Mrs. White was taken aback and subconsciously glanced in Elisa’s direction. Louis understood Mrs. White’s actions and what she didn’t comprehend. He wasn’t foolish; he had acted in numerous films, read countless scripts, had strong logical thinking, and with just a slight turn of his mind, he understood.
Elisa had known he was “Autumn” long ago, but because of his family, she had been suppressing her feelings and had not told him. Clearly, she knew he was “Autumn,” yet she pretended not to know anything, overly concerned that mentioning “Autumn” would make him jealous.
The silly crybaby.
Louis said, “It wasn’t Elisa who mentioned it; it was my own recollection. I recalled how I had gone through these years, how foolish and crazy I had been, how I had been hypnotized by you all. I don’t blame you for hypnotizing me; after all, I was unwell at the time, and you helped me undergo that treatment for the sake of my safety.”
He made himself forget his little crybaby.
“Mom, I don’t blame you. Similarly, you shouldn’t shift the blame onto Elisa either. Whatever I have become is my own doing.” This includes the recent infection by an unknown virus.
Mrs. White’s eyes reddened, tears uncontrollably streaming down. She leaned against Mr. White’s embrace, her palm against the glass. “How could we blame Elisa? From the moment you said you wanted to be with her, to bring her home, we have already considered her as our daughter. Don’t worry, you will be fine.”
Louis nodded, Mrs. White gave a few more instructions, then left them alone. She feared she would become even more despairing if she continued. So much had happened in just one day: Elisa was kidnapped by Finn, Louis was infected with a virus, and Hamish was shot. Both of them didn’t know how much time they had left, whether it was life or death.
Although she said this, Elisa still apologized to the White family, bowing her head. “I’m sorry.”
She remained in that position until Mrs. White gently placed her hand on Elisa’s head and comforted her. “You don’t need to apologize. I know who is at fault and who is innocent. You have always been innocent and have suffered. Finn is the one who has done wrong. I am not blind to the truth, Elisa. You are a good child, and I believe Louis will be fine. Heaven will give good people their due…” She was consoling both Elisa and herself.
Elisa looked up, watching them leave, then returned to the room outside the partition.
Sitting on the floor, leaning against the door, the distance between her and Louis was only the width of a door, at most fifteen centimeters. The distance seemed so close, yet they couldn’t even touch each other.
“Are you cold?” Louis asked from inside, leaning against the door.
“Not cold.” In truth, her face had turned pale from the cold, her feet had lost sensation, and her tightly clenched hands couldn’t dispel the chill. It was very cold, but saying so was useless because the person who had always warmed her hands was inside.
Louis heard Elisa’s voice, somewhat hoarse, and asked, “Elisa, are you crying?”
“No, I’m not.”
“It’s good you’re not crying. If you were, I wouldn’t even be able to wipe your tears.”
Listening to Louis, Elisa wiped the cold tears from her face.
“When did you remember?”
“On the way back, while on the plane, I remembered. I recalled the more than ten years I spent away from you, everything. In truth, I should have remembered earlier, let you wait in vain for so long. Before the accident, when I returned from the orphanage, I had dreams about Autumn for several nights. I thought it was my resentment, a nightmare. I never thought it was the truth, my forgotten past.”
Elisa gently asked, “What did you dream of?”
“I dreamt of the wisteria tree at the orphanage, reuniting with you. I called you Elisa, and you became Hamish’s wife, while I remained a fool, unable to bring you happiness, and I wanted to snatch you away and hide you.”
When he was a fool, everyone thought he didn’t understand love, but as soon as he saw Elisa, he knew no one else would do. For Elisa, he could humble himself to the extreme. Even if she never looked back, he was willing to walk behind her forever.
Back then, everyone around Elisa was exceptional. The director said Elisa had married happiness. That man, Hamish, was the wealthiest man in Bankshire, with assets worth billions. How could Elisa possibly fancy a fool like him? Did he have to scavenge to support Elisa? It was all a dream.
Yes, they were born into different classes. Even if he gave Elisa the little biscuit he had cherished for so long, in her eyes, it was just an ordinary biscuit, something he couldn’t even provide for himself. So, what could he offer her in terms of happiness?
Just as the director had said, he was a fool. Who would look at him?
The princess belonged to the prince, and the knight would always be just a supporting role, unable to even stand in front of the princess.
So, he chose to silently protect Elisa and deal with those who hurt her one by one.
However, slowly… he realized that everything was not as he had imagined. The director said Elisa had married happiness, but why had he never seen a happy smile on her face?