Aoife opened her eyes to the bright light on the ceiling, resembling the sun, yet so close yet so far away, she reached out but couldn’t touch it.
Just like how Finn once appeared so bright in her eyes.
Finn sat beside her, engrossed in his work, not noticing that Aoife was already awake. It was only when he turned around after finishing his work that he realized Aoife’s eyes were open, she didn’t speak, just stared blankly at the light above.
Setting aside his documents, Finn walked over and touched Aoife’s forehead, it wasn’t warm, she didn’t have a fever.
“Aoife, as long as you listen obediently, things will remain the same between us. Although I see you as her replacement, I won’t treat you as harshly as I did to her.”
Should she be thankful? The phrase “listen obediently” felt like a heavy chain binding her, suffocating her, making it hard to even extend her arms.
What did these words represent? Listening obediently to be Elisa’s replacement, obediently being abandoned by him, obediently bearing all the pain?
Aoife may appear obedient, but if she truly was that obedient, she wouldn’t be here. She would still be in a remote village, obediently accepting her parents’ arrangements, getting married, having children…
Finn added, “I won’t keep you for long either, people can get bored easily.”
That was the truth, unlike Hamish, he didn’t forcefully pursue what he couldn’t have.
The Burns family shared a common trait, an air of superiority and arrogance, naturally proud and self-centered, corresponding to their privileged conditions, with everyone around them revolving around them, not welcoming any opposition.
So, when Aoife mentioned leaving, he felt a sudden annoyance, it wasn’t about emotions, but about losing control over a little toy.
Finn always understood his emotions clearly.
Love to him was as light as a feather, anything affecting his mood was merely an obstacle to his money-making endeavors.
Thus, he steered clear of emotions.
Aoife also realized her position, knowing Finn’s influence, where could a person like her run off to?
If she accidentally upset Finn, she would truly become Elisa from the video.
Aoife nodded.
Finn patted her head, appearing intimate but it was just to showcase his superiority. In his hands, Aoife was merely a toy for his amusement.
This pat on her head felt like petting a well-behaved dog.
“You don’t have to cook tonight, I’ll have the driver bring something later.”
It was only for tonight, tomorrow Aoife would go back to how things were before.
Even with Aoife’s culinary skills, even if she were to open a small restaurant, she would still earn a lot of money, not to mention working as a housemaid, earning at least ten thousand a month, if not more.
Subsequently, Finn received a sudden call and left. Aoife got up, retrieved a box from under the bed, containing a few books, notebooks, pens, some loose change she had brought here.
After scribbling in a notebook for a while, she heard footsteps outside and hastily put it away…
—
After a night’s sleep, the next day, Aoife got up at four in the morning as usual to make breakfast, as if nothing had happened.
Finn took her to the scar removal surgery once, but she went alone the following two times. In less than a month, the scar had vanished, just like before.
The filming for the campus drama was done, originally planned for 24 episodes, Finn was dissatisfied with the intimate scenes and cut it down to 18 episodes.
Aoife also continued practicing the violin, but her hands seemed unfit for it, no matter how much she practiced, the sound produced was akin to sawing wood.
Finn’s usual criticism transformed from “bad” to “painfully bad.”
If she didn’t perform well during practice, Finn would punish her, hitting her palms with a stick, showing no sympathy for the blisters from playing the violin.
This life wasn’t great, nor was it terrible, compared to the past, it was an improvement.
Aoife had long adapted to this life, she just realized she still lacked self-respect.
On the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Burns family hosted a grand banquet, announcing the engagement between the Burns family and the Dankworth family, Finn and Miss Dankworth were engaged.
Miss Dankworth, Lily Dankworth, strongly opposed the idea of marrying the illegitimate son of the Burns family at first, causing a scene at home. Unable to convince her parents, she sought Finn to make her case.
To her surprise, Finn’s appearance surpassed his photos, but looks alone weren’t enough in this world where attractive people abounded.
What truly drew Lily in was when her bag was stolen, Finn risked his life to retrieve it for her.