"Mr. Brown, seeing you today is quite unexpected."
The pastor at Peace Church seemed very familiar with William. He greeted him, walking past Thalia. What's more, he might not have recognized who Thalia was, but he recognized William.
The man stood beside Thalia and extended his hand to him. "Hello."
"This way, please, you two."
In the side hall of Peace Church, William was invited in by the pastor. Thalia stood in the corridor looking at a late-blooming osmanthus tree in the courtyard.
The osmanthus flowers on the tree were past their peak bloom, with only a sparse few hanging on the branches, but that couldn't stop their fragrance.
"Mr. Brown, you and this lady..."
"My wife."
Married?
Hearing these three words, the pastor was startled. Hadn't the outside world always said he was single?
He was secretly married?
But thinking about it, these wealthy families all valued their private lives highly. Not making a public announcement was reasonable.
For someone of this status, every move affected everything else.
"Mr. Brown, Mrs. Brown, what would you like to pray for?"
"For peace."
"For a child." The couple spoke in unison, except Thalia was standing under the eaves, her voice distant. Compared to William's request for a child, it seemed ethereal and vague.
Thalia looked at William with some surprise. So what he said last night was true? Not a joke?
Had William gone crazy or had she? A two-year marriage term, and he still wanted a child?
Bring a child into the world to suffer with them?
Facing Thalia's surprise, William's gaze slowly swept over. That look seemed to resonate with the autumn wind, making all the wind in the courtyard blow in her direction.
"Peace comes first in all things. What you both wish for is possible."
William sat in the chair, extending his hand toward Thalia, gesturing for her to come over.
Thalia didn't want to go, but in front of outsiders, she couldn't embarrass William.
The two entered the chapel, and John tactfully closed the door.
Standing under the eaves, he looked at Finn. "Think they'll start fighting?"
"Not here."
"Can't say for sure once they get home."
Thalia bringing William to Peace Church was just asking for trouble. William hoping to have a child with her? Wasn't that clearly asking for suffering?
In the chapel, Thalia pinched William's thigh under the table, showing no mercy in her actions.
The pastor observed for a while, then slowly looked up at William. "Mr. Brown, the time is not yet right. Don't be hasty."
"Forcing it will only put you in a difficult situation."
Much later, after losing a child, William finally realized the gravity of these words.