Chapter 175
Chapter 175
Letitia first sneaked a peek at Hawley unconsciously before she took her first step.
Sharp as a tack, Elgin sure caught that glance.
He too looked at Hawley, “Grandpa, how long was I out cold?”
“Three to four days.”
“So, what have you been up to with Letitia in the meantime?”
Hawley was taken aback, “Elgin, what are you getting at? Are you grilling me?”
“Just spill the beans, Grandpa.”
“Ha!” Hawley chuckled, “I made sure Letitia stayed put in Ivory Towers and kept her from breathing down your neck! Did I mess up?”
Elgin pursed his lips, “I’m afraid it’s not just that.”
Just now, when he had called Letitia over, she had been checking out Hawley’s mood.
Clearly, Grandpa had put the screws to her.
A flicker of irritation crossed Elgin’s mind. He should’ve given Samson the heads-up not to let Letitia rub shoulders with the Ramirez family, so as to keep her from getting the short end of the stick.
Too late now, she had already been given a hard time.
Hawley huffed, “You’re head over heels for Letitia! That temptress!”
At the sight of the tension, the butler quickly stepped in to smooth things over, “Mr. Ramirez, your wife’s been at your bedside all day. She’s been taking care of you, with your grandpa’s blessing!”
“Ha, spare me your explanations!” Hawley flung out his hand, “Elgin, I’m laying it on the line for you. Letitia can’t stick around you anymore!”
With that, he stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
The butler scurried after him, trying to calm Hawley down.
Back in the hospital room, it was just the two of them again.
He looked at her, “Now that it’s just us, aren’t you going a bit closer?”
Hearing this, Letitia was tingled with emotion.
After a few seconds of silence, she heard Elgin say, “Or is it that, Letty, you don’t want to be near me…” A burst of coughing sound was heard by Letitia.
He started coughing as soon as he finished his sentence.
“Don’t rush, take it slow!” Letitia immediately got anxious, grabbing the cup of water to help him drink, “Wet your whistle, it’s still warm.”
But Elgin just gazed at her.
“Drink up!” Letitia urged, “Staring at me won’t ease your cough!”
Elgin finally took a sip.
Letitia relaxed, about to get up, but Elgin gripped her wrist tightly, “Don’t go.”Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.
*1. Fm just putting the cup down.”
“Why did you duck out earlier?” Elgin asked, “I didn’t see you and thought… you weren’t in the room.”
When he opened his eyes and couldn’t see her, he thought to himself, how cold Letitia’s heart must be to not
visit him.
After all, he had just saved her life.
Elgin knew that the child they had lost was a lifelong pain in their hearts.
But now, right here, in this moment, could she not feel a shred of concern for him?
Letitia answered honestly, “I… was squeezed out by them.”
“Then you knew to squeeze back in?”
FE
His palm wasn’t as warm as usual, a bit chilly, but still clung to her wrist as if he was afraid she’d slip away the moment he let go.
Letitia looked down, “I didn’t leave. Once they dispersed, you’d see me.”
“But I wish you could always be where I can see you just by looking up.”
Letitia fell silent. Then, she changed the subject, “You need to lie still, don’t move around. Your arm’s banged up and you need to take care of it so it doesn’t cause any lasting problems.”
Elgin’s gaze never left her face.
“What exactly did Grandpa say to you? Tell me the truth,” Elgin pressed, “Don’t hold back.”
“You heard what he has just said.”
“His words must’ve been harsher, you felt pretty lousy, huh?”
Letitia was tingled again.
This man, Elgin, could be so ruthless that she could hate him to the bone. But then, when he was being sweet, he was so tender, caring, and considerate.
The sweetness of a man… was lethal every time, drowning her with no way out.
Yeah, she felt lousy when Hawley slapped her and wagged his finger in her face.
But back then, she didn’t think much of it. Now, with Elgin’s probing, her distress peaked.
“Talk to me,” Elgin softened his tone, “Let me deal with it.”
Letitia remained silent.
“You’re not talking because you think I can’t handle it?”
“Yes,” Letitia nodded, “The beef between me and the Ramirez family is a Gordian knot, impossible to untie.”
Elgin’s expression grew dark. He knew what she was referring to.
The feud between the Sanders and the Ramirez families was an old wound.
Letitia, looking down, confessed, “Hawley called me a jinx and said I’m the bane of the Ramirez family. My dad killed yours, I couldn’t save the Ramirez bloodline, and now I’m about to risk your safety… The best I can do is to keep my distance and keep you safe.”
Elgin had guessed as much, but hearing it from her still hurt like hell.
Letty, if it weren’t for the past beef, we could’ve been just another normal couple, right?”
Letitia replied. “If there were no feud, we’d never have met.”
He was the golden boy in the AquaCity, calling the shots. And her? Just a girl from a middle-class family in AquaCity, engaged, academically successful, with a bright future ahead.
They were two parallel lines that would never cross.
It was Marcel’s death that caused their paths to intertwine.
Elgin cracked a wry smile, “Guess you’re right.”
He wanted to stroke her hair, but right now, he only had one good arm.
If he held her hand, he couldn’t hug or touch her.
“But… Letty,” Elgin said, “you can’t leave. You can’t leave my side.”
Letitia asked, “Would you go against your grandpa for me?”
“For you, I’d take on the whole world.”
Sweet talk that could flutter one’s heart.
And it sure made hers skip a beat.
“That’s your grandpa, though. He’s just looking out for you,” Letitia remarked, “Family ties are hard to unshackle. How could you turn him into an enemy?”
“But you’re my boo, my better half, my one and only.”
Letitia didn’t want to hear any more of it.
If she kept listening, her heart wouldn’t just flutter but go all soft.
And that was not the ending she wanted to see.
“Elgin, pressuring me like this is pointless,” Letitia said. “We have no future. There’s just too much stuff between us, a chasm too wide to cross.”
Elgin just looked into her eyes, “Love is beyond the distance and the time.”
Letitia looked away.
“But I hate you,” Letitia said, “I can’t forgive you. Every time I get a bit closer to you, I remember that lifeless child, that unborn fetus…”
When she talked about it, the mood turned heavy as lead.
Letitia couldn’t forget the despair and coldness she felt lying on that operating table.