"Jon, no enmity lasts between father and son. You've misunderstood him!" Lizzie didn't answer directly.
Her ambiguous reply was meant to make everyone believe that Jonathan was the main cause of Cyrus' current condition.
Jonathan was all too clear with the trick. He didn't even bother to glance at Lizzie, and nor did he want to waste tdealing with her. He reached forward and took Rose's hand.
"Let's go." His voice was warm, unlike the cold indifference he had shown Lizzie. It surprised everyone present. Jonathan was known for his cold demeanor in the Finch family and rarely showed any warmth or even a smile. There was a hint of gentleness in his voice just now, but the Jonathan they knew had nothing associated with the word "gentleness".
The people present couldn't help but look at Jonathan and Rose beside him again. They had just been astonished at Rose's act of protecting Jonathan, but upon closer examination, they noticed the unusual way Jonathan looked at her. Rose was tall and had striking features. Though she was plainly dressed, she made an unexpectedly perfect match with Jonathan when standing next to him.
Hand in hand, the two walked past the kneeling Lizzie. Tears and grievances marked Lizzie's face, but a shadow of gloom flickered across it. How could she let them leave just like that? "Ms. Shaffer..." Lizzie suddenly called out.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtJonathan and Rose were just at the door when the voice from behind made Rose pause slightly.
She looked up when feeling Jonathan's grip tighten a bit, and her heart skipped a beat at the sight of his handsprofile. However, Jonathan showed no intention to stop, and Rose followed him. "Ms. Shaffer..." Lizzie didn't expect Rose to ignore her.
Turning back, she raised her voice and called out again, but there was still no response. Jonathan and Rose were walking further away.
The hatred in Lizzie's heart nearly overshadowed her feigned "grievance". She collapsed in a kneeling position when realizing everything had just been in vain. The Finches watched her.
"How could Jon do that? Even after Lizzie knelt to beg him, he still..." Bella's words were laden with reproach, but her gaze toward the kneeling Lizzie was dull of disdain.
She thought Lizzie would make a powerful move to bring Jonathan down, but Lizzie had him leave just like that. "Lizzie, get up. We don't know how Cyrus is doing." There was a hint of glee in Bella's tone, but she gave Lizzie the chance to regain her dignity.
"Cyrus..." Lizzie's eyes were filled with worry as she got up and nearly lost her balance in haste. She steadied herself by holding onto the staircase railing before hurrying upstairs. Cyrus' condition had stabilized in the study. Eleanor walked in as the doctor reported, "Mr. Finch is fine now." It was just an outburst of anger and was nothing serious.
Cyrus leaned on the couch as Lizzie rushed forward to hold his hand. She touched his cheeks with concern and apologized. "Jonathan left. I'm sorry, Cyrus. I..." To the outside world, the apology seemed to mean that Lizzie felt sorry for not stopping Jonathan, but Cyrus understood the true meaning behind it.
"It's not your fault." Cyrus patted Lizzie's hand. The couple was affectionate as always.
Lizzie's brows remained furrowed. Her mind replayed the scene of Rose and Jonathan leaving hand in hand. "It's a pity that you didn't get to talk to Ms. Rose." Her words brought everyone's attention back to Rose. Bella commented, feeling threatened on Yara's behalf, "Jon seems to give her the special treatment. I wonder what her background is and if she'd be a good match for the Finches." The Finches had long investigated Rose's background. She was the daughter of an affluent family in Aquastead and only held a nominal position in the Young Group, even when she was adopted by Oliver.
She wasn't involved in the power and control of the Young family and had no chance of inheriting their wealth. How could she match the Finch family if she had nothing to offer? The Finch family needed alliances that would benefit their commercial expansion, like the Maize family. Everyone tacitly understood so, but Eleanor suddenly spoke up. "It's alright if they didn't get to talk. Invite her over another day." Yosef, Bella, and even Lizzie were taken aback as they wondered what Eleanor's words meant.
Before they could ponder on it, Eleanor turned and walked upstairs, seemingly unconcerned about Cyrus' condition.
The others gradually dispersed with Eleanor's departure. Cyrus and Lizzie returned to their bedroom.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm
Lizzie felt utterly defeated, but she maintained her gentle and considerate facade. She saw Cyrus lying on the bed with his expression dazed and his eyes unfocused She immediately knew he was thinking about Nancy.
She regretted involving Ezra in today's scheme. It had probably driven Ezra mad and brought the long-dead Nancy back into Cyrus' memory. "Cyrus, the photos..." Lizzie began. Ezra had destroyed the photos in the secret room.
In their youth, Nancy loved to paint, and Cyrus loved photography. Though it was an arranged marriage, they were happy for the first few years.
Cyrus had bought the building where the art exhibition was held to store her paintings. She would paint, and Cyrus would take pictures of her.
A fire destroyed all of Nancy's works and most of the photos Cyrus took of her. Cyrus later renovated the building and kept the remaining photos in the secret room.
People believed Cyrus took up painting in his retirement out of love for his artistic wife. But Lizzie knew the truth. Cyrus loved his wife, but she was
not the wife they were talking about.
It was his late first wife, Nancy m Logans. Even today's exhibition featured paintings Cyrus recreated from memory originally done by Nancy. х