Who Cares About Him When I'm Married to the Richest Man?-Chapter 99: The One Who Loves You Will Give You Absolute Acceptance
Zara was somewhat shocked, but seeing Elara’s resolute look, she ultimately said nothing.
Joanne watched them leave, her eyes slowly reddening, and she found an empty corner to squat down, quietly wiping her tears.
She messed up. There was only one chance to change her fate, and she blew it.
Elara disliked her for badmouthing Jasmine, not liking how she was too calculating. But Elara didn’t know that Jasmine intentionally brought her here today, just to show off in front of her.
She didn’t blame Elara, only herself for being too stupid, unable to seize such a good opportunity.
After today, she would return to that poor, backward village, living in the rundown dormitory of the welfare home, accompanied only by the labor of cutting grass, with the only joy being at night, lying in bed reading the worn-out storybook.
She would live like that until sixteen, as the welfare home released people at sixteen. But she hadn’t had an education, couldn’t read, couldn’t support herself, and the only path was to marry an old man from the nearby village, have a few kids, and wear out her latter days in mundane life.
She was really unwilling. But what could she do?
Perhaps this was her fate all along. Heaven had already fixed her destiny, not letting her leave the mountains.
Joanne wiped away her tears in grievance, telling herself to be strong. Besides being strong, what else could she do?
Not until they got in the car did Zara ask, "Why are you unwilling to accept Joanne? I thought the girl was quite nice."
Elara was gazing out the window, and explained, "Temporarily... unable to accept."
Zara sighed, "I didn’t expect Jasmine to... sigh, who would’ve thought? Before today, she always behaved so obediently and sensibly, who’d know she’d be such a traitor. It’s understandable you can’t accept Joanne, let alone you. After what Jasmine did, I don’t want to sponsor the welfare home anymore."
"The children at the welfare home are innocent," Elara chuckled and said, "We should still sponsor them, one helping one counts. Even if out of a hundred people ten are like Jasmine, helping the other ninety is worthwhile."
Zara sighed, chuckling bitterly, "True, you’re actually much kinder than me. When we were arguing at the hotel, I was thinking of halving the sponsorship to the welfare home, but after what you said, I feel like a petty person."
Driving, he paused and then turned to look at Elara, seriously saying, "I think Jasmine will regret it. Although the Jacobs family is richer and more powerful than you, they don’t need her; her tough days are ahead."
Elara casually nodded, not commenting.
Actually, she hoped Jasmine would turn out well.
With ambition, she had already betrayed trust, almost gave up everything, putting all hope on Cecilia Quincy; if she lost, could she accept it?
Before leaving, she sincerely wished Jasmine happiness.
Although it should have been an intimate relationship, with an embarrassing end, she still hoped Jasmine would be okay.
But she wouldn’t say these things. Merely thinking them was enough, she and Jasmine had no relation anymore, regardless of Jasmine’s fate at the Jacobs, even if Jasmine regretted it later, coming back to find her, she would never accept her again.
Being kind enough to wish well is one thing, but forgiveness is another.
Esther Carter, upon learning this in the group, immediately called, first rudely cursing Cecilia Quincy’s ancestors for a hundred generations, then awkwardly comforting Elara, "Unlucky people don’t enter lucky doors; it’s okay, Elara, losing you is her loss."
Elara was amused, "Don’t worry, I’m not as fragile as you guys think."
She didn’t have much emotion for Jasmine; since planning to adopt Jasmine, up to today, more than a year had passed, and she had invested so much expectation. Even though those expectations fell through, she was a bit hurt but not to the point of being unable to move on.
Seeing Elara indeed had come to terms, Esther breathed a sigh of relief, hurriedly saying, "Then I’ll go shoot the movie; lately, thanks to your... your god of wealth, I’ve had so many offers, all good scripts. I must seize the opportunity!"
Elara quickly replied, "Then go ahead."
After hanging up, she curiously asked Zara, "Is praying to the god of wealth really effective?"
Previously, in the Jacobs family, there was a god of wealth statue in the bedroom set up by Mason; when Esther visited, she prayed twice, saying she wanted some wealth, and it actually worked?
Zara knew this "god of wealth" was not that "god of wealth," but didn’t dare expose it, coughing lightly, deftly diverting, "Perhaps, you see, I prayed once for romance at the beginning of the year, and it still hasn’t come true, showing that the god of wealth is more reliable than the god of marriage."
Elara was amazed; was there a necessary connection between the two?
Zara’s phone suddenly rang; he glanced at it, ignoring it at first, but as the caller persisted, he finally resigned with a sigh and answered.
With a voice lacking enthusiasm, "Hello, mom, need me for something?"
Mrs. Dalton angrily queried, "Did you crash the wedding at the Jacobs family? I heard you and a girl stirred up trouble, making Mrs. Jacobs so livid her face turned green, is this true?"
The Dalton family, not yet ranking in the top 500 wealthy, naturally was not on par with the well-rooted Jacobs family. Although they received wedding invitations, they had no qualifications for the top-floor seats, instead squeezing in the sub-top floor with a bunch of similar lesser aristocrats, emphasizing participation.
Even though snubbed like this, minor aristocrats led by Mrs. Dalton still felt honored, for being able to attend the Jacobs family’s banquet already proved they were a tier above those who couldn’t.
But Mrs. Dalton never expected to hear about Zara arguing with Mrs. Jacobs at the top floor; initially, she thought it was mistaken, until local groups shared on-site photos, standing in front of Mrs. Jacobs was unmistakably her son!
Beside him, she naturally recognized Elara, thus furiously calling to question him.
Zara didn’t regard the matter seriously, carelessly replying, "Mom, the one offending wasn’t me; we merely reminded her. Frankly, she should thank us!"
Mrs. Dalton was so enraged she nearly passed out, sternly rebuking, "Simply ridiculous! What’s that girl Elara up to, she goes to cause trouble and drags you along! How can your father and I face Mrs. Jacobs again?!"
Zara chuckled, mercilessly exposing, "Mom, like my dad, we have no qualifications to face them; don’t act like I ruined something great. You know, even with this incident, she wouldn’t know who you are."
"Absurd!" Mrs. Dalton furiously swore, "How did I bring upon myself such a brat! Always messing around outside, if you had any prospect, I wouldn’t be handling things at my age!"
Zara helplessly replied, "Mom, stop it."
Every argument ended with that, and he was tired of hearing it.
Mrs. Dalton, upon hearing this, was even more furious, "Can’t you be more thoughtful? Miss Sommers has such a good background, yet you insist on breaking up with her. When finding a marriage partner, you keep on picking but never decide; can you..."
Zara decisively hung up, blocked, shut down, and removed the card, all in one go.
Elara felt a bit embarrassed, "Today’s incident is my fault for causing you trouble."
Zara waved her hand, "Between brothers, there’s no need to talk about causing trouble. My mom is quite a handful, don’t take it to heart."
Elara chuckled, "Who talks about their own mom like that."
Zara pursed her lips, "You have no idea how suffocating she’s made me all these years."
Even my skewed sexual orientation has a lot to do with Mrs. Dalton.
Elara sighed. Truly, every family has its own issues; Zara grew up in a wealthy environment, attended top private schools until high school, then studied abroad for further distinction. Who would have thought that even a privileged kid like him would have such unsatisfying experiences?
Soon they arrived at the bottom of the apartment building, and after saying goodbye to Zara, Elara got out of the car. As she was heading upstairs, her phone received a call from an unfamiliar number, and upon answering, she heard a young voice tinged with sobs, "Sis, I can’t find my mom."
Elara was taken aback for a moment before she realized, "You’re... Zoe Chase?"
She had given her phone number to Zoe Chase, and the caller’s voice was indeed that of the young girl.
"Sis, it’s me," Zoe sniffled, her voice still choked with tears. "I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bother you, but my mom didn’t come home last night. Today, I went to her workplace to look for her, but she’s nowhere to be found. I’m really scared something happened to my mom..."
Elara quickly replied, "Where are you right now? I’ll come find you first."
"I’m at the school entrance," Zoe said through tears.
Elara turned and walked away, remembering that she had planned to have dinner with Zion tonight, which was originally a grand meal prepared by the two to welcome Jasmine. Zion had probably already finished cooking by now.
Yet she hadn’t picked up Jasmine, and she would have to cancel on him again. Whether it was Jasmine’s matter or Zoe Chase’s situation, she should at least inform him.
Still worried about Zoe Chase, she dialed Zion’s number while walking, briefly explaining about Jasmine and then Zoe Chase’s situation, ultimately apologizing, "Sorry, I can’t join you for dinner tonight."
Zion didn’t mind at all, only asking, "Where are you now?"
Elara said, "Downstairs, I’m about to take a taxi to find Zoe Chase."
Zion said sternly, "Stay right there, wait for me for a minute."
Elara was taken aback, "Huh?"
What should she wait for?
She heard some shuffling through the receiver, followed by Zion’s voice, "I’ll go with you."
"No need," Elara felt a bit guilty about troubling him further and quickly refused, but before she could finish speaking, she saw Zion stepping out of the elevator.
He wore a simple jacket paired with dark gray trousers, exuding a slightly formal aura, but with his chiseled facial features, it didn’t appear overly formal; instead, it made him seem composed and dignified.
Seeing Elara, he shook the car keys in his hand and smiled, "I have a car anyway, why be so formal? You don’t know that people love to show off new cars?"
Elara really didn’t know.
But she recalled when Zara bought his new sports car, he showed it off daily, driving around to catch attention and insisted on being the most flamboyant kid on the block.
With this comparison, it was very understandable. Perhaps men are inherently obsessed with cars, no matter if it’s worth twenty thousand or two hundred thousand.
Time was pressing, and the two quickly got into the car. Only then did Zion have time to thoroughly inquire about the situation with Jasmine.
After hearing Elara’s explanation, a cold flash crossed his face, and he said lightly, but with the same words as Zara, "Don’t worry, she’ll regret it."
In the future, she’ll understand what she really missed.
Elara said indifferently, "It’s no big deal."
Zion observed that she indeed didn’t have much sadness in her expression, and only then did his expression soften. He then asked, "You mentioned Joanne Carter wanting you to adopt her. What’s her situation?"
Elara briefly explained, "I actually don’t know much about her either, but after the situation with Jasmine, I don’t currently have plans to adopt a child."
Zion discreetly sent Joanne Carter’s information to Assistant Harris, asking him to look into this child, then turned to Elara, subtly asking, "I’ve always found it hard to understand why you’re in a hurry to adopt a child at just thirty years old. You might have your own children in the future."
Upon hearing this, Elara gave a bitter smile, shook her head, and said, "Probably not. I..." She paused, then smiled in relief, "I think I’m infertile."
Zion’s hand paused slightly on the steering wheel, maintaining composure while continuing, "Have you had it checked?"
Elara hesitated for a moment, shook her head, "I haven’t checked, but during those two years of marriage with... Mason, I never got pregnant. Cecilia Quincy and Mason got pregnant within a few months together, so it must be my issue."
Zion nodded faintly, seemingly making an offhand comment full of deeper meaning, "It might not be the case. If you really care, you can get checked, but whether you have children or not doesn’t matter. I believe the person who loves you will accept you completely."
Elara felt like crying again.
It’s hard for her to describe the suffering she endured during those two years with the Jacobs family, how much hardship she went through trying to have a child.
Initially, it was consuming herbal medicine, bitter concoctions served to her pot after pot, next came acupuncture, needles as thick as adult fingers piercing her back and abdomen several times a month, each time causing her to cry from the pain.
Finally, it turned into artificial insemination, long thick needle syringes, indifferent doctors, making her feel like a mere object devoid of dignity, repeatedly cooperating, repeatedly facing disappointment.
Those pains are not for outsiders to know, but they left permanent scars in her heart. Now thinking about it, there’s only the feeling of gratefulness, she’s thankful she divorced Mason.
Her body should be as free as her life.
Zion’s words had struck a chord in her heart. In this lifetime, she would never harm herself and go to extremes for anyone in the pursuit of having a child.
Therefore, only those who are alike would empathize with each other. Zion, being gay, could understand her pain, while normal men in this world would probably struggle to accept having no descendants.
As her thoughts ran wild, the car had arrived at the school gate, and Zion slowly stopped, saying, "We’re here."
