1080 My Heart & Soul
Lu Shun walked out of the waiting room and found Shui Xian pacing around in the corridor. It seemed he had been waiting here all this while and quite impatiently too. Lu Shun was actually a little surprised to see this restless Shui Xian.
“Are you guarding the door in fear that I’d bully your wife?”
Shui Xian faced Lu Shun and shook his head, “No, uncle. That’s not... Anyway, you can’t bully Raelle. The chances of her bullying you are higher.”
Lu Shun chuckled, “You have quite some faith in your wife.”
“She is my wife after all,” said Shui Xian proudly. “I wonder what really brought you here today?”
“Your mom sent me here,” replied Lu Shun making Shui Xian raise his brow in response. “Your mom left something with me for her daughter-in-law.”
Shui Xian frowned at that, “You didn’t bring anything when I got married for the first time around.”
“How is that so? I delivered the properties and other assets that your mother left for her daughter-in-law to Tang Hebe back then too. Your mom was biased toward Raelle but she was still fair. No one can claim that she didn’t give Tang Hebe what she deserved as the daughter-in-law of the Shui family.”
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt“Yes, but you only offered those things after the marriage. You didn’t appear at the wedding,” said Shui Xian.
.....
Lu Shun shrugged, “Still, I delivered what I was supposed to deliver.” Lu Shun looked at Shui Xian and added, “But those things were for your wife actually. Because you and I both know that Qian Yin would have never accepted Tang Hebe as her daughter-in-law. What she left to her was just because she was your wife. Now, on the other hand, the things I delivered are for Qian Yin’s daughter-in-law. Not your wife.”
Shui Xian bit his lips, “I really let her down while she was alive.”
“I won’t say that,” said Lu Shun. He took out another envelope and gave it to Shui Xian. “This letter is for you. From your mother.”
Shui Xian’s eyes widened when he saw the letter and looked at Lu Shun incredulously. “Why didn’t you give it to me when you read out her will?”
“Because the conditions didn’t meet back then,” replied Lu Shun. “Yin left very specific instructions. I can’t make choices on my own.”
Shui Xian actually took the letter with his trembling hands. He didn’t understand why he was shaking all of a sudden but he couldn’t stop it. He felt a little choked up and didn’t dare open the letter.
“Thank you for coming, Uncle Shun,” said Shui Xian.
Lu Shun smiled politely in response.
Even when he left, Shui Xian couldn’t bring himself to open the letter in his hands. He held it against his chest and entered the room. He found Raelle standing in front of the mirror with a tiara in her hands. She obviously didn’t have it before. It meant it must be a gift from his mother to her.
He had to say it was a befitting gift for Raelle.
“Wife,” he called out and Raelle turned around.
“Ma sent me a gift,” said Raelle and Shui Xian was stunned.
Ma? He couldn’t believe she actually called his mother so intimately. He knew she called Bà only after she accepted him from her heart. And now, it seemed she had accepted his mother too from her heart. It wasn’t that she didn’t accept her before. It was just that Qian Yin wasn’t around so Raelle didn’t feel much about her.
She didn’t even feel her absence in their family because to her, from the beginning, Qian Yin wasn’t around. So, she had very vague feelings.
“Why don’t you put it on me?”
Shui Xian nodded his head and walked over. He took the tiara from her hands and then put it carefully on her head. He turned her around to face the mirror and asked, “How is it?”
“I like it,” she replied.
“Me too,” said Shui Xian. “Mom really chose the perfect gift for you. It shows how much she loved you.”
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm“I think she loved you a lot more,” was Raelle’s response. She held his hand and asked, “You’re missing her?”
“I am,” replied Shui Xian. “This engagement of ours was her dream. I believe she’d have been the happiest on this day. And she might have gone over the top like Mu Chenyan.” He suddenly went silent and with a bitter smile he added, “It’s such a shame that she isn’t here to see her dream come true.”
Raelle hugged him as she said, “Wherever she is, she’d still be happy to see that her dream is coming true. She just wanted to see you happy. I think she hardly had her own interests or happiness in mind.” She paused before saying, “I miss her too. I think I’d have loved to have a mother-in-law like her in my life.”
Shui Xian sniffled and asked, “Did she write a letter to you too?”
“Yes,” replied Raelle. “She wrote a letter that made me realize just how passionate she was about the idea of having me as her daughter-in-law. It wasn’t just her obsession. It was her heartfelt wish. I also realized that after losing so much in her life, she didn’t want her son to go through the same.”
“But she and I both couldn’t fight our destiny,” said Shui Xian. “We both walked the same path and we both suffered. She used to say that I took after her and her wish was that my destiny isn’t like hers. However, I really took after her and even took over her destiny.” He looked at Raelle, “Don’t worry, I still remember your words. I’ll still live happily to make sure she doesn’t get sad. If she wanted me to be happy, that’s exactly what I’m gonna be.”
“It’s good to know that you aren’t taking things too hard again.”
“Isn’t it all because I have a supporting wife like you?”
“I’ll happily take the credit then.”
“You have my heart and soul. What more a little credit?”
“Don’t continue,” said Raelle.
“Okay,” he agreed.