A stunned Tessa recalled how she had been forced to leave the country. A moment later, she raised her head and met Remus’ gaze without looking as timid as she had been in the past. “I haven’t forgotten it, but I didn’t understand my feelings in the past. Now that I’ve gotten together with Nicholas, I know very well what I want. No matter what you want to say, I won’t break up with Nicholas unless he says he wants to break up with me.”
Unsurprisingly, Remus’ expression became as black as thunder at Tessa’s words.
Tessa saw it, but she pretended not to and instead continued, “Also, don’t even try to threaten me with my younger brother anymore. It won’t work a second time.”
“How certain are you about that?” Remus shot back in displeasure.
She frowned. After looking at him with a complicated look in her eyes, she couldn’t help but ask, “I wonder what makes you so opposed to Nicholas and me being together.”
“Because you two aren’t suited for each other,” he answered without thinking.
Tessa questioned with persistence, “What makes you think we’re not suited to each other? I don’t think I’m inferior to anyone. And besides, I love Nicholas, and he loves me too. Why do you have to stop us from being together?”
Stumped by her question, Remus found himself at a loss for a reply for a moment.
When she saw Remus’ reaction, Tessa continued, “I think you probably have never thought about what Nicholas wants, nor have you ever tried to understand him.”
It was not a surprise that his expression darkened even more at her words.
Tessa didn’t care about it, though. She spoke her mind and added, “You’re probably used to having others obey you and cater to your whims because of your status, which is why you want to manipulate Nicholas and force him into doing things according to your will. I have to say that such a way of doing things is overbearing and hurtful, though. Not only will it not make Nicholas comply with your wishes, but it’ll also make him grow more and more estranged from you. Nicholas has run away from home earlier because of this, which I think is the best example.”
Remus glared at Tessa furiously after he heard that and barked, “Are you teaching me how to do things?”
A fearless Tessa met his gaze. “No, I’m not. I just want to make you understand that you can’t affect my relationship with Nicholas by forcing us to break up. Instead, you’ll only make him grow even more distant from you.”
At this moment, he suddenly found that she had become much different from the person she used to be. Not only did she become stronger, she was also much more confident. He stared at her with an incredibly complicated look in his eyes. A moment later, as he was unwilling to admit defeat, he said with a snort, “Don’t think that I’ll approve of you and Nicholas being together just because you said so.”
“I never thought of getting your approval either.” When Tessa saw Remus acting so awkwardly, the fear that she initially had vanished. She felt that Remus was, in fact, just like most parents in the world, who hoped for only the best for their children.
At the thought of this, she curled her lips into a faint smile before she commented, “But if it’s possible, I still hope that you can approve of it.”
Remus pretended not to hear it in his speechlessness.
Tessa didn’t mind his silence either. Standing up from the couch, she said politely, “Lastly, please take care of yourself. Nicholas is very worried about you, so don’t make him worry about you anymore.” With that, she said goodbye without waiting for the old man’s reply.
There was a long silence in the ward after the young lady’s figure disappeared into the distance.
Seeing Remus’ grim expression, Ian became somewhat worried as he stepped forward and advised, “Old Master Sawyer, please don’t take Miss Reinhart’s words to heart. We all know that you’re doing all this for Master Nicholas’ own good.”
Remus looked up at him. Suddenly, he asked, “Tell me the truth, Ian. Do you also think that what she said earlier is right?”
Ian fell silent. For a moment, he was at a loss for a reply.
When he saw Ian’s behavior, Remus immediately knew the answer. Even though it was a hard pill to swallow, he had to admit that Tessa’s words did make some sense. At the thought of this, he turned to look at the clear blue sky outside the window. He said faintly, “She’s right. After calling the shots in the Sawyer Family for dozens of years, I’ve grown used to having the others obey me and comply with my arrangements. If any of them show the slightest bit of defiance, I’ll do whatever possible to make them give in.”
