Chapter 25 Aunt Martha's Ban
“Aunt Martha...” Ezra called out, rebuking his aunt because her words were too painful for Aveline.
“Have you been here long?” asked Ezra's Aunt, Martha, still staring at Aveline.
Aveline felt her heart drop a beat. “No... I just arrived. I was just worried and wanted to check on Ezra's condition.”
Martha smiled faintly, but it was cold. “How very thoughtful.”
Ezra rubbed his temple. “Aunt, please...”
“Ezra dear,” Martha said, patting her nephew's arm, “you forget your health condition. You need to rest. Not receive... unnecessary visits.”
The words struck Aveline right in the chest. She knew Martha was chasing her away, just doing it in a "polite" way.
Ezra realized it. “Aunt, Miss Aveline is here because I...”
“It's alright,” Aveline cut in quickly, her voice soft, but the tremor couldn't be hidden. “I really have to go. I still have another class to take care of.”
Martha smiled, seemingly relieved that Aveline understood without her having to be told again.
“It was nice meeting you, Miss Aveline. Drive safely,” she said with a tone that was only sweet on the surface.
Ezra rushed toward Aveline. “Wait, I'll walk you out...”
“No need,” Aveline replied. She forced a smile, trying to hold back all the shame, disappointment, and something deeper than that. “Just rest.”
Ezra wanted to say something, but Aveline had already grabbed her bag and walked to the door. Their eyes met briefly, full of regret and something unresolved.
Then Aveline left. And the apartment door closed behind her with a sound that seemed like the end of something that should never have begun.
As soon as the sound of Aveline's footsteps disappeared, Ezra turned his body. “Aunt, why did you do that?”
Martha stared intensely at him. “Ezra, what else do I have to tell you? You're making a mistake. Again.”
Ezra frowned. “I didn't do anything.”
“You let an older woman into your apartment,” Martha retorted, her voice rising. “And what bothers me more is, do you really want to repeat the same tragedy as your mother?”
Ezra clenched his fist. “Don't bring Mother into this.”
“Of course I have to!” Martha pointed at him. “You saw for yourself how your mother's future was ruined by an unworthy man. Because of a relationship that shouldn't have happened! Ezra... you know the consequences. You know more than anyone.”
Ezra felt heat creep into his chest. “This is different.”
“No. It's the same.” Martha shook her head firmly. “You're entangled with an older woman who is clearly married, and she could very well destroy your life if you keep getting close to her.”
Ezra was silent. The words stung.
“And you know the people at the university,” Martha continued. “They will talk. They will accuse you of all sorts of things again... just like when something happened to Selina.”
That name made Ezra's throat constrict.
“Aunt,” he said lowly, almost a growl. “Don't talk about that... You don't know anything.”
Martha returned Ezra's gaze without flinching. “Selina... your mother... fell in love with the wrong man, and you saw for yourself what happened. I don't want you to repeat it. Not with your current status. Not with Selina's past still looming. Not with that female lecturer.”
Ezra closed his eyes, his jaw clenched. “I am not Father.”
“Good then.” Martha looked at him for a long time. “Prove that you are not him. Just focus on your studies.”
A long silence. Then, without waiting any longer, Martha grabbed her bag and headed for the door. “I'm going back to the hospital. I brought food for you. Keep the food well. And think about what I said, Ezra.”
Then the door closed again. Leaving Ezra, standing in the living room, which felt quieter than usual.
Slowly, Ezra walked into his room. Everything felt too calm, too peaceful, contrasting with the lump of anger pressing against his chest.
He opened the bedside table drawer and took out a photo frame. A picture of his mother.
Selina, smiling warmly in the picture. Her long hair fell to her shoulder, her eyes were round and gentle like Ezra's own eyes. In the photo, she looked healthy, alive, and happy.
Not like the last day Ezra saw her. She looked pale, fragile, drowned in the sadness left by Ezra's father.
Ezra stared at the photo for a long time, then his finger traced the surface of the frame's glass.
“I am not like him, Mom,” he whispered.
He squeezed the photo frame hard until his fingernails pressed into the skin of his own hand. “I will not allow myself to become a man like him.”
The frame trembled in his grip.
“Father said he loved you... But it turned out he left and didn't acknowledge you. He made you broken and shattered.” His voice was low, containing long-suppressed anger. “He also made you leave.”
Ezra bowed his head, his breath heavy.
“I promised since that day.” His fingers gripped the frame tighter. “I will destroy anyone who made you suffer.”
His gaze hardened.
“Anyone.”
Aveline got into her car and covered her face with both hands.
What had she just done?
She had almost completely betrayed her marriage. She had almost allowed herself to fall into the arms of Ezra, the young man who made her feel alive, but was also dangerous. Too dangerous.
Not only that. She had also recklessly entered Ezra's unfamiliar life... and received a painful rejection from his aunt.
But as she stared at the towering apartment building in front of her...
She realized. What she was afraid of was not just the sin.
But the fact that, for the first time in a long time, she wanted to be loved by someone who was not her husband. And that was far more frightening than anything.