He Thought I’d Compromise Chapter 07

The day I left New York, the weather was nice, better than it had been when I arrived.

As I walked through the VIP lane, a woman coming toward me was looking down and searching through her purse. Someone nearly bumped into her.

I steadied her by the arm. “Careful.”

After she regained her footing, she took off her sunglasses and looked at me gratefully. “Thank you.”

I nodded, let go, and continued walking.

Behind me, I heard the woman speaking on the phone. “It’s me. You’re always saying Switzerland is too far, so I flew in myself this time. You should at least let me meet that precious girl of yours.”

If I remembered correctly, that woman was Bennett’s mother, Isabel Lancaster.

I had recognized her the moment she took off her sunglasses. There were a few traces of age at the corners of her eyes, but she was still stunning.

I supposed I should be grateful that all those years, I had never been foolish enough to demand to meet his parents.

They would not have liked me. If we had met, all that might have been left now were a few cold, cutting remarks.

There was a missed call on my phone. I called back, and my mom answered.

“Stella, your dad and I are planning to visit New York over New Year’s weekend. We’ve already booked our flights. You always say you’re too busy, so your father and I will come to you. We should at least get a look at him and see what kind of man he is, right?”

“If you’re afraid your dad and I will embarrass you, we’ll just look from far away. As long as we can be sure he’s a decent man, we won’t interfere with whatever you want to do after that.”

My nose stung, and tears fell.

“Mom, can you open the door for me? I’m outside. I forgot my key.”

The other end of the line went quiet for a moment. Then there was a sudden clatter, as if things had been knocked over in a rush.

The next second, the door was yanked open.

During the next few days at home, I kept thinking that I was lucky I had made so much money over the years.

Nothing mattered more than money. Because I had money, I could afford to buy my parents a single-family house like this.

Other than that, I did not think about anything else.

I ate as usual and slept as usual, as if this were an ordinary vacation.

Until one day, my mom pushed open my bedroom door with several bottles of wine in her hands.

“Have a few drinks with me. After a few glasses, there won’t be any hurdle you can’t get past.”

At first, we only drank a little. I had a glass, and she had a glass with me. Later, I was the only one drinking, one glass after another.

Drunk, I used the cruelest words I knew to curse Bennett.

My mom did not know who Bennett was. She simply propped her chin in her hand and watched me with a gentle smile, her eyes red.

I laid my head in her lap as tears slipped through my fingers, and all the emotions I had suppressed finally surged back.

Fueled by alcohol, I said every terrible thing about Bennett that I could. But, Mom, even after all that, I still loved him so much.

He had so many terrible flaws, but in the end, he had still shown me a few glimpses of sincerity.

After I witnessed a car accident and had nightmares every day, he would wake up again and again to pull me into his arms. Several times, when I opened my eyes, I saw him leaning against the headboard, half-asleep but afraid to let himself drift off.

When I got separated in the snowy mountains, he could not wait for rescue. He came searching for me alone and carried me out step by step.

“I might… I might never find anyone I love that much again,” I choked out in a haze.

My mom patted my back. “You will. The more people you meet, the more people you’ll find to love.”