Mr. White was not only full of white hair, he had also become much thinner. The only thing that seemed to remain was the spirit in his eyes.
He had to take medicine every day, get regular check-ups, and eat the hospital’s nutritious meals. With old age came hypertension, which sometimes caused him to fall into a coma when he got too excited.
“Elisa is here? Come sit, there’s some fruit here. Are you thirsty? Would you like some water?” Mr. White quickly greeted her to sit down as soon as he saw Elisa, having the nurse move a chair closer to him.
“What did your aunt take you to eat today?” There were many fruits on the cabinet. Elisa stood by the bed but didn’t sit down. “Just a nearby restaurant. I already ate, so I don’t want any fruit.”
Mr. White keenly noticed the jade bracelet on Elisa’s wrist and looked at Mrs. White. “Given?”
“Yes, you might not know yet, but your son is already married. Elisa is now our daughter-in-law.”
Upon hearing this, Mr. White’s face did not show happiness. Instead, it carried a sense of worry. “I’m sorry.”
“Not at all.”
“Not sorry? Do you remember when I married your Aunt Burns, the grandeur of that event is still talked about to this day. But when you married Louis, apart from the marriage certificate, a ring, and a bracelet, there was nothing else.”
Elisa looked down at the ring on her ring finger and the bracelet. “This is the best and most fitting gift I’ve ever received.”
Speaking of grandeur, wasn’t her wedding with Hamish also quite significant? There were even media reporters present at the time, but she still wasn’t happy. So, the most important thing isn’t the wedding, but the person you spend the rest of your life with, just like the ring on your finger.
Hamish had given her two rings, one was a $30 ring he bought casually on the side of the road, and the second was during their divorce proceedings when she lost the case, Hamish forcibly put the ring on her finger. Neither ring was suitable, and her feelings for Hamish were similar.
You can tell if someone loves you or not from this.
Mr. White said to Mrs. White, “We still need half a wedding, invite relatives and friends over. Although the White family is not as it used to be, we still have more than enough to hold a wedding.”
Mrs. White nodded in agreement.
The couple busied themselves with the arrangements, forgetting about Elisa beside them. It wasn’t until Mrs. White mentioned the wedding scene’s arrangement that she turned to ask Elisa, “Do you have any ideas, Elisa?”
Elisa suddenly remembered Louis saying he wanted a traditional Chinese wedding, with an overwhelming amount of red, and a red veil on top. She couldn’t help but smile, “Let’s go with a Chinese-style wedding.”
Seeing Elisa alone in the hospital and realizing she must have many things to do at such a critical time, Mr. White said, “Elisa, why don’t you go home?”
“But…”
“Your mother is here to take care of me, and there are nurses. I’ll be fine. I can even get out of bed and take a walk now.”
The phrase “your mother is here to take care of me” almost caught Elisa off guard. She rarely tasted the flavor of maternal love; her mother died in childbirth, and since then, her father and brother hated her to the bone.
The word “mother” was something she never dared to hope for. Father, mother, brother-they were now familiar yet still unfamiliar words to her.
“Then Louis and I will come to visit you together next time,” Elisa didn’t refuse to leave. There were indeed many things waiting for her to handle at the company, and she also had to hand over her work to Louis.
“Elisa,” Mr. White suddenly called her. He propped himself up, and when Mrs. White, who was closest to him, saw, she quickly helped him up a bit.
Mr. White looked at Elisa. “Can you call me dad?”
Elisa was taken aback, suddenly thinking of Koby, her father. Perhaps Koby hadn’t fulfilled his duties as a good father to her, but he had always been a good husband. After her mother’s death, he still wore his wedding ring.
The phone number related to his wife was never deleted from his phone, even though it was an inactive number. He could chatter on endlessly to the cold system tone, as if his wife had not died.
They had a deep affection between them, a red thread woven by the matchmaker. When his wife died, he lost half of his soul, until he jumped off the building. He hadn’t even taken off the ring on his ring finger, perhaps wantingto follow the red thread down below to find her again.
Elisa had resented her father, resenting his coldness towards her, his constant scolding. He never cared for her even when she was sick, until after he died, all the resentment disappeared.
In fact, upon careful consideration… her father, who loved her mother so much, kept all her belongings. It was said that he had sought death, but perhaps he suddenly looked back and saw their two children.
The family’s nanny had once told Elisa, “In these years, your father has lived a difficult life…”
Her grandfather had also told her, “Don’t be fooled by how your father treats you. When you were still a little baby, he even changed your diapers and fed you with formula.”
“Dad, can you give me a hug?” Elisa wanted to cry; she wanted to cry in her father’s arms. They said it was my fault that mom died.
The memory lingered on Koby’s indifferent figure, leaving, never turning back, making the last call standing at the high building, then jumping, with his brain bursting.
“Elisa?”
Elisa shivered, and when she came to her senses, she wiped her nose.
The first word “dad” might be difficult to say, but Mr. White understood. “If you can’t say it now, it’s okay…”
“Dad.” Elisa interrupted, her voice hoarse. Looking at Mr. White’s stunned expression, Elisa, afraid he didn’t hear clearly, repeated earnestly, “Dad, I’m going home today.”
“Alright, take care on the way. Let us know when you arrive at the company,” Mr. White nodded. Then Elisa waved to Mrs. White before leaving. As she turned away, her eyes turned red. She felt warm in her heart. It was late autumn approaching winter, and the weather was cold. Elisa was sensitive to the cold, but now she couldn’t feel the chill. A warm feeling spread throughout her body, even her ears felt warm.
She finally had her own mom and dad. She was no longer the person laughed at, uncared for. If she felt wronged and wanted to cry in the future, she didn’t have to sneak off to the bathroom to cry alone.
Elisa had always thought she wasn’t a sentimental person, having been cold for many years, her heart had been confined. But now, it was all collapsing, and those who cared for her protected her heart.
She didn’t feel lonely at all now. Elisa stepped out of the ward, not leaving immediately, but closed the door and leaned against the wall.
Her eyes were still somewhat red, and she didn’t want anyone to notice. She quickly lowered her head, waiting for her eyes to cool down. Elisa was about to leave when she suddenly heard Mr. White coughing from the ward.
“Cough, cough… Bring out my laptop.”
“You are in this state, and you still want to work? Come and drink some water…”
“How can I not work? I can’t rely entirely on them. You also know Louis never intended to inherit the White family business from the beginning. He got lost as a child and spent over ten years as a fool in the orphanage; he doesn’t understand the issues at work… Originally, I planned to hand over the business to Elisa after she and Louis got married, but now the White family is in a mess. How can I hand it over to her?”
“But you are in the hospital now, you should prioritize your health.”
“I know, I’ll be fine… Cough, cough…”
“You say you’re fine, but look at how you are coughing!”
“I’m still alive, my mind is clear, and I can still help them as much as I can. I don’t want them to suffer in the future. Louis and Elisa are already married, and this wedding has to be made up quickly. I can’t let her down…”
Elisa couldn’t hear what Mr. White said after that. Her ears were buzzing, and it was only now that they thought of her.
Mr. White said he didn’t care about the family business, but who would want decades of hard work to be ruined in an instant?
…
Elisa returned to the company, handled the urgent documents in hand, and then handed over her work to the White Group. It was already 8 p. m. by the time she was done.
She and Louis quickly got their marriage certificate, becoming husband and wife, but now on the second day of their marriage, they were too busy to even see each other. It was all work, work, and more work.
Elisa returned to Vaquita Bay. The sunflowers in the jade flowerpot had already passed their flowering season, and the petals had withered and drooped. Elisa pruned them and added some nutrient water to the soil, which had become a bit dry.