Henry’s serious expression made Elena feel unusually flustered. Her hands hung at her side as she tried to pull on her dress. She had interacted with him for so long, and they were so familiar with each other.
At that moment, however, the seriousness in his eyes suddenly made her feel as though she did not understand him.
“What… do you want to say?”
“You look a little nervous.” Henry smiled, but she could not understand that smile.
“Why are you nervous?” He walked into her room and closed the door.
Elena glared at him. “Who said that I was nervous?”
Why should she be stressed? They were together every day!
“Don’t start to imagine things.”
She turned around and packed up the things on her desk. “If you have something to say, then hurry up. I’m considering working overtime later.”
“Your work is on track at the moment, and your employees can handle it for the time being. What kind of overtime work are you doing late at night?”
Henry walked toward her. Even though Elena did not look back at him, she could feel his energy as he approached her. It was a unique aura that belonged to him, one that could make anyone feel relieved—calm, even—after he approached them.
He was already behind her, but he remained silent, as though he simply wanted to watch her put her things in order. However, there was nothing to tidy up; Elena had only wanted to distract his attention.
That night, it felt slightly different than most nights. It must have been because of those obscure remarks made by the girls in the office. If not for that, she would not have had any problems with him.
He continued to stand behind her without another word. What was with the silent treatment?
“That.” Elena thought for a while and decided to take the initiative to break the silence.
“My body is already feeling better. In fact, I feel normal now. I don’t need anyone to care for me anymore, really.”
“Hmm?” His aura inched a little closer, but Elena was oblivious to what he was doing because she did not look back.
She knew that he was closer to her because she could sense him.
“I mean, I can move back—”
Suddenly, Elena’s sentence was interrupted. She looked down at the hands that wrapped around her waist. Her heart began to pound.
What… was he doing?
“Henry…”
“Let’s be together.” Henry buried his head in her neck and closed his eyes as he smelled her unique scent.
He had hidden those words in his heart for so long; she had not had the chance to say it out loud. His voice was deep and intense, and it would easily mesmerize a woman. “I know you’ve seen him. Do you want to return to him?”
Elena panicked the moment Henry mentioned ‘him’.
Henry could sense her uneasiness. His arms tensed as he wrapped her in his embrace.
“Are you afraid? When… did you become so afraid of him?”
“Henry, I don’t want to…”
“You don’t want to talk about it, or you don’t want to go back?” He held on to her without any additional pressure on her.
“I’ll give you another chance. If you want to go back to him, I’ll find a way to tell him the truth about this entire matter, but you’ll only get that chance tonight.”
What did he mean? Elena could not comprehend what Henry had said.
It appeared as though he could guess her thoughts. He smiled and allowed his warm breath to settle on her neck. That warmth made her panicked.
“I’m giving you another chance to go back. If you miss this chance, I won’t… ever let you go again!”
Elena’s heart skipped a beat, and her first instinct was to push him away. However, the man’s arms were like steel, and he held her tightly without any room to wiggle at all.
“Unless you decided to go back.”
“It’s no longer possible for him and me!” She could no longer go back to him!
She had not wanted to be with Michael, and even if they could explain the misunderstanding, she had already lost the child. Michael hated her. He loathed her so much that he felt no pity for her at all.
What would happen if she were to go back to him? It was the same as in her past life, where she had become his burden and brought disasters upon him. Their relationship already had a perfect conclusion.
“Don’t you want to?” Henry’s voice was like a curse; it was as if she could not escape him.
Did she not want to? Perhaps she was simply too afraid to think about it.
“If you don’t want to go back, then don’t give him any more chances to dream about it.”
Henry suddenly let go of her. He placed his hand on her shoulder before he turned her to face himself. Elena realized that the two of them were incredibly close together. Their bodies even seemed to fit with each other.
“You…” Her hands rested on his chest. Her subconscious mind wanted to push him away.
“Are you still unable to accept me?” Henry suddenly moved forward, and the two of them got even closer to each other.
She turned to look away as she felt a little flustered. “I haven’t… I haven’t thought about it.”
“Then think about it now.” He thought that he had already given her enough time. He did not expect his words to scare her.
“Now?” Elena’s bright eyes widened in surprise. Was it even possible to make a quick decision about that?
“I thought I’d made it clear enough already.” He had never treated anyone better than her.
“The Williams family is too complicated; it’s not a place where you should be. If you still want to do it, then I won’t stop you. But if you’re not obsessed with marrying him, then the Williams family shouldn’t be your first choice.”
He smiled and talked to her as if he had made a pitch.
“But the Sharp family is different, even though we have the same problems that seem to plaque every aristocratic household. There’s no way to avoid that.
“We’re different from the Williams family because we only have one mother. Do you understand what I mean?”
Elena looked up and met his gaze, even though she was not confident about it. She understood what he meant. Even though the Sharp patriarch was born a wealthy man, he only had one woman in his life—the mother of the Sharp brothers.
Everyone was surprised that the Sharp patriarch was such a loyal man. Such a man was a rarity within wealthy circles. The Garcia family paled in comparison to the Williamss and the Sharps, but that did not stop Henry from indulging in beautiful women.
Grace and her daughter even forced the eldest young miss out of the country, and she had not been willing to return. Eldest Young Miss Garcia’s mother was Henry’s first wife. Grace infuriated the first madam so much that she got sick and passed away. Grace, who was Henry’s fling at the time, later became his second wife.
Elena’s mother, Talia, had been Henry’s good friend. Elena grew up with little affection for rich men precisely because of all that.
The Sharp patriarch had become her idol!
“My parents are very easy-going people. You’ll love them after you meet them.”
Henry took her hand earnestly and firmly said, “Give me a chance to prove that not all the wealthy daughters-in-law should live a hard life. The Sharp family’s daughter-in-law can live a very good life. What do you say?”