Averie felt that Hayden was deliberately refusing to negotiate with her.
The more she thought about it, the more restless she became. Eventually, she called Elyette because her sadness was too much to bear.
“Elyette, Hayden has decided to study abroad. He’s leaving me.”
Elyette’s breathing became heavier. “Is there anything I can do?”
“No. Don’t do anything, because you can’t,” she felt choked. “He’s made up his mind. Mike said he’d be leaving the day after tomorrow at the latest. He doesn’t want to be in this house anymore.”
“Let him go if that’s what he wants,” Elyette said helplessly. “Don’t cry. Just don’t treat him like he’s a child.”
“I can’t help but treat him as a child, Elyette. I always feel like I’m going to lose him.”
“You won’t. He’s your son and you’ll never lose him,” Elyette comforted her patiently. “He just doesn’t want to face me. He still loves you. You can always visit him frequently in the future.”
Her mood calmed down gradually as she listened to his deep voice.
“Life seldom goes our way. We should always appreciate that Hayden is healthy and safe,” he continued to comfort.
“Okay. I’ll get up early tomorrow and talk to him. Even if he wants to leave, I don’t want him to leave feeling sad.”
“You should rest early.” “Okay. What are you doing?” she asked.
“Reading.”
“What book?” What she would have given to lie beside him and hug him.
“It’s about war.”
“…Well, don’t read until it’s too late or you won’t have any energy tomorrow.”
“Okay. Good night, Averie.”
After hanging up the phone, Averie stared at the dimly lit room in a trance.
Elyette’s remark that life seldom went one’s way was a phrase that she was well-acquainted with.
He had experienced adversity before, and she also had a long period of adversity too.
However, she was not that vulnerable when she encountered those difficulties in the past.
In any case, she had to be brave to hold her family together.
With Elyette by her side, she believed that it was possible to overcome all difficulties.
The next morning, she went to the children’s room ESIlsF<1 talked to Hayden.
“I respect your decision, Hayden.” She cried a lot the previous night so her eyes were very swollen that day. “I just wanted to tell you that I love you always, and that I’ll miss you when you go.”
Hayden looked at his mother’s haggard face and lowered his head. “I’ll be back in a year.”
“Okay. I’ll visit you as much as I can.”
“That would be nice.”
“And another thing. Your dad won’t interfere with any of your affairs anymore. He wanted me to tell you that, and he also wants to apologize for everything. He won’t bother you again until you decide to forgive him.”
Hayden did not respond to that remark because he did not want to face that problem, at least not for the moment.
A day later, Averie sent Hayden to the airport.
Averie could not help but cry when she saw Hayden go through the security checkpoint.
“Mommy, Daddy’s here,” Layla reminded Averie and pulled her hand.
Averie wiped away her tears immediately and turned around.
Elyette did not tell her that he would be at the airport, so his presence came as a bit of a shock for her.
He strode up to her and embraced her in his arms.
“Don’t cry. I’ll bring you somewhere,” he said hoarsely. Averie asked while sobbing, “Where are we going?”
Elyette picked Layla up with one hand and held Averie’s hand tightly with his other hand.
She followed him and left the airport lobby.
At the airport command and control center, Elyette brought Averie and Layla in and led them to the massive floor-to-ceiling windows. The runway could be seen very clearly.
“We’ll be able to see Hayden’s flight taking off in about half an hour.” He took Averie and came to the window. “I chatted with Mike last night and I share the same view as him. It is the better choice for Hayden to be studying abroad.”
Averie stared at him blankly and waited for him to explain further.
“He managed to get only three points higher than Daniel in the qualifying round, which is why Daniel questioned whether the teacher’s grade was fair. If he scored thirty points more than Daniel, do you think Daniel will still question it? He still lacks in ability….”
Averie frowned when she heard him say that. “Don’t you think you’re asking too much of your son? He’s three years younger than Daniel, which means he’s already better than Daniel even though Daniel has been in school for three more years. He’s already good enough.”
“But he collapsed as soon as Daniel questioned him.” Elyette looked at her calmly, “Faced with such a situation, he could either strengthen his abilities or adjust his mentality. He has chosen the former, so we will support him.”
Averie took a deep breath and looked out the window
“It is only when he’s strong enough that he won’t be so easily provoked by others,” Elyette continued, “I hope my son can surpass me in the future, because that way, he can better protect himself and his family. This brief separation will be bearable.”
Averie looked back at him. “You may be right, but emotionally speaking, it’s an uphill task for me to accept that he’s leaving me. I wouldn’t be so uneasy if he was seventeen rather than seven. You weren’t that young during your first time abroad, right?”
“It was his own choice. We didn’t force him to leave.”
“I knew you were going to say that.” She took a deep breath looked at him a little resentfully. “You said before that you have a resentful personality, and you’re right. It is a little resentful sometimes. If your son didn’t take after you that much, he wouldn’t have been so against you.”
Elyette did not retort.
Half an hour later, Hayden’s flight slowly took off from the runway and into the skies.
Elyette brought Averie and Layla home.
“Averie, your wedding dress has arrived.” Mrs. Cooper smiled. “Would you like to try it?”
Averie looked at the beautifully packaged oversized box in the living room and tried to force herself not to think about Hayden’s departure.
She opened the box and saw the white wedding dress.
“Let me help you put it on!” Elyette lifted the wedding dress from the box and offered.
She accepted and went back to the room with him.
After a while, she put on her wedding dress and looked blankly at herself in the mirror.
It was as if she was already about to attend the wedding.
“How does it feel?” Elyette asked in a hoarse voice when he saw how beautiful she was.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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