When Michael sent his grandmother back to her room, Henry and Ava were still there. Ava was still seated on the chair because her ankle was injured, and she had not moved at all. As for Henry, he had kept his eyes on Ava, as per his grandmother’s command. However, he did not say a single word to her.
Even though Ava took the initiative to make some small talk with him, he was not interested in any conversation with her. When the old madam saw the awkward smile on Ava’s face, she knew that the girl had hit a wall. When her two grandsons left the room, she dismissed her maid before she turned toward Ava and took the young lady’s hand in hers.
“Ava, don’t mind the boys. That’s just how they usually behave.”
“It’s alright. I think that they are fine men. That’s why women find them attractive.”
Ava bit her lip and teased her finger with a shy look. The old madam felt a little uneasy when she saw her like that.
After she hesitated for a few moments, she asked. “Ava, do you… like Michael?”
“Eldest Young Master Williams…” Ava pretended to think for a moment before her face paled.
“I.. I don’t. Old Madam, please don’t get me wrong. I would never steal Eldest Young Master Williams away from Elena, absolutely not!”
She pretended to be so terrified that she began to tremble. If her ankle were not injured, she would have gotten off the chair to kneel in front of the old lady.
“Old Madam, I would never fight against Elena. I won’t, Old Madam. Please don’t punish me. Don’t hit me, no!”
“Ava, what’s wrong with you? Why would I hit you?”
Realization dawned on the old lady, and she hurriedly asked, “They… Did they hit you? Frequently?”
“No, no, of course not. Elena would never hit me. I accidentally fell on my own. Why would Elena hit me?”
Ava acted as if she wanted to force a smile, but she could not do it. Eventually, she burst into tears. She slipped from the chair and fell onto her knees with a thud. Tears trickled down her cheeks like a miniature waterfall.
“I’m sorry, Old Madam. I know that I can’t hide anything from you. I really like Eldest Young Master Williams, but… but it is just a one-sided love from my end.”
“It’s true, Old Madam. Please don’t be angry with me, and please don’t tell Elena. I’ve only ever liked Eldest Young Master Williams from afar.”
She choked so hard on her tears that she could hardly speak. She grabbed the corner of the old madam’s blanket tightly, and she looked so sad and frightened.
“I am content with just looking at him from afar. I’ll never think about things that I’ve had with him again.”
“You and Michael… were you both together?”
The old madam was quite shocked. Why had she not heard about that at all?
“No, no, we weren’t. Old Madam, please don’t tell Elena, please.”
Even though she denied their relationship, she also begged the old madam to keep it from Elena. Had she been in an affair with Michael? Had they separated because of her selfish move to match Michael with Elena? At that moment, the old madam felt as if her heart had been torn into a million pieces. It was painful! Her heart felt so painful that she had quivered. What had she done? She had destroyed her granddaughter’s happiness!
“Ava…”
“Old Madam, promise me, okay? Please, promise me, don’t tell Elena.”
As Ava reached out for the old madam’s hand, her sleeve slipped to reveal her fair arm.
There were several bruises on her delicate arm.
The old madam grabbed her hand sharply. “What are these?”
“No! They are nothing. Whatever it was, it was because I accidentally hurt myself.”
Ava hurriedly pulled her sleeves down as if she was afraid that the old madam would see the other bruises on her arm. Did Elena do that to her? Did the bright and lovely girl have a cruel and vicious side to her?
The old lady did not want to affirm that Elena was a bad girl. It had not been too long ago when she thought that Elena was her granddaughter, and she had loved her. She had cared for the young lady before she realized that she had made a mistake. It was too soon for her to change her perspective on that lovely girl.
“I accidentally bumped into something and injured myself. I’ll be fine soon.”
Ava forced a smile on her lips. She seemed unwilling to dwell any further on the matter.
Ava said, “Old Madam, you can rest assured that I will never get close to Eldest Young Master Williams again. I promise that I will stay away from him and not stand in their way.”
“Please believe me?”
The old madam looked at her as Elena’s image drifted into her mind. Even though Elena had a dull appearance, she had loved and cared for the young girl for a long time. She had thought that Elena was her granddaughter, so she could not bring herself to hate her at all.
Ava realized that she had probably overdone it. The old madam had long recognized Elena as her granddaughter and had grown to like her very much. Even though she wanted to destroy the relationship between the old madam and Elena, she should not be the one to do it. It would be too obvious if she continued to heap blame onto her sister.
The old madam pondered about the situation for a few moments before she held Ava’s hands in hers. Then she softly said, “I promise that I will not say anything. Please get up, Ava.”
When Ava got up, she accidentally hurt her ankle again. She clenched her teeth tightly but said nothing about it. She knew that the old madam pitied her because of her supposedly strong characteristics.
“Ava, I have spent quite some time with Elena. I think that… Elena is not a bad girl. Is there any misunderstanding between you two?”
Even after she saw the bruises on Ava’s arm, she still did not want to believe that they were there because of Elena.
Ava immediately replied, “No, we are very good. Elena had always been very good to me. Truly.”
The old madam looked at her and stopped talking. She did not want to hate Elena, but Ava’s humble behavior had shattered her heart into pieces. What could she do? She could not let go of both of them.
“It’s a good thing that you are not close to Michael. No matter what you both had before, he has a fiancée now.”
“I know.” Ava looked down and pretended to wipe her eyes so that she could hide the hatred in it.
It seemed like the old madam still cared about that bloody Elena, and she was unwilling to believe that the s*ut had hit her! She even wanted Ava to give up on Eldest Young Master Williams! However, there was only a sweet and docile expression on Ava’s face when she looked up again.
“As long as Michael is happy, I would be happy too, Old Madam…”
Her meek and submissive nature soured the old madam’s heart.
As she held Ava’s hand, she softly said, “Ava, you are a beautiful girl. You’d definitely find happiness in the future.”
“You are Elena’s sister. From now on, just like Elena, why don’t you call me Grandmother too?”
“Grandmother,” Ava said softly.
The old madam’s eyes moistened. She wanted to keep her dignity in front of the young lady, so she quickly looked away and wiped the corner of her eyes discreetly. When she turned around again, she had returned to the quiet and calm Old Madam Williams.
“You are a good girl. Therefore, God will treat you kindly. Don’t be afraid. Grandmother will also protect you.”