Chapter 299 William Is Not Here, She Actually Lost Sleep
She had been a daughter of the Carter family for fifty years. During those fifty years, she walked on thin ice because she was a girl, and because she was a girl, she was thrown out to survive somewhere beyond Regal City.
If Kurt hadn't done well these years, if they hadn't achieved success in the financial world, the Carters would have forgotten about his existence long ago. A person who's been suppressed for too long - even when they stand up, their knees remain bent. That's exactly what Zephyrine was like.
Tragic, suppressed crying echoed through the car, waves of sobbing like the miserable howling of ghosts and wolves in the night.
Kurt sat to the side, his anger subsiding a bit. Probably because they'd been married for many years, and Zephyrine had never done anything out of line - this time she'd only resorted to this desperate measure because she was forced into it.
The Carter family's influence on her had long since seeped into her bones, and what exists in one's bones cannot be removed.
"Alright, what's done is done. This is our best choice," Kurt said.
Zephyrine shot back, "It's not our best choice at all. Do you know how hard I've worked for this day? How desperately I've tried to make something of myself, to make others respect me, and in the end, this is it? Everything just turns to bubbles?"
"You've lived your whole life in the shadow of the Carter family, which is a mistake in itself. The Carter family is powerful, but you're not bad either. Why do you keep putting yourself down and trying to please them over and over? What, will their approval make you live forever?"
"You just don't understand!" Zephyrine shook her head, tears streaming down her face. The once refined lady now looked completely defeated.
"I just wanted to prove myself. Is that wrong?"
"From the moment I was born, I've been walking on thin ice in the Carter family. Suppressed as a child, abandoned as an adult, and now near retirement age, I could finally hold my head up high when talking to them, but it's all gone up in smoke. All those years of effort I made to prove myself have vanished into thin air."
Kurt couldn't understand Zephyrine's stubbornness - how could someone be so humble just to win others' favor?
He didn't get it.
Zephyrine seemed to know what he was thinking and let out a cold laugh. "Of course you can't understand. You grew up in a happy family, an only child, with no one competing for attention, no one trying to outdo you. Your whole family showered you with love as a child. But I'm different. The Carter family has many children and is a prominent household in Regal City. If I wanted to live well, if I wanted to stand out, I had to compete with them. Do you know how hard it was for me, pushing myself day and night to please them?"
Kurt replied, "You're not wrong, and it's not your fault that you were raised this way. But you can't find new land with an old map. If you want to live well, you need to break away from the Carter family. Otherwise, you'll just be their puppet until you die, someone they can call on or dismiss at will."
Zephyrine's soul trembled as she looked at Kurt with shock in her eyes.
She couldn't calm down for a long time.
Kurt added, "When the Carter family needs you, you're a good daughter. When they don't need you, you're nothing. Isn't this situation a perfect example? If the Carter family had helped us, would we have ended up begging William?"
Kurt was full of anger, but had been holding back because he didn't want to affect their marriage.
...
The next day, the servants at Mistwood Hill were busy with their tasks. Fallon stood in the backyard instructing the servants to do their jobs and serve the guests and masters well. At dawn, the lawn's sprinkler system automatically turned on, water droplets falling on the morning grass, beautiful and healing.
"Fallon," Fallon's words were interrupted. Following a servant's gaze, she saw Thalia sitting in a lounge chair on the bedroom balcony in her morning robe with her eyes closed, looking like she hadn't slept well.
Fallon turned, poured a glass of warm water, placed it on a tray, and quickly headed to the second-floor bedroom. Though her steps were quick, they were steady, showing the professionalism of an expert housekeeper. "Mrs. Brown, good morning."
Thalia's eyes narrowed slightly. "Morning."
"Mrs. Brown, didn't you sleep well last night?"
Thalia rubbed her forehead wearily. It was really frustrating - without William there last night, she actually had insomnia and nightmares half the night, too scared to sleep.
Otherwise, why would she be up so early on such a beautiful morning, sitting on the balcony in the cold wind?
"Give me the water," Thalia didn't answer her question.
She picked up the glass and drank half of it, then asked, "Where's William?"
"Mr. Brown is still in a meeting."
Still in a meeting? All night long?
Thalia had no interest in chatting with Fallon and waved her hand, signaling her to leave.
She changed positions and, taking advantage of the sunlight reaching the balcony, walked to the wicker lounge chair to catch up on sleep.
All last night, she'd had bizarre dreams, and the main character in all of them was William. It was really scary.
She actually dreamed about William at night - could she be falling in love with him?
At this thought, Thalia felt a chill run down her spine.
Lying on the lounge chair, she tossed and turned, her brows furrowed, not looking at all like someone trying to sleep, but rather like someone engaged in an intense internal struggle.
Fallon went downstairs, just as William came out of the first-floor conference room.
"Mr. Brown."
"Prepare breakfast and bring it in," William ordered.
"Okay."
"Just came down from the second floor?" The man held a cigarette between his fingers, standing by the door. His gray loungewear was still neat after a night, and just standing there, he gave Fallon the feeling of looking at someone in a painting.
"Yes, Mrs. Brown is awake."
William's hand paused as he was about to bring the cigarette to his lips, then lowered it again, his tone slightly surprised. "Awake?"
Not even six o'clock, and she's already up?
"Yes, looks like she didn't sleep well."
William glanced at the conference room and signaled Fallon to look after things, then took large strides upstairs.
Near the bedroom, he stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray on the sitting room's low table, then quietly pushed open the bedroom door. He expected to see Thalia in bed, but instead, she was on the balcony.
Not sleeping in the bedroom's million-dollar bed, but going to sleep on a lounge chair on the balcony? What kind of new trick was this?
William grabbed a blanket and walked over. Just as he covered Thalia with it, she startled awake.
Thalia had just dozed off and had another dream, still about William. In it, they were like an old married couple who'd lived together for years, holding hands and walking through a university campus. It scared her so much that when she opened her eyes, she saw the man bending over her.
"Damn it!"
William was speechless.