That was the first time Elena walked into the Williams’s mansion after the old madam had passed away. The old master had concluded that the old madam’s death was purely accidental. Hence, Elena’s appearance did not stir up much ripple even though some servants were surprised to see her.
Sarah took her to the backyard. From the buggy, she spotted the rock garden at first glance. The lake was filled, and there were newly planted flowers and trees on it. It would take years for it to look lusher, but it had looked completely different. The person might have left, but the heart would never forget.
“Okay, I have brought you here. Would you see Dylan now?”
Sarah was extremely concerned about her son. She wished that Elena would go to Dylan immediately. Elena withdrew her gaze from the filled pond, and she loosened her grip.
She said, “Okay.”
The buggy turned around and headed toward the Tamron Pavilion, where Dylan lived.
The man had been drunk for two days. Sarah did not mind that because the old master had been away for two days.
“Where is the second young master?” Sarah asked as they walked into the house.
The maid immediately replied, “In his room.”
Sarah glanced at Elena before she led her upstairs. Elena ignored the maid’s quizzical looks and followed the older woman.
Sarah opened the door to Dylan’s room. Elena could smell alcohol the moment the door was opened. It was so strong that one could get drunk by the mere scent. Elena did not believe that Dylan was drunk because of her. For someone like him, women were no different than a change of clothes. He was only upset that he could not get her.
Sarah walked in and saw Dylan on the bed. None of the maids had dared to approach him for the last two days. He was either drunk or asleep. He drifted off to sleep when he was drunk, and he would continue to drink once he woke up. He had utterly slipped into decadence!
Everyone thought that Second Young Master Williams was so depressed that he did not even turn up at work because Eldest Young Master Williams had taken over as Williams Corporation’s new CEO. The news had traveled far and wide. Perhaps even the old master knew about it, too.
Sarah felt helpless, but she walked toward her son and tried to take the bottle away. Her action awakened Dylan, and he snatched the bottle back and lifted it to drink.
However, the wine bottle was already emptied. He tipped the bottle, but there was not a drop of wine in it. He got angry.
“What are you doing over there? Bring me more wine!”
Sarah forcefully took the empty wine bottle from his hand and chucked it aside.
“Son, look who’s here?”
“No! Just bring me more wine!” Dylan’s voice was hoarse, his hair was messy, and his face was covered with beard stubble.
That was the first time Elena saw him in such a miserable state. It seemed as if Eldest Young Master Williams’s appointment as the new CEO was a hard blow. However, she did not feel anything when she saw him in such a bitter state because she had no affection for Dylan. On the other hand, Sarah was heartbroken. She felt even more depressed after she saw Elena’s lukewarm attitude. She knew she should not expect much from Elena.
Sarah nudged Dylan and softly asked, “Dylan, didn’t you say that you wanted to see Elena? I brought her here, look.”
“Elena…?” Dylan opened his eyes and looked at the direction that Sarah pointed.
The girl at the door wore a plain white dress. Her long hair hung behind her head, and her face was bright, fair, fresh, delicate, and flawless.
“Angel…” Dylan had slept for a couple of hours, so he had slowly recovered from his drunken state even though he had drunk a lot before that. It seemed as if he had sobered when he saw Elena. He immediately got up and walked toward Elena.
Sarah sighed. It looked like Dylan really liked Elena very much, and it was like Sarah was not even there. How pitiful was that? It looked like the son was no longer close to the mother after he had grown up and started his own life.
Dylan went to Elena and reached out to touch her. Elena took a step back and stared at him with a look of disgust. “Don’t touch me. You’re dirty.”
Dylan stopped abruptly. He looked down at himself and saw stains of red wine on his clothes. Suddenly, he felt too uncomfortable to stand in front of Elena. He did not know what to do. He had wanted to touch her, but she thought he was dirty…
” Dylan, you are really… dirty.”
When Sarah noticed that his son was sober, she hurried toward him and said with a smile, “Go take a shower first, don’t turn the lady off.”
“Take a shower…” It appeared that Dylan was not fully awake yet. He looked at Sarah, and then at Elena. He wanted to move toward Elena, but the young lady immediately took a step back to put their distance further apart. Dylan could not bear to see his miserable self anymore.
“Okay, I… will take a shower, but…”
He looked at Elena. He hesitated as if he was very uneasy. Sarah knew what was on his mind and said reassuringly, “I will help you look after her. She will not leave, but if you do not clean up, she might be shunned by your dreadful odor.”
“I… I’ll clean up immediately! Wait for me!”
Dylan had never been so nervous. He took a sniff of himself; they were right; he was stinky! He had not taken a shower for the past two days. How could he meet anyone in that state? Besides, that person was his angel! That would not work! Dylan immediately went to the bathroom.
Before he closed the door, he reminded Sarah. “Mom, please… stay with her.”
“I know, son. I’ll take care of her. Go take a shower.”
Fortunately, Dylan had already napped before Elena’s arrival. Otherwise, Sarah would be worried about him taking a bath while he was still drunk. After Dylan went into the bathroom, Sarah got the maids in and cleaned the room as quickly as possible. The bed sheets and quilt were changed into fresh ones.
Even though Elena was unsure about Sarah’s personality, it looked like she was a dedicated mother who loved her son unconditionally. She had brought Elena to see Dylan so that he would feel better. It did not seem like she had ulterior motives in mind.
“You saw him. He would not listen to anyone except you.”
After she instructed the maids to clean up the room, Sarah went to Elena and pleaded, “Elena, can you please say something good to him later?”
“I can’t promise to be with him.” Even though she was touched by the motherly love that Sarah had displayed, Elena stood firm by her principal.
“I know.” Sarah nodded and explained, “I was just hoping that you could find a way to cheer him up; he is now…”
She glanced at the direction of the bathroom with sorrowful eyes.
“The old master and Rupert have been away for two days. They haven’t seen him like this. If they were to see it, the old master… he would be upset.”
“What about the conditions?” Elena was still a little cold.
Sarah did not blame Elena’s indifference. After her terrible experience, it was natural for her to be wary and hold her guards up against anybody. If Elena remained sweet and innocent, then she was an ignorant fool. Sarah exhaled and met Elena’s gaze.
“As long as you can give him some motivation, you can enter the old madam’s room whenever you want.”