Chapter 483

Chapter 483

Shawn said nothing, there was a hideous look on his face.

Well, anyone would be stuck in a difficult position like this, caught between a rock and a hard place.

Seraphina took a deep breath, walked up to him, and patted his shoulder as if to comfort him. "Shawn, you said before that you'd respect my choice. Is that still true or not? Will you go back on your word?"

Shawn grabbed her wrist. "I did say that, and I won't change it, but Mom is in this condition now..."

"So what?" Seraphina suddenly stepped back, her eyes full of wariness and disappointment. "Are you going to use her illness to emotionally blackmail me?"

"It's not emotional blackmail." Shawn ran his hand through his hair helplessly. "It's just... maybe we could consider freezing eggs, or surrogacy..."

Seraphina's expression instantly turned livid. "Surrogacy? Making another woman bear the risks and pain of pregnancy for your family legacy? Shawn, I didn't know you were this selfish. And have you thought about what comes after? When the child is actually born, who would the child be closer to? Wouldn't it cause an ethical disaster?"

She didn't want to talk to him anymore.

But unexpectedly, Shawn's anger flared up instantly too.

"I'm selfish?" Shawn's voice rose as he looked at her in disbelief. "I've been under so much pressure not forcing you to have kids. My mom is practically threatening to kill herself! I just suggested a compromise, and you attack me so harshly. Have you thought about my feelings?"

"Compromise?" Seraphina grabbed her suitcase handle and turned to leave. "When it comes to having kids or not, there is no compromise. Either have them or don't. I'm not going to! If you want kids, I can make it easy for you. We'll get divorced, and you can have as many kids as you want."

She walked toward the door. "I'm going to stay at a hotel for a few days. Come find me when you've figured things out."

The door slammed shut so hard that it shook a decorative painting on the wall .

Shawn stood there, feeling exhausted like never before.

He took out his phone and scrolled to the photo his mom had sent a few days ago. It was a picture of Dustin running happily on the soccer field, his smile bright, looking a lot like him too.

That was his son. The son for whom he'd never fulfilled a single day of fatherly duty.

The phone suddenly rang. It was the hospital calling.

"Mr. Jones, your mother just had an emotional episode and her blood pressure spiked. We recommend immediate hospitalization for treatment."

Shawn closed his eyes. "I'll be right there."

Hospital corridors always smelled of disinfectant.

Isabel was leaning against the headboard as her eyes flickered with sadness.

Seeing her son come in, she immediately stretched out her hand. "Shawn! Where's Seraphina?"

"We had a fight." Shawn lowered his head and thought for a moment, then decided to tell the truth. "She doesn't want to have kids, Mom. It's her decision, and we should respect it."

Isabel's pale lips began to tremble. "Then what about me? What about the Jones family?"

Her tears came instantly. "Your father doesn't care about the family. I raised you with such hardship, just hoping..."

"Mom, you haven't been feeling well lately. I've already found a good nursing home for you. You should go there and rest for a while." Shawn said flatly. He deliberately avoided Isabel's gaze from the bed.

Isabel's eyes widened as if she didn't recognize her own son.

"I've already contacted a nursing home in Zephyria." Shawn's voice was surprisingly calm, with a hint of helpless sadness. "The medical facilities there are better than here. The flight is next Monday."

"You... you have such a cold heart. I gave birth to a useless thing like you, I might as well..." Isabel trembled with anger which made her unable to finish her sentence.

Shawn knelt by the bed and held his mother's pale hand. "I love Seraphina, and I love you too. It's just... this time I have to make my own decision."

Isabel pulled her hand back and slapped him hard across the face, then turned toward the wall. "Get out."

Meanwhile, Sophia was watering flowers on her balcony.

Ryder hugged her from behind and rested his chin on her shoulder.

Dustin was playing in the garden downstairs, looking so happy it was mesmerizing.

"Isabel took the morning flight to Zephyria today," he whispered in her ear. "Shawn personally saw her off. She won't be a problem for us anymore."

Sophia's hand shook, and water spilled on the freshly mopped floor. She didn't know what to say for a moment.

Even with Isabel gone, the gossip would still exist. That was an undeniable fact.

"Sophia, Amelia said something very right. We can't always box ourselves in by what others think. The more we care about those things, the more they'll control us." Ryder seemed to see right through her thoughts. He turned her around, held her hands, and said softly:

"You've seen how I've treated Dustin these past few years. We should work together to protect our family."

Sophia couldn't help but laugh.

Those words definitely had Amelia written over them.

Amelia was becoming like a life coach for their whole circle.

In fact, Amelia had indeed met with Ryder.

Amelia's exact words were, "Ryder, you're way too fragile. A few words from others and you're down for the count. Look at me. Think back carefully, which step of my journey from zero to now hasn't been accompanied by controversy and gossip? If I were as fragile as you, I would have given up long ago..."

There was a lot more after that.

Ryder had wanted to say he knew all that, he wasn't bothered, he just needed to cool down and handle their issues.

But Amelia, as if afraid he wouldn't get it, kept comforting him with all kinds of comparisons until he fell silent.

At this moment, Amelia was upstairs in her own house, using binoculars to spy on Sophia's house.

She was still worried these two might get worked up and start fighting.

Owen appeared with his younger siblings, tiptoeing, one on each side and one in the middle, suddenly hugging Amelia's waist.

Amelia was so startled she dropped her binoculars and jumped. "What are you doing?"

The three kids made faces in unison and ran off quickly.

Amelia was really annoyed.

Over the years as the kids grew up, she'd put in more and more effort, but sometimes when kids got naughty, it really drove you crazy.

Like her second daughter Olivia, not even eight years old yet, and she'd already received over a dozen love letters. One day Amelia found a blue envelope in her daughter's backpack. The handwriting was crooked, but the expression was quite simple and honest.

It said, "Olivia, you're very pretty. Can I ask the teacher if I can be your desk mate? Also, I kind of like you."

Actually, for a second-grader to write something like that was already pretty impressive, but unfortunately there was no signature.

Olivia and Owen were in the same class, so Amelia had once asked Owen to secretly observe who did it. Turns out it was that kid Raymond.

These past two years, Amelia and Melinda had gotten along well, so she just told Melinda about this little thing as a joke.

"What? My son is so shameless. He should look at himself and see if he's even good enough for Olivia." Melinda complained about her son with a look of disdain.