Chapter 25 You’ve Been Having a Hard Time
“She complained to you again?”
The word “again” instantly alerted Braden that something was wrong.
“She didn’t. I asked her,” Kolton replied.
Kolton’s lips twitched into a faint smile, his eyes cold and indifferent. “Don’t meddle on her behalf.”
Braden retorted, “I’m not meddling, Kolton. Men should…”
“I won’t have another round with you. I’m going to see Mom.”
There seemed to be some psychological distance between Kolton and Braden.
Since Kolton took over NimbusCore Group, Braden had retired.
Braden drifted away from work, while Kolton became engrossed in it. They interacted with each other less and less frequently.
After getting married, Kolton moved out and only returned on Saturdays when he wasn’t swamped.
Even then, he mostly talked to his mother about work.
When Kolton was busy, Braden might not see him for a month, further straining their relationship.
Braden put down the chess piece and watched his son head upstairs, lost in thought.
“I retired to spend more time with Denise. I don’t want to cause trouble for
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Kolton’s family.‘
In the garden house on the top floor.
Cecilia gently plucked a bunch of sunflowers and meticulously pruned them one by one.
Kianna settled onto the rattan chair beside her and smiled warmly at her. “What other flowers do you like? I’ll plant them for you.”
At night, the garden house offered a breathtaking view of the starry sky, and the sweet fragrance of various blossoms filled the air.
Cecilia liked coming here. She returned Kianna’s smile and said, “I like all the flowers you plant. Later, I’ll pick some for you and put them in your room, okay?”
“Sure.” Kianna’s joy grew as she saw Cecilia’s smile. “That lily will be in full bloom in a few days. I’ll pick it and turn it into dried flowers, then put them in your wedding house.”
The so–called wedding house wasn’t the one where Cecilia and Kolton currently lived
The Thompson family owned numerous properties. To demonstrate their great regard for Cecilia, they purchased another villa for the couple before their wedding.
Since the villa had just been constructed and hadn’t been renovated yet, they hadn’t moved in.
When thinking about that villa, Cecilia felt a twinge of pain.
She had personally designed the villa’s interior decoration, following the unique style she preferred.
During the first three months of her marriage, she was occupied with designing the villa every day.
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She didn’t follow the most popular design trends at that time. Instead, she painstakingly crafted every detail, making it truly one–of–a–kind.
She would never have the chance to live in the home that she had once been full of dreams about and had built with her own hands.
“Alright.” She still nodded in agreement.
After finishing pruning the sunflowers, she picked a few more flowers, cut their stems, and placed them in the bedroom with Kianna.
About half an hour later, it was time for dinner.
Cecilia, Kianna, and Braden had been seated for a while when Kolton and Denise, who had been discussing work, finally came a bit late.
Kolton pulled out the chair beside Cecilia and took a seat. He glanced at the side of her face.
Kolton wondered what she and Kianna were talking about, her lips curved in a smile.
He gave a cold snort secretly, his eyes filled with derision.
He thought, “Did I mistake about her, or is Cecilia just putting on an excellent act?
“Since then, she has tested my patience on several occasions.
“She has managed to play up to my family, and even my strict mother wore a faint smile whenever she saw Cecilia.
“Or maybe, after all this time, her true nature is finally showing, and she’s trying to use the Thompson family’s influence to subdue me?
“How absurd!”
“Denise.” Cecilia felt a twinge of awkwardness when she met Denise, her
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mother–in–law.
Particularly during their first meeting, Denise had regarded Cecilia as if she were an object, sizing her up to determine if she was worthy of joining the Thompson family.
Cecilia had expected Denise to be a tough mother–in–law.
Surprisingly, after she got married, Denise didn’t interact with her very often.
On the rare occasions they did meet, Denise didn’t give her a hard time.
As time passed, Cecilia had grown used to this situation, yet it also made her a bit uneasy.
“You seem to have lost some weight lately.” Denise noticed that Cecilia’s already slender chin had become even more pointed. “Eat more.
With that, Denise even served her some meat.
Cecilia was taken aback and felt honored, nodding slightly. Before she could express her gratitude, she thought she heard a faint snort beside her
ear.
She turned her head and looked at Kolton.
Kolton showed only his profile, yet it perfectly conveyed a sarcastic expression.
However, that expression vanished in an instant, so quickly that she wondered if she had been mistaken.
“Mom, you’ve been having a hard time. Eat more,” Kolton said, emphasizing the words “you’ve been having a hard time” as he served some meat for Denise.
He added, “I’m going to assign the next project to Iris.”
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The conversation shifted from casual chat to work matters.
It was quite normal for him and Denise to always talk about work when they were together.
But upon hearing Iris’s name mentioned so suddenly, Cecilia felt quite uncomfortable, and she couldn’t help but think deeply about the meaning behind Kolton’s “You’ve been having a hard time.”
For an unemployed woman with nothing much to do, accepting even a serving of meat seemed rather awkward.
Especially with the expression and tone with which he had said those words, Cecilia’s interpretation was rather constrained.
“The feedback on the two projects she worked on previously was excellent, and they brought substantial profits to the company. I can rest assured leaving this new project to her,” Kolton said.
Denise rarely complimented others, but she praised Kolton once again, saying, “When you promoted her, she really lived up to your expectations. You have a good eye for talent.”
A faint smile played on Kolton’s chiseled face. “She truly is very capable.”
“It’s dinner time. If you want to discuss work, go back to the study,” Kianna said, not fond of business talk at the dinner table.
She was keenly aware that there was something off about Cecilia’s expression.
The Thompson family adhered to strict table etiquette. In the dining room, the only sound was the crisp clatter of plates, and no one spoke again.
As the dinner was drawing to a close, the phone that Kolton had placed beside him suddenly rang.
He quickly grabbed his phone and answered it, so swiftly that Cecilia
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didn’t even have a chance to glimpse the caller ID.
“Stay put. I’m on my way.”
Sitting closest to him, Cecilia could hear a woman’s voice on the other end of the line.
She knew that voice all too well–it was Iris.
“Grandma, Mom, Dad, take your time. I have something urgent to take care of.”
Kolton stood up, offering a slight nod of apology for his abrupt departure.
Yet, he completely ignored Cecilia, his wife.
Not a word was spoken to her, not even a passing glance in her direction.
Braden furrowed his brows, and Kianna’s expression soured.
Denise simply said, “Work comes first. Be careful on the road.”
With that, Kolton grabbed his coat and left.
The atmosphere at the dining table turned icy. Cecilia forced herself to focus on her food, pretending everything was fine, but the food sat heavy in her mouth. She could hardly swallow it.
She couldn’t help wondering when she would stop being affected by the situation between Kolton and Iris.
How long would this ache in her heart last?
Perhaps things would be better after the divorce. Once they stopped seeing each other, out of sight would mean out of mind… or so she hoped.
“Kianna, why aren’t you eating?” Denise suddenly noticed that Kianna
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and Braden had set their forks aside and couldn’t help but feel curious.
Braden tried to lighten the mood, smiling as he said, “Let’s eat. Mom, the food tonight is wonderful. Take your time.”
Kianna gave Cecilia a gentle smile. “Cecilia, you’ve been having a hard time too. Eat up…”
“Thank you, Kianna.” Cecilia had to muster all her strength to swallow the food that had been in her mouth for a while.
After the meal, she didn’t linger at the Thompson’s place for long and drove back home alone.
Inside the confined space of the car, the faint scent of sunflowers still tickled her nose.
There were very few cars on the road home, and she maintained her speed at the maximum limit allowed.
A three–way intersection loomed ahead. Just as she was about to slow down, a person suddenly dashed out from the intersection and started running towards her while waving his arms.
Reacting instinctively, she turned the steering wheel sharply to the left, and the car veered straight toward a thick tree.
Bang….
With a deafening crash, the car’s hood was jolted open, and dark smoke billowed out.
